Jay Jhaver's alarm goes off at 04:00 most Saturday mornings in Phoenix, Arizona. While his neighbours sleep, he is already in front of a screen watching West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, the club he stumbled upon by picking them at random on a Fifa video game years ago. This weekend, the alarm will not be necessary. Jhaver is flying approximately 5,000 miles to The Hawthorns to watch the Baggies in the flesh for the first time, when West Brom host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

How a Fifa click became a lifelong commitment

Jhaver has described his introduction to West Brom as entirely accidental. Scrolling through teams on Fifa and looking for a side to play as, he landed on the Black Country club and never looked back. "Ever since then, the rest has been history," he said.

Finding fellow supporters in Arizona has proved impossible. He believes he is the only West Brom fan in the entire US state. When he mentions the club to friends, the reaction tends to split two ways. "They either look at me like, 'what is that, I've never heard of that club', or the people who do know of it, they just laugh at me," he said. The follow-up advice is always the same: pick Liverpool, pick Man City, pick someone easier. Jhaver has consistently refused.

Pre-dawn alarms and long-distance loyalty

Supporting a second-tier English club from the other side of the Atlantic demands a particular kind of dedication. Championship kick-offs, which cluster around 15:00 on Saturdays in the United Kingdom, land at around 07:00 in Arizona during British Summer Time, and earlier still in winter. Midweek games push the local start time well past midnight. "Which, you know, is pretty hard," Jhaver said, "but when you like a team, you've got to do what you've got to do."

What has kept him invested is not silverware but the character of the support. West Brom's recent history has included financial pressures and repeated promotion near-misses, yet the fanbase has not drifted. "No matter what, through these financial issues, through these relegation pushes, fans have not wavered," he said. "Whether good or bad, they're always there." That consistency, he argued, is something the larger clubs with their global followings cannot always claim.

The Hawthorns awaits

Jhaver's trip will deliver what years of early alarms could not: the noise of a ground rather than a commentary feed, the smell of a matchday crowd, and the ability to cheer a West Brom goal without waking the street. The Blackburn Rovers fixture on Saturday gives him a Championship occasion to mark the milestone, rather than a cup tie or a friendly, and he will leave with a sense of the atmosphere that has drawn him in from thousands of miles away.

His long-term hope is straightforward. "If West Brom get promoted to the Premier League, it will be one of the greatest days ever," he said. "So I'm just waiting for that day. Hopefully it comes soon, but I guess we'll see."

For now, the journey itself is the story. A club that many in Arizona have never heard of has produced a supporter dedicated enough to cross an ocean to see them. The Hawthorns faithful will gain one more voice in the stands on Saturday, arriving via a Fifa menu and a very long flight.

Frequently asked

Who is Jay Jhaver and why is he famous among West Brom fans?
Jay Jhaver is a West Brom supporter from Phoenix, Arizona, who believes he is the only Albion fan in the US state. He became a fan after randomly selecting West Brom on the Fifa video game and has followed the club ever since, often waking before dawn to watch matches live.
When is West Brom vs Blackburn Rovers?
West Brom host Blackburn Rovers at The Hawthorns on Saturday. It is the match Jay Jhaver has flown from Arizona to attend for his first-ever live Albion experience.
How do international fans watch West Brom Championship matches?
Overseas supporters typically stream Championship matches through official broadcast partners in their region. For fans in the United States, this often means very early morning or late-night kick-off times due to the time difference with the United Kingdom.