There are men who change their religion, others who shift political allegiances and those who do not find it hard to seek other pastures. But few, if any, switch from supporting a football team to back another.

A political party can disappoint its followers to such an extent that people change sides to give their backing to a rival party. Most do so not really because of political ideology, but following a decision which might not be personally beneficial, or because expected favours are not granted.

A religion can prove to be a disillusion for some others, and these either lose interest and stop practising or, in some cases, move to follow another religion in search for better personal satisfaction.

Men who see their partners walking away with another, in general terms, turn to other women. Others simply walk away and can betray their woman even if she is the most loyal partner they could have.

But things are totally different in football, it seems. One’s team can fail all expectations, does not fulfil one’s dreams and may even not win anything for years, sometimes for generations, and yet the passion for that particular team remains. Many times it grows too, even when things look bleak and one disappointment follows another.

One may not call home if he is spending a few nights away from the family, but if his favourite team is playing he will still want to know the outcome of the match.

What is it that keeps people, in particular men, glued to their television sets as they bite their nails for 90 minutes, oblivious of anything else that goes on around them? What makes them erupt in pure joy following a goal and later a victory, or drop them in despair if the ball hits the post and their team loses?

Observers have for long tried to explain this phenomenon, but there is little that they can point fingers at.

They cannot even explain why, at a young age, children pick their favourite team and continue following it through their youth onto adulthood and old age. Many follow in their father’s footsteps and support the team that he does, but then there are many more who make a complete shift.

In Malta, it is not uncommon to find families that are “divided” in the teams they support. They might, say, support England but then one backs Manchester United, another Liverpool and a third family component supports Arsenal. In other families, one supports Juventus, the other Milan and yet another backs Inter. Not to mention “mixtures” of the two.

Supporting Italy or England may have its political roots in Malta, but how can one explain what pushes a person to support a particular team and not another? As it is normal for a team to be “picked up” at a young age, it is common for children who start following football at a young age to choose a winning side – for example, many children of the 1970s support Juventus or Liverpool, while those of the 1990s back Milan or Manchester United.

Still, there are many others born in these decades that did not follow the natural path and support other teams. Some have never seen their team win a Champions League or a national title, and yet their support continues unabated in the hope that their time will eventually come and their joy will be bigger than those whose team wins regularly.

What is sure is that supporting a team creates a bond. Complete strangers hug each other in stadia and celebrate together just because they have one common factor. Others cry together.

Football is a social passion that is hard to explain and it is perhaps this that makes it the most popular game in the world.