It was around 11 am in the morning, the 18th of March, the year 2015. I got a call from a friend back from secondary school. Folorunso Oke popular called "Folly". Folly and i had just recently got back in contact after almost a decade of no verbal communication except the occasional and casual pleasantries on Facebook. Folly was a very passionate and interesting football commentator back then in our secondary school days. I noticed this as early as my first year in secondary school. He was just about 12 years of age, a year older than i am but he was in his second year at the time. Folly's knowledge of football was unbelievable. No student in the school came close. In fact, our games master would need to consult Folly on Football matters. I on the other hand was a talented footballer but with almost no knowledge of it compared to Folly's. Folly was the guy that introduced myself and almost all the other students to the Uefa Champions League. Although most of us watch the Nigeria national team in World cup and Olympic games but not European Club competitions. That was the major live football experience most of us had. I got close to Folly in order to tap from his knowledge and that was how i became a football commentator on my own. It was easy for me because i loved and played the game so well. I started following Manchester United not quiet long and in no time, Folly and i were contemporaries on football matters.
That morning (18th, March, 2015), Folly had called to inform me about a Football Game show that was going to be aired all across Tv stations in Nigeria. It was the second edition of the Game show and it got a new and massive sponsor in MTN, perhaps the biggest Telecommunication company in Africa. I later realized Folly had called me up because he trusted my football knowledge and urged me to bring along another person whose football knowledge is also remarkable.
All About the Game Show
The show was organized by a company called Albelinis and was going to be sponsored by MTN. The name of the show was titled" MTN Fanz Championship Better Me Series" . It is similar to the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" game show because its quiz based format but with slight differences such as - the MTN Fanz Championhip always has 3 players per team including the captain, 2 questions have to be answered correctly and a penalty kick must be converted to make a goal which also counts for a point, and every goal must be celebrated. The show was anchored by a "Ushbabe" , a very popular comedian and celebrity of the Federal republic of Nigeria. The anchor of the show was also regarded as the referee.The major rules of the show are ;
(1) Questions are asked from three different areas of football which are ; Leagues, Tournament and Life styles of footballers. Participating teams have the right to pick questions from any of the 3 areas listed above at any given time randomly.
(2) Each team has 10 seconds to answer a question in which team members are not allowed to communicate in the first 5 seconds. Answers can be given in this first 5 seconds by any member of the without consulting other members of the team. The last 5 seconds can be used for discussion.
(3) A penalty kick is awarded after two questions after answered correctly. Any member of the team can step out to take the kick. Two mocking goal posts are available for both competing teams to take their penalties. The kicker must back the post and take the shot with his or her heel. The distance of the spot where the player will kick to the goal is about 5 meters.
(4) The duration for every match is 10 mins each per half.
(5) The referee is equipped with a yellow and a red card in case any player violates any of the rules and regulations of the game.
Myself and my Team's Participation in the show
Folly told me we were asked to come for auditions the following week. Immediately i dropped his call, i called Joshua and informed him about the show and he couldn't wait for the show to start. Joshua and I play football together for the same team and i trust his knowledge about the game. At the auditions, we were interviewed and our football knowledge was put to serious test. 16 teams were made available after the auditions and then divided into four teams per group into four places. The teams were named by the organizers and captains were selected for every team. ASO ROCKERZ FANZ TEAM was the name of my team and we were placed in group C. Folly was our captain and we were also given our kits on the day. On the day, the organizers announced to us that the winner will go home with a cash prize of $10,000 (Ten thousand dollars) and #250,000 (Two and fifty thousand Naira) for the Best Celebrated Goal. Cash prizes were also available for the first and second runner up and also for the Most Valuable Player.
We started shooting the following day and the experience was awesome. I have never been on a production set before so i took time to enjoy every bit of the experience. First, we had our faces properly made up before going in front of the camera. we were on set for over week. My team bowed out in the quarter-finals. On the last day of production, the producer of the show announced that the show will be aired on almost every Television stations across the country but at different times in two months time which is June. The producer also urged us to watch and solicit for votes from our loved once once our team is nominated for an award. When the show started airing, my family members and friends, people around my neighborhood started calling me they just saw me on Tv. It was a wonderful experience for me, i cherished every moment of it. As soon as the show reached half way, organizers announced the nominees for the awards and my team got nominated for the Best celebrated goal. Myself and my team members started soliciting for votes from our family members and to God be the glory, we were voted as the team with the best celebration.
A couple of weeks after the show has ended on Tv, organizers reached out to us and we were invited to their office and handed the cheque of #250,000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand Naira).
Below is a video of one of our games in the show. We played against Emirates Fanz team in the second game of the video below.
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