History - The Beginning
It all started back in early 2009, a regular Brazilian kid that loved football more than everything - and only cared about the sport - went to a street market and bought the newest FIFA edition: FIFA 09.
With plenty of free time, his idea was to start a career mode with a lower league team and put it on the top flight.
A fan of English football and the way that supporting used to be - with plenty of party on the stands and whatsoever - he started looking into the lower leagues and somehow, by any means, Sheffield Wednesday was the one that enchanted him the most.
Such a beautiful kit and a high quality striker - Marcus Tudgay - was exactly what he aimed for.
Barely he knew what was coming next...
With a positive start of the season, getting to know player names and characteristics; why not have a look on how do the real Sheffield Wednesday was doing?
It was something like 10/12 of February, every single news related to Sheffield Wednesday referred to a stunning victory that "the Owls" had had against their city rivals -
Sheffield United -.
Watching the match highlights, the young kid saw the main striker of his FIFA squad, doing what I believe no one else did at "The Lane"...
Take a bow Sir Marcus Tudgay, this goal changed a youth's life!
First, with an undeniable bullet right in the top left corner, then
- with so much passion demonstrated - he ran across the pitch, shutting the home fans and celebrating insanely with the away end... That was it, Rafael Marques's life was about to change
and he had a new affair: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
Week in - week out following the results, reading and sending replies on Twitter to SWFC related profiles...
I could say I was kinda a fan.
As the years went though, kept playing with Wednesday on FIFA's subsequent career modes and had a few delights with players like Akpo Sodje, Jermaine Johnson, Clinton Morrison, Gary
Madine, Chris O'Grady, Michail Antonio and many others from recent times.
My followers on Twitter were mainly Owls and in order to that, in 2012, with many help from @wednesdayite, @BrazilOwls was born.
Creating the fanpage, promised myself I'd do what I could to follow and get to know about the club that I've had "longing" cared of.
Had a couple of opportunities to see live streams and feel what being an Owl looked like. In every streamed match, I was amazingly delighted with the fact I could watch my "second club" somehow,
but those were hard times.. We draw many of them and being honest I only remember a comeback victory against Oldham in the cup that certainly made my day, while the others ended up pissing me off
and moaning on Twitter 😂
(Those were the days lads! Nowadays I rather shut my mouth than moan on Twitter - #InCarlosWeTrust 😂)
I loved the fact that I supported a Championship team, most of my friends made laughs of me cause they couldn't believe it was something real.
Till the day come, @theboywednesday reached me on Twitter and said he'd give me one of his own Sheffield Wednesday kit so I could keep spreading the word here in Brazil...
I never thought it would happen, but it did 😲💙
Away Kit from Jermaine Johnson #8 - 2011/12 season
Unfortunately I couldn't meet the lad, a friend of his gave me the gift in São Paulo and still, I hadn't met with any Owl 😐
I'll be forever grateful for this gift, I lost the count of how many times I wore it proudly here in São Paulo/Brazil, spreading the word that we are everywhere and nowhere baby.
In 2014, England would come to Brazil for the World Cup and I knew it was my chance to find at least ONE Owl that would come to see the national team. And I was right, @Ben_Squires was the one and only I could actually meet here in São Paulo, and he didn't came alone:
Signed Home Kit - 2013/14 season
Speechless I was again...
My sympathy for the club only kept growing unstoppably. Bunch of great mates I had on Twitter from all over the world, two amazing gifts received, supporting a team across the ocean.. I was in
love. Had to find a *way* to make my way to S6.
To this day I was 19, fighting to earn a scholarship in England so I could live the dream to be at Hillsborough, get to know my mates from Twitter and live the experience of a Sheffield
Wednesday game.