What would you do to go and see your team play an away match? Would you travel about 10,000 km to see your side grab a 0-0 draw in the second tier? That's the fate that befell any Baltika Kaliningrad fans on Saturday, if there were any.
Most football fans will have a story about a time they travelled to see their club. It doesn't have to be a long journey but it could be a memorable one all the same, whether the match was any good or not.
We've also all got those stories of the times we saw a 0-0 draw. Sometimes because the game was actually a very good 0-0 and sometimes because it was the worst game of football we've ever seen live.
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I can still remember Bury vs Cambridge United in the FA Cup on a very cold Tuesday night, it will likely haunt me forever.
But at least I didn't have to travel 10,000 km, or an 11 hour flight, in order to watch that match. That's the fate that Baltika Kaliningrad had to go through when they travelled that distance to Luch Vladivostok in the Russian second tier:
Of course if you were travelling from Moscow for the match you could have taken the Trans-Siberian Railway which takes just seven days, and probably comes with some wonderful views.
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Vladivostok is near Russia's borders with North Korea and China so it's a hell of a long way away and all teams in Europe will be very glad that Luch are in the second tier and nowhere near European competitions.
USA Based Wigan Fan Travels 5000 Miles Only For Bristol Game To Be Postponed
There's nothing like an away day for a football fan, even the annoyance of travel can be forgotten by a good sing-a-long and a stop at a motorway services. But travelling 5,000 miles to find there's no game can't be fun.
England is currently being beat up from all sides by the Beat from the East. It has made my journey to work hell- that 10 minute work is now really cold and I nearly slipped at one point.
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Of course it's causing all sorts of actual difficulties to people too.
In these times of extreme weather there's always a good chance of a football match or two being called off, especially in the Football League where underground heating might not be as good.
That's exactly what happened to Wigan Athletic and their game against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night when Rovers pitch was frozen. That was bad news for Will Jones who travelled nearly 5,000 miles only to find out the game was off.
Speaking to the Wigan Post the Utah native said, "I was disappointed, but I had known since last week that there was a good chance it would get called off, so I was prepared a little bit."
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But Wigan chairman David Sharpe was quickly in touch to offer Jones' the chance to go to the training ground the next day to meet the players, which the American unfortunately had to turn down:
Will then told the Post that the club have told him his favourite player, Max Power, will present him with a shirt after the weekend's match against Blackburn Rovers, an important fixture with the fellow north west side now top of League One.
Will said, "It's amazing, it's great. But it's not surprising because the club has always treated me greatly. It's amazing how kind everyone at the club is, it's a really fan-orientated club. I can't make it to the training ground, but I'm just happy to be able to watch their game (vs Blackburn)."
He's supported the Latics since meeting a fan of the club whilst at uni in 2012 and with their actions this week there's no doubt that he'll be a fan for life.
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We just hope he gets to see an entertaining game on Sunday.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Russia
