Is it ever okay for a sports fan to change their allegiance?

For some people switching, or even mixing, allegiances remains taboo.

A fan poses for a selfie outside The Kop whilst wearing a half and half scarf prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool and Leeds United at Anfield on January 01, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

“I was fanatically pro-German when the Germans were here to protect us against the Americans, and now that Americans are here to protect us against the Germans, I am fanatically pro-American … you and your country will have no more loyal partisan in Italy than me – but only as long as you remain in Italy.” 

This passage from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 – as an old Italian man explains the logic behind his fickle wartime expedience to a naive American soldier – plays with the question of what constitutes true strength. Universally perceived as weak, Italy are in fact the strongest nation in the second world war, according to the old man. And that, sort of, explains my feelings on football fandom.