Thread by @SebaHGarcia

QPR changed my life. If you don’t believe me, please read this thread. It’s self-referential but I can’t help it, because this wonderful football story had me in the spotlight. Today it’s 15 years since it happened and it’s an event that to these days sounds incredible.
Thread...

The story begins more than 15 years ago in my hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I became obsessed with football-management games. There was a Spanish version called PC Fútbol and one day I chose a club whose name struck me because it consisted in just 3 letters: QPR.

After clicking on that name, I saw the beautiful shirt and as an experienced user of PC Fútbol, the clincher for me was that the club was in financial difficulties. It was going to make it a real challenge to manage them. I was right, but I never expected what was to come.

A couple of years later…internet arrived. Of the first few things I found myself searching in that dial-up era, were Kinks and Beatles lyrics and of course…. @QPR results. Did they still have the same players I managed? Where were they in the standings?

@QPR Those were the days before social media. We had the internet forums. Of course I looked up for some QPR ones. But there was a dilemma: “I’m from Argentina. They will hate me because of the war and because of the Hand of God goal. I better not write. I’ll just read”.

@QPR My English was not very good at the time. That also didn’t help me to take the decision to write and let all those people I read on a daily basis, that across the Atlantic there was somebody from Argentina suffering for QPR.

One day I went for it and I wrote. The messages I got were a mix of disbelief (How is it that there is an Argentine QPR fan?) and of suspicion (“I’m sure this is one of us taking the piss. Right…who’s pretending to be from Argentina? Come on! Stop it!”)

But when they realised this was true, a beautiful friendly relationship began between us. A few years later, some really tough times came for QPR. Relegation to the 3rd tier. Administration. Fans collecting money to buy players (I mean, literally!).

And in 2004, 15 years ago, the resurgence began. With Ian Holloway in command of an incredible bunch of players, which included my compatriot Gino Padula, QPR got promoted to the 2nd tier by beating Wednesday 3-1 in Sheffield.

“We have to celebrate this”, said Eamonn, an Irish QPR fan who followed the team from the distance. “We have to collect money to fulfil Sebastian’s dream. Buy tickets and get him to see QPR”. Oh, man. This is insane. I can’t accept this. I’m embarrassed.

They insisted. I didn’t want to accept it. “Look at it this way”, they said. “Tonight at the pub, I’ll save the money from one pint I really don’t need and I’ll pledge that to raise for your trip. If a few of us do it, it won’t cost us a lot. And it’d be great to have you here”

Several people did it. In 2 days, they had gathered enough for 2 Buenos Aires-London round tickets. My girlfriend at the time didn’t want to travel along. She prioritised her studies. Our relationship was almost over. And it ended. I went alone. Time proved we were both right.

Another personal event to mention. In 2002, my mother and 2 brothers had emigrated after the big financial crisis of 2001. I took a gamble and stayed. I had a job and a girlfriend. But by 2004 I had none and so in September I traveled to meet my newly-born niece and to see QPR.

So we reach the week prior to 11 September, 2004. I wasn’t just another week. The Tuesday before flying, I read Argentine newspaper Olé and they were running a story on QPR! “Ramon Diaz will manage QPR”. Wait, what? My QPR? (Couldn't find Olé's article. Here's one from @Emol)

@Emol QPR had just started the season in a bad way. In relegation places. The manager who only a few months before had promoted the club, was about to be sacked. Apparently, the story about Ramon Diaz was right, but the way it was leaked by the media, made the deal collapse.

@Emol The episode at the airport deserves a thread of its own (don’t worry, I’ll spare you). But it was like taking part of “Who wants to be a millionaire: QPR Edition”. I had no money, no credit cards. The airport staff didn’t believe me a few fellow QPR fans had paid for my trip.

@Emol The security officer made me at least 8 QPR-related questions. “What’s the colour of their shirt?”, “Who’s the manager?”, “How would you travel to the ground?”. Blue & white hopos, Ian Holloway and I’ll get off at White City station. I was on fire! Could have been there all day!

@Emol The week prior to the game against Plymouth @Only1Argyle was magic. I went to the Kiyan Prince Foundation stadium (aka Loftus Road) before the game. I met @Ginopadula3 and we happened to have played in the same little club (Portela) in the outskirts of Buenos Aires when were kids

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 I was interviewed by Phil Parry (@philcparry) from the BBC. We spoke in my broken and nervous English. I couldn’t believe what I was living. And almost all of the things took me by surprise. I don’t have many pictures and I have no videos. I think I predicted a 2-1 win for QPR.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry Before the game my friends told me to go to a nearby pub: Bush Ranger. There were a lot of users from the forum waiting for me. In order for me to be able to recognise them, they produced t-shirts with their usernames and gave me mine, with “Seba” and number 11.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry There were more surprises. Plymouth fans had developed a nice friendship with my friends from the forum and they went along to the Bush Rangers and they gave me their tangerine shirt edition as a present. What a gesture!

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry We went to the ground. We started 0-1 down (David Friio) after just 7 minutes. That was tough to take. We scored on 29 minutes (Paul Furlong) and my friend Andy told me to go with him to pick up my ticket for the next game just before the break.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry A club secretary was there waiting for us with an envelope with my name on it and my ticket for the next game, courtesy of a club official who knew about my trip. I was thinking of heading straight to my seat, but my friend fooled me and I found myself on the pitch.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry There was a guy with a mic and he was in charge of the half-time ceremony. Players walking besides me heading to the dressing rooms and then the hosts introduced me as one of the “Round the pole” participants. A game in which you get dizzy and then have to take a penalty.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry I was last in the order. The first 2 guys had fallen to their asses and the 3rd one hit it really badly but score. Pressure was on me. I was representing my country (I took it that way!). I can’t screw this up. The host told the crowd my story and there was a standing ovation.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry I literally hit the best penalty I had ever score before falling to my knees and saying something I don’t remember to the ecstatic fans. I won a fantastic prize: a DVD player! Mothers would ask me for a pic with their kids. I signed autographs. Returned to my seat and we won 3-2.

@Emol @Only1Argyle @Ginopadula3 @philcparry QPR then started a run of 7 consecutive wins. Not only escaping relegation but also, thanks to the huge effort from the players (some of then playing through injuries), kept Holloway in charge. And my life, coming out of depression which started in late 2003, changed forever.

That trip gave me a boost which came in a way and from a source which were completely unexpected. From then on, I started gaining in confidence, saw my family again and started finding great job opportunities. Today I follow @QPR from Buenos Aires and I will never let them go.