Like a new born baby, Football Manager is one of life's greatest gifts; so why not bring these two wonders of the world together to create the most memorable day of your life?
Ladies and gentlemen, meet 24-year-old Matt Penrose, a brave but intelligent man who decided to bring his laptop to the hospital while his fiancé was in labour for 38 long and grueling hours.
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Penrose's journey on that day was eventful, to say the least.
After learning his partner had gone into labour, he quickly jumped on a train back from London to Brighton after going to The Valley that night to watch his side face Charlton.
But before heading to the hospital, Matt decided to head back home to get some 'essentials':
"She went into labour the night Brighton played Charlton in a friendly at The Valley, so she actually had to drive herself to the hospital as I was at the game," Matt told SPORTbible.
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"I got the train to Brighton to see her, and once they said he wasn't going to be born that evening, I headed home to get some essentials, including my laptop.
"Once I'd got back to the hospital and opened up the laptop she said "typical Matt!" and just rolled her eyes."
For most women waiting to give birth, the mere thought of your partner arriving on the scene with a laptop in their hand to play Football Manager would certainly cause at least an argument or two.
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But that didn't happen when the father-to-be walked in the room, although a certain someone (his fiancé) did reveal her "embarrassment" when nurses and mums-to-be spotted him playing 4-4-2 with Lazio:
"I wasn't annoyed that he was playing it, it was a long and stressful labour as was the pregnancy, and I'm sure that's what got him through it." Grace told us.
"He stopped when I needed him to but he continued to keep me updated on how his team is doing (regardless of how many times I tell him I don't care)."
"When he opened his laptop and said that he was going to play Football Manager, I wasn't even surprised. It's the story of my life.
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"It was embarrassing when nurses and the other mums-to-be spotted that he was playing it though."
Despite distractions from here, there and everywhere, Matt managed to play half a season with his beloved Lazio side, spending precious time in the Stadio Olimpico...beside a hospital bed:
"She was in labour for 38 hours so I managed to get about half a season played," he said.
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"That was my fourth season in charge of Lazio - the first three ended in a 3rd place finish, a 2nd place finish and finally I managed to get my hands on the Scudetto in my third season." he said.
"I ended up playing for another season which resulted in another Scudetto. I finished my time at Lazio with 2 Serie A titles, an Italian Cup, an Italian Super Cup and a Europa League."
The 24-year-old decided to post a picture of his set up on Twitter and it soon went viral.
The story doesn't finish there. After he posted the tweet, the guys over at Football Manager sent him a free copy of the game on release day to celebrate baby Hugo's birth:
"I also want to say how great Football Manager were to me, they sent us a free copy of FM19 on release day," he told us.
"Now that Hugo's been born it's tougher to find the time but I'm managing Genoa at the moment with varying levels of success so far.
"He's now very into football and watched us in the FA Cup semi-final while I was at the game"
So after 38 hours of labour, which included 18 hours of constant updates from the Stadio Olimpico, how does Grace feel about the Football Manager franchise? Surely she now has a new found respect for the game?
"My thoughts on Football Manager are genuinely that I hate it." she confessed.
"It is constantly on, as well as Football being on the TV too. It causes so much emotion from Matt. He'll just celebrate out of nowhere and wake the baby up, or he'll be in such a foul mood that I can't even talk to him.
"But I love him more than I hate the game and I can't wait to marry him (with our slightly football themed wedding!)"
We wish Matt, baby Hugo and his fiancé Grace the best of luck in the future and who knows, this young lad might end up on Football Manager one day.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: gaming news, Football News, GAMING, Football Manager, Football, FM
