The Premature Celebration Award


Winners: Schalke 04 - 2000/1


The prize for premature celebration surely has to go to the fans of Schalke 04 who mistakenly thought their team had won the Bundesliga title on the final day of the 2000-01 season. Schalke needed to win at home to Unterhaching and hope HSV could beat Bayern in Hamburg.
Schalke went 2-0 down only to pull back to 2-2 before half-time (when it was 0-0 in Hamburg), then fell 3-2 behind only to come back and win 5-3.

Then came the news they had waited for: HSV went 1-0 up in the 90th minute.
The Schalke fans were celebrating the championship, but the game in Hamburg wasn't over - in the 94th minute Bayern squeezed home an equaliser.


Runners-up: Scarborough - 1998/9


"We went into the last game of the 1999 season needing a win to stay in Divison Three," explains Christopher Powell.

"We would survive providing our result equalled or bettered that of Carlisle's. We eventually drew 1-1 with Peterborough, while Carlisle were also heading for a 1-1 stalemate against Plymouth.
The final whistle blew and virtually all the Scarborough fans ran on to the pitch to 'celebrate'.

I however didn't, hearing instead that Jimmy Glass had just scored in the third minute of injury-time to send us down. Cue tears on the pitch and much laughter from the visiting fans, who had witnessed thousands of idiots prancing around, only to collectively fall to their knees as the news spread."


Honourable Mention: Bristol City - 1997/8


Followers of Bristol City also paid the price for their hastiness in 1998, according to Paul Hoggins. "Their supporters unfurled a banner saying 'champions' when Watford visited Ashton Gate in the Second Division towards the end of the campaign. The game ended 1-1 and Watford went on to win the title on the last day of the season. It was quite a nice banner, mind."



The Premature Melancholy Award


Winners: Manchester City Fans - 1998/9


Indeed he does, Ivor, as do those Manchester City-ites who walked out of the Second Division play-off final with their side trailing Gillingham 2-0 after 89 minutes.

They missed late goals from Kevin Horlock and Paul Dickov, before the Gills crumbled in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.


Runners-up: Liverpool Fans - 2005


Theirs was a feeling surely shared by certain Liverpool fans, prescient enough to leave last season's Champions League final at half-time.


Posthumous Mention: George Best - 1999

"After famously leaving the 1999 Champions League final a few minutes early to miss the traffic, surely George Best deserves an honourable, if not posthumous, mention among the legions of stupid fans?"

suggests Ivor Skrewkyk.



Biggest Idiot Award




Winner: Millwall Fans


From a National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) report on Bristol City's Division Two match with Millwall at Ashton Gate on March 17 2001:

"At 6.45pm the Millwall supporters were taken under escort towards the stadium. As they passed a public house, a group of 30-40 males came out and bottles and glasses were thrown and pub windows smashed. After a short while it became apparent that both groups were from Millwall and each thought the other were City supporters."

Runner-up: Tottenham Fan - 2001


It's 29 September 2001 and half time at White Hart Lane. Spurs are leading Manchester United 3-0 and, in a bid to impress his girlfriend, one Tottenham fan stakes his entire mortgage on Spurs to win the game. United go on to win 5-3 and the punter goes home to an empty house (and an empty bed).


Honourable Mention: Robert Nesbitt, Newcastle Fan


Dominic Hart reminds us of an even more painful experience, physically at least, suffered by Newcastle supporter Robert Nesbitt, who chose to have a large image of Andy Cole in full Magpies garb tattooed on to his right thigh ... two days before Cole left for Manchester United.

"I often wondered if Cole was tempted to get a tattoo of a complete idiot by way of tribute,"

smirks Dominic.


Source: The Guardian Unlimited