Football is one of the most loved sports in the world. And it is crazy how much people are obsessed with football. Football fans go all and about to support their favorite teams or clubs and go to great lengths to support the team. They buy and wear jerseys and buy match tickets. One such crazy thing that football fans do is groundhopping.
The main thing that ground hoppers do is visit as many stadiums as possible to watch football matches. For ground hoppers, football isn’t the only sport they visit stadiums for. But it is one of the main attractions when it comes to ground hoppers. The love for ground hopping has increased so much that people have developed various ground hoppers app.
Rules of Ground Hopping
Ground hopping is a hobby that is more about passion. Thus, there are no fixed ground hopping rules. There are as many versions as there are people, and there are different ways that people count grounds.
The main rule is there should be a match in the stadium for it to be classified as ground hopping. If you visit an empty stadium, that is not considered ground hopping.
Some people consider only visiting men’s football games and don’t count visiting women’s football and youth football as ground hopping.
Some count all the types of football but only specific stadiums and not others.
Some people prefer visiting new grounds and don’t count the ground if they have already visited it.
Ground hopping rules are what you want them to be. There aren’t ground rules or any laid rules other than visit as many grounds as possible.
The 92 Club
The 92 club is a society that is associated with ground hopping. The 92 club gets its name from the fact there are 92 teams. It was founded by a football fan Gordon Pierce who, in 1966, visited all the grounds of a club during the football league.
He founded the club to honor the fans who achieved the same feat as him. It has developed into a great club today with many as much as a thousand members as proud members of the 92 club.
There are specific requirements to be considered as a member of the 92 clubs. Not everyone who simple ground hops can be declared as a member. To be a member of this club, one must attend a match at all the football grounds of the ongoing Premier League and English Premier League. It comprises of the stadiums in England and Wales.
It is not as easy as it sounds. It is very difficult as it is very expensive and time-consuming, thus the groundhoppers who achieve this honor flaunt it with pride.
It is not important to be a part of this club to be a groundhopper. It is just an additional perk of being a passionate fan.
Why do fans visit as many grounds as possible?
This question doesn’t answer because it is about how much you love a sport or how passionate you are for a hobby. The main point is the love the fans have for their favorite teams, and they want to support them. They do so by watching their matches.
An additional point can be the act of doing it as a hobby. It includes collecting tickets or any other things associated with stadiums and football.
There are many reasons why people ground hop but the main reason always ends up being their love for football and their teams.
Conclusion
If someone does it as a hobby or a passion, groundhopping has its perks and costs. The love for this activity has increased over the years. Not all might get into the 92 clubs, but it is still fun to ground hop.