The Premier League's US Instagram account @PLinUSA celebrates the passionate, diverse PL fandom from coast to coast in the series Premier League passion in the US: Fans' stories.
Meet Sadikshya Bhandari, an avid Manchester United supporter in Maryland, who spends her day looking through two microscopes: she works as a scientist in a research lab and later engages with her thousands of followers in the world of social media.
That fandom began over 20 years ago in the country she grew up in, 7,600 miles from the Old Line State, where you can find many fans of the Red Devils.
Sadikshya
"United was big back in the ‘80s and ‘90s and still is now in Nepal. Along with the club’s success back then, David Beckham was a massive icon in Asia who propelled many people, including me, to become a fan.
"I don’t think people realize that because it’s a small country. We don’t even have a football team.
“My favorite memory is the treble-winning season in 1999, although I was young.
This is the smile I’m thinking of the most ♥️ pic.twitter.com/wBXYrMfk6G
— Sadikshya (@Sadikshya_) August 27, 2021
"In the mid-2000s, I moved to the United States for my undergraduate studies. It was hard to find matches, but I followed the club as much as I could.
"I was a huge fan who witnessed Man Utd be successful for over a decade, but my involvement with the club grew after Sir Alex Ferguson retired and we weren’t playing well.
"Around 2016, I became very active on Twitter and eventually became a contributor to Full Time Devils, the original Man United YouTube fan channel.
Global connection
"I began to engage with so many people from other cultures. Culture in the United Kingdom, especially the matchday experience, is so different from being a fan from Nepal or the United States. We’re not singing songs, we watch games at home.
"As my following grew, I got to know other United fans in the U.S. who I’ve also been able to attend pre-season games with. Fans back home in Nepal have reached out to me and are happy to see the representation of their community online. It's been so special to feel connected through this team no matter where I am in the world.
"Participating in ‘football Twitter’ and beyond has all been a learning experience. When I first started there were people who would question what I’d say because I was a woman and it made me a bit hesitant. It still happens, but I've changed my outlook and am very comfortable with who I am as a fan to interact within the United community.
"If you talk to any of my friends or family about what I do for fun besides my job, they’d all say I follow United. I do not have a single athletic bone in my body. I’m a nerd and I live the sport through my TV.
"I strategically try to schedule my time around when the club plays, especially work meetings with all the midweek matches this season. I thankfully have co-workers who also follow the Premier League, so we take lunch breaks together to talk about the games since we cannot use phones in our research lab.
"It’s nice to see how much the game has grown in the U.S. since I arrived. People here 5-10 years ago mostly wouldn’t recognize the United kit I’d be wearing in public, but now it’s a conversation starter.
"The club is a part of my identity and I hope it continues to stay that way because I don’t plan on changing anything. I follow this club under a microscope, analyzing every little thing they do... but that shouldn't surprise anyone!"
