VANCOUVER, BC – James Barnes (pictured on the right) grew up a West Ham supporter, though he’s hesitant to admit it. Manchester United is his English team of choice these days, as evidenced by the big logo on his wallet.
But there’s a new team he holds close to his heart.
Barnes, who has autism, is a first-year Vancouver Whitecaps FC Season Ticket Member. The England native was hooked after taking in a couple home matches over the past few years.
“It was so much fun that I thought, I kind of want a season ticket,” Barnes told whitecapsfc.com. “I bought a season ticket this year and then I heard about WFC2, and I wanted to be a part of that. So now I’m a double season ticket holder.”
Barnes, who just turned 19 on Sunday, bought the tickets with his own savings. He attends the matches by himself. It’s not a social event for him. It’s a passion.
“You can guarantee that I’ll be there every game in the corner,” Barnes said, “yelling at Jozy Altidore.”
Asked what he likes about Whitecaps FC, Barnes paused and said: “All of it, really.”
He raved about
Pedro Morales
and
Kekuta Manneh
. He said he thought
Octavio Rivero
was a “very good pick up.” And he didn’t have enough good things to say about the atmosphere at BC Place.
“I had no idea how crazy it was,” Barnes said. “I’m on the other side from the Southsiders but they’re a whole different class of crazy. As soon as we scored against Toronto, I knew the roof was going to come off. Good thing it was open, because if it wasn’t that thing would have come off.”
“There was a little girl in front of me and she was yelling,” Barnes added. “And she was like four.”
The club got wind of Barnes’ story and invited him to training last week. He mingled with the players and got some photos, which are “going up on his wall.”
“It was kind of surreal,” Barnes said. “One of the staff said, ‘Do you want to go over there to meet them and I was like, yeah I do but I can’t because they’re like a different class.’ But they were so chill about it. They just came over and gave me a picture and a handshake. Everybody lined up like I was some kind of important person. It was really good.”
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are now on sale. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket, and single match tickets. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
