Nine year old Ethan Brown has wanted to attend a Northern Ireland match for a long time and in September the opportunity finally arrived!
As nephew of one of Northern Ireland's biggest fans, Dave Elliott, Ethan was given the tickets as a surprise and he couldn't have been happier about it. We talked to both Dave and Ethan after the game.
Dave, how long has Ethan been wanting to go to a match?
"Ethan is a massive football fan and has been nagging me to take him to a game for ages! He got lucky that none of my other mates were available for the Bosnia game so I kinda had to take him by default!
"Only joking, I was glad to take him and I actually surprised him with the tickets. He was over the moon! Initially he thought we were going to the cinema to see the Avengers. Not that it's a bad film, but an NI game is definitely better!"
Ethan, how does it feel to be our Northern ireland Fan of the Month?
"It feels really good. I love Northern Ireland and being the Fan of the Month makes me feel like part of the team. Hopefully when I'm older I will be part of the team for real."
Did you enjoy your first game?
"I loved my first game. Even though we didn’t win I had a great time and I got to see my favourite player Will Grigg score a goal!"
Dave has been attending games for some time and would encourage others to bring young family members along to experience their first game .
Dave, how good was it for you personally to get to take Ethan to his first game?
"Even now that I'm old and dishevelled I still remember how it felt when my dad took me to my first game and that buzz of excitement I got walking out onto the terrace and seeing the pitch for the first time. So being able to share that excitement with my nephew was very cool."
Ethan, what was your favourite part of the experience?
"Walking over the bridge and seeing the stadium and hearing the fans singing made me even more excited than I already was. I also loved seeing Kyle Lafferty and Will Grigg play and singing along with the rest of the fans.
"I loved it all really and can't wait to come back!"
You can watch a video of Ethan's first GAWA experience at our Nation's League match against Bosnia & Herzegovina by clicking on the video at the top of the page.
Ethan Brown | FotM September
