What it means supporting rival football teams in a relationship

Maxela Mugisha and Lawrence Ogwal have been married for more than five years. One interesting thing about this couple is that they are both soccer lovers. Usually, women are not interested in football, but Mugisha is an avid Manchester United fan while Lawrence supports Arsenal. Ogwal likes Lionel Messi, while Mugisha is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo.

They have found a resolution to their disagreements, allowing each other to be entitled to their opinion.

Mugisha says, "He has argued several times, especially about certain players... for instance, he is a Messi fan while I am a Ronaldo fan. One day we argued about the two for an hour. I walked out of the car and got a boda boda home. We woke up okay the next morning. Football is football, so it cannot separate us because everyone is entitled to their opinion when it comes to football."

Ogwal also shares that it is always a bit of a war, especially when Arsenal beats Manchester.

"She comes out with all the justifications in this world. I hear the referee was favouring Arsenal, they should just tell us that VAR was brought to favour Arsenal. Well, that all goes away after a few days and we are very fine," he says, adding that non-hurting violence keeps the relationship going and enjoys banter as an Arsenal fan.

His best moment with her was when Gabriel Jesus sent Dalot away to score the winner last season, and her best moment was when Manchester United lost a game and he kept reminding her. 

Maxela recounts a time she almost slapped her man because of football.

"He pushes me to the edge when Arsenal is thriving and Manchester is losing. I remember this one time Arsenal had beaten Manchester United 2:0; he was laughing all the way home, and I felt like slapping him, but I told myself it is just soccer; ignore him."

No hard feelings

Sports can cause an emotional reaction, which can turn to anger and cause arguments but this should not be allowed to endanger what is otherwise a committed and loving relationship. By putting down some ground rules, it is possible to debate sports disagreements without harming your partnership such as how Emma Kizza and Winnie Nabatanzi decided to run their relationship.

“We agreed not to cross certain boundaries in our arguments when it comes to sports. We can have banter sometimes but that is it. Nothing more. We do not put emotions in our arguments,” Kizza says.

He adds that despite his girlfriend supporting another team, he will always offer a shoulder for her to lean on whenever her team is beaten, unlike other couples who resort to taunting their partners. 

Letting go

Ogwal says in the beginning, his wife would be angry whenever Manchester lost a game. But with the bad form Manchester United is going through, she has reduced the number of games she watches.

“I do not think she has watched a Manchester game this season,” he says.

Maxela on the other hand says that when Arsenal loses, she laughs at him through WhatsApp statuses because his words are very few when Arsenal loses. However, after that, she will find ways of making it up to him to make him feel better.

Sacrifice 

Timothy Nyanzi is a sports junkie. He enjoys everything sports. From football to basketball and cricket among other sports disciplines. His girlfriend Margaret Nanyonga is the opposite. She was interested in basketball and football before they met but she gave it all up when their relationship started.

“We would argue all day about sports. We would attend some games together but return home angry with each other over a game. 

So, to have a peace of mind, I decided to forego my passion for sports to save my relationship,” Nanyonga says.

What to do when your sweetheart roots for the rival team

According to loverly.com, here are some tips that can help:

Go to a game together: Each of you can attend a game where you do not play each other and cheer for the other’s team. It may be hard to stomach at first, but your partner will appreciate it and feel extra tender towards you. 

Host a game-night party: Getting your friends together to watch a match will help ease the tension between you and your spouse by creating a festive and playful environment. Invite your friends who could not care less about sports to help you keep things in perspective.

Watch games separately: Cannot keep the peace on game night? Go to separate locations to watch games when your teams are playing. It will keep you from biting each other’s heads off after every goal, and you will be relieved to be surrounded by like-minded fans.

Agree not to talk trash in front of each other: There is nothing worse for a relationship than petty arguments and below-the-belt insults, even if they are meant in jest. Agreeing not to talk badly about each other’s teams is a big win for the relationship.