Fan club: Patriotas (Patriots in Portuguese)
President:Felipe Von Zuben
City: Based in Indaiatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, but does not have a regular physical location
When did you establish your fan club and how has it grown over the years?
Our fan club started in 2000, but we began to be more active this year after the Super Bowl. We created a **website**, **Twitter**, **Facebook** and podcast to talk about the Patriots in Portuguese. The people who love NFL here figured out that we were doing it with passion and they started to join us! We now have more than 4,600 followers on Facebook.
What motivated you to start your club?
I have been a big Patriots and American football fan for a long time. Once, looking at the Patriots website, I saw that it was possible to create a fan club, so I did it immediately to be closer to my passion.
Where do you meet?
We have members all over the country and since Brazil is a big country, we don't have a physical place to meet. Our solution was to create a website to spread the news in Portuguese and become closer to our members. We also created a weekly podcast. On our episodes, we talk about the Patriots and the messages that we receive from our members. That is a great way to keep us closer and continue to talk about the Patriots.
What are your plans for the upcoming season?
Our website has daily news about the Patriots and our plan is to keep up with that. Also our podcasts will be about every game of the season. We are very excited to spread Patriots news to every person who speaks Portuguese all over the world!
Why should fans join your club?
Especially for Brazilians, joining our fan club is a great opportunity to get access to news in Portuguese. Not everybody here can read English, so if you are a part of Patriotas you can stay up-to-date with everything that is happening in Foxboro in your language!
What is it like to be a football fan outside the U.S.?
It is like being an alien sometimes. I've heard a lot of our new members saying, "I thought it was only me who liked it [football], but now I have discovered a lot of Patriots fans." Football is growing a lot here over the past three years, though, and this season we have two TV channels broadcasting NFL games, so it will be easier to watch.
What else should people know about Patriotas and the Patriots fan base in Brazil?
There are more Patriots fans here that you can imagine!
To find a fan club or bar in your area, visit the** Patriots Official Fan Club and Bar Registry**.
