A loyal England fan has gained praise from Americans on social media after claiming he is showing that ‘England fans are humans’ while supporting the Three Lions at the World Cup.
Paul ‘Tango’ Gregory has followed England both at home and on the road for the past four decades, and hasn’t missed a match since the 1980s, saying that watching his country is ‘the best hobby in the world’.
Despite previous worries regarding ticket prices for this summer’s World Cup, Gregory is in the US and has booked his flights and accommodation for each of England’s group games.
It will be the superfan’s 18th major tournament watching the Three Lions, and he is currently in Orlando, Florida, ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s side taking on Costa Rica in their final warm-up match.
While across the pond, Gregory, who is also a Sheffield Wednesday fan, has made it clear through a series of social media posts that he is ‘spreading the gospel’ that England fans are normal.
In his latest post, he shared pictures of himself topless having a ‘culture day’ at the Kennedy Space Center, which appears to have endeared him to American social media users.
Paul ‘Tango’ Gregory hasn’t missed an England match since the 1980s and is currently enjoying a visit to Florida
The England superfan attended the Three Lions’ warm-up match against New Zealand on Saturday
‘Legendary pic! Enjoy your time in the States and my man, get some SPF 70 sunscreen and some aloe gel for tomorrow morning. You’ll thank me soon enough,’ wrote one person.
Another said: ‘Hope you have a wonderful time in the States. Happy to have you! A lot of hate on the timeline right now, so wanted to share some love.’
A different user then added: ‘Love it. Very brave of you to stand in the Florida sun and heat today without a shirt! Or hat.’
One person loved the post so much they tried to persuade ‘Tango’ to travel to Houston, Texas, to visit the Mission Control Center.
‘Lol, best England post so far this wc. Come to Johnson space center too you legend,’ they said.
While Gregory is currently loving life in the US as he keeps his England matchgoing streak alive, there is a possibility that it comes to an end during this World Cup.
Speaking back in December, he expressed his frustration at FIFA’s outrageous ticket prices at the tournament, with the majority of England games set to cost fans over £500.
‘It’s appalling. A lot of fans who were planning to go now won’t be able to,’ he told The Sun. ‘I was going to apply for tickets but not at those prices. It’s killing the sport and it’s pure greed.
‘Tango’ hassaid that he is ‘spreading the gospel showing that us England fans are humans’
‘We’ve booked our flights and accommodation for the group stage but, after that, I think we will be watching on TV.
‘I think it’s killed everybody’s World Cup off before its even started. It’s a working man’s sport but they have absolutely killed it with the prices.
‘You just cannot justify paying that sort of money, even though you’ve been going for years, to watch football matches. It’s like paying off a big chunk of your mortgage. I think there will be a lot of empty stadiums.’
England’s first game is against Croatia on June 17, before they take on both Ghana and Panama.
