I picked West Brom on Fifa - now I'm flying 5,000 miles to watch them
Jay Jhaver believes he is the only West Bromwich Albion fan in Arizona, USA.
I picked West Brom on Fifa - now I'm flying 5,000 miles to watch them
Jay Jhaver says a random Fifa selection sparked his love of West Brom
For years, Jay Jhaver has been getting up before sunrise in Arizona to watch West Bromwich Albion games that most people around him have never even heard of.
Now the supporter, who lives around 5,000 miles (8,046 km) from The Hawthorns, is travelling to England for the first time to see the club he has followed since picking it at random on a Fifa video game.
Jhaver, from Phoenix, thinks he may be the only West Brom fan in the US state of Arizona and will finally see his team in person when they face Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
His unlikely affection for the Baggies started when he was searching for a team to use on Fifa and chose West Brom by chance.
"Ever since then, the rest has been history," he told us.
Backing a Championship club from across the Atlantic can be a lonely thing.
When he tells friends which team he supports, he is often met with confused reactions.
"They either look at me like, 'what is that, I've never heard of that club', or the people who do know of it, they just laugh at me," he said.
"They're like, 'Dude, why don't you just support Liverpool or Man City or someone like that?'
"I'm like, 'no man, it's West Brom all the way'."
Being a fan also means setting an early alarm. Matchdays often start at 04:00 or 05:00 local time so he can watch games live.
"Which, you know, is pretty hard, but when you like a team, you've got to do what you've got to do," he said.
What has kept him connected to the Black Country club is not trophies or success, but the loyalty of its supporters.
"No matter what, through these financial issues, through these relegation pushes, fans have not wavered," he said.
"Whether good or bad, they're always there.
"Now I don't know if you can say that about the fair-weather Man City fans or Liverpool fans, but one thing that West Brom has is that loyalty and that's something I look for when I'm looking for a team."
After years of following from a distance, Jhaver is now getting ready to experience The Hawthorns atmosphere for himself, when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Like many Albion fans, he hopes the club's next promotion push eventually ends in success.
"If West Brom get promoted to the Premier League, it will be one of the greatest days ever," he said.
"So I'm just waiting for that day. Hopefully it comes soon, but I guess we'll see."