Soccer Equipment Reviews

Although we’re known for our equipment reviews, SER decided to shake things up and give you a doll review!

You may be surprised that this is our first ‘doll’ review, and because most of you are probably unfamiliar with the name, we’ll let No1 Fan tell you about themselves-

“The No.1 Fan is a football gift designed to appeal to football fans of all ages. This is a hologram protected official licensed product from the UK’s leading sporting brands.

The No.1 Fan sways his hips, and waves his scarf when a button on the base is pressed. The button also triggers audio samples of chants or songs that relate to the team, e.g. ‘You’ll never walk alone’ for Liverpool FC or ‘Glory Glory Man Utd’ for Man Utd. The chants are sung by a crowd but with the lone voice of the single Fan projected forward.

The No.1 Fan is made of a mixture of ABS and plastic but is clothed in fabric jeans and a fabric mini replica team shirt.

It is 23cm (9 and 1/4 inches) tall, including the base, which is itself just under 3cm (1 and 1/4 inches). It conforms to all UK and EU standards and regulations and the WEE directive.

We have negotiated licences with Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC. The No.1 Fan will launch with those 4 clubs in August ’09. We are adding eight more UK clubs, three European and several national sides in the months following the launch.”

Thanks to Paul Jeffrey from No1 Fan, we here at SER were able to obtain one of their fans, so thanks to Paul once again for making this ‘review’ possible. Due to its nature, we obviously can’t review it like we do with our other products, so this will be more thought and opinion based!

The small but increasing number of clubs’ fans being produced include the names of the ‘Big 4′ as well as a few smaller clubs. No1 Fan have also just released their England Fan in preparation for the World Cup. We naturally chose the Manchester United fan, as the Red Devils are the best club in the world (opinion)!

The Fan is designed and modeled after the ‘typical’ English Premier League fan; triple chinned, beer bellied, die-hard football fanatic. The Fan is adorned in a realistic Man Utd kit, which actually feels like a jersey. His jeans which are rolled up above his work boots are really denim! The scarf with Man Utd splashed across it is soft like real scarfs are. He is the real deal! Just the look of him makes a good doorway figure, but that’s not even the best part. His chanting is unbelievable! The little thing belts out his club’s songs and chants, and our particular fan’s singing of “Glory, Glory Man United” as well as other songs from the Red Side of Manchester, rang out across our home. While not of any real practical use, the fan is a great little product. Just like No1 Fan promised, he does make for a good gift, and at $19.99, you don’t have to feel guilty about not giving your friends a birthday present!