Arizona student boards wrong boat in London, accidentally adopts soccer club: ⁠'I'm a Southend fan till I die now'

New York Times

08-04-2025

A 21-year-old tourist from Arizona inadvertently became a supporter of National League club Southend United after boarding the wrong boat in London.
Evan Johnston, who returns to the United States in May, thought he was boarding a Hop-On Hop-Off boat at Tower Millennium Pier near Tower Bridge on the River Thames for a cruise past some of London's landmarks.
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Instead, he stepped onto a 'party boat' chartered by around 150 Southend supporters which sailed along the Thames to south London-based Sutton United for a crucial match in the National League, the fifth tier of English football.
Speaking to the Southend Echo, Johnston said he 'had some suspicions' he was not on the correct boat.
'They seemed to know each other and were making chants I didn't understand,' he said. 'But I decided to board anyways because I figured if they checked tickets they would just turn me around and there would be no harm done.'
Johnston said he slipped on the boat 'undetected' after no ticket inspections took place, and soon forgot his sightseeing plans as he joined 1,458 Southend supporters for their trip to Gander Green Lane, Sutton's 5,013-capacity stadium.
Johnston said he 'had a blast' at the game and plans to go to Saturday's home clash against Solihull Moors, as Southend — whose nickname is 'the Shrimpers' after the town's coastal location and history — look to rise into the playoffs. '⁠I'm a Southend fan till I die now,' Johnston said.
Southend supporter Andy Ward recalled to the Echo that he was informed a 'young lad' was on the wrong boat. Upon finding Johnston 'to make sure was OK', the Arizona student was 'drinking and dancing with other Southend fans'.
Southend told The Athletic they will welcome Johnston to this Saturday's match at their Roots Hall home, providing him a 'behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium' and a chance to meet the players.
'After hearing Evan was one of the 1,459 fans in the away end at Sutton — by complete accident — we're really looking forward to welcoming Evan to Roots Hall this weekend for our match against Solihull Moors,' a Southend spokesperson said.
'Stories like Evan's show just how far the Southend spirit can travel. We're proud of our incredible supporters who continue to make such a positive impression and build connections that reach well beyond the UK. It's this passionate, welcoming and united fanbase that truly makes our club special.'
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The difficulty of getting promoted out of the National League and into the English Football League (the top four tiers) was made famous after Wrexham's exploits under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, documented in the Welcome to Wrexham series. Southend dropped to the fifth tier after back-to-back relegations in 2020 and 2021.
The former Championship club boast the highest average attendance in the National League with more than 7,000 supporters turning out for home matches, while at times, bringing more away supporters to other stadiums than the home teams.
Southend went 1-0 up in the first half at Sutton as centre-back Ben Goodliffe acrobatically volleyed home from a corner. They only drew the game, however, conceding through Ashley Nadesan in the final 15 seconds of the match.
After being hit with financial difficulties which saw the club issued points deductions and threats of being expelled from the National League, a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees completed a takeover of the club in the summer of 2023.
Southend are aiming to finish in the play-off spots for the first time since dropping to the fifth tier, sitting one point off seventh-placed Rochdale with five games remaining of the campaign.