According to Sky Sports, QPR fan Chris Kemp has attended 1,503 consecutive official matches, a record that has stood for over 30 years.

The sudden halt to football due to the COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge for QPR's dedicated supporter Chris Kemp. He explained that the current period felt like an off-season, but the prospect of prolonged days without football worried him more than most. The thought of missing matches could threaten the streak that means so much to him.

The 52-year-old civil servant has attended 1,503 consecutive official QPR matches, a record that began in September 1989 when the club lost 0-1 to Manchester City at Maine Road. Chris expressed concern that if football resumed behind closed doors and he couldn't attend, his record might be forced to end. He said: "If I can't attend these matches, do I have to exclude them from my record and start counting again when football truly resumes?"

Chris recalled several close calls over the years when his streak nearly ended. On one occasion, his car tyre burst on the motorway; on another away trip to Southampton, he encountered traffic and diversions, eventually stopping to ask a police officer for directions before running to The Dell, arriving just as the teams took the pitch.

He also recounted that in the 1980s, when Luton banned away supporters, a group of QPR supporters managed to get into the main stand at Kenilworth Road and chanted: "You'll never stop the R's."

This week's discussion about the EFL continuing matches held particular significance for Chris. He was awaiting confirmation from QPR's club historian to see whether his attendance record accounts for more than 25% of all QPR matches since the club's founding in 1882.

Chris maintains a "man cave" at home containing over 50 QPR jerseys, hundreds of match programmes, framed photographs, signed memorabilia, a complete collection of 872 "Roy of the Rovers" comics, and other QPR memorabilia spanning decades. He works in prison management and estimates he has spent around £80,000 solely on tickets and travel.

Chris said: "I really started supporting QPR at the end of the 1975/76 season, when Wolves played Liverpool, and Liverpool needed to lose for QPR to have a chance at the league title. I liked the team's name, vaguely remembered them playing in London, so I decided to make QPR my team. My first live match was a home game against Newcastle in the 1977/78 season."

Chris's father hated football, and he was taken to matches by his grandmother's decorator. The decorator knew Chris loved football and was a QPR season ticket holder, even letting him stand on a wooden bench to see over the concrete wall into the pitch.

Chris said: "My 1,500th match was an away game at Nottingham Forest earlier this season, and the last one was an away trip to Preston. We haven't won there in 40 years."

Due to his devotion to QPR, Chris has found himself in awkward situations. Whenever he attended away matches with friends, he planned to arrive three hours before kick-off to account for potential delays. In 1998, he even negotiated with his ex-wife, hoping their daughter Nicola would be born before the season started so he wouldn't miss any matches.

Chris said: "That was 1998, I didn't have a mobile phone, just a pager. The agreement was that my ex-wife would send me a message, and wherever I was, I'd head straight home. At that time, we were in the English second division, and away matches often involved four-hour journeys. Honestly, it would have been impossible to leave mid-match. I just hope my ex-wife doesn't see this article."

In November 1998, QPR played Barnsley at home on Wednesday and Bolton at home on Saturday of the same week. Chris recalls that after returning home from the Barnsley victory, he spoke to his wife's belly that it was fine if the baby wanted to be born now. The next morning, her waters broke, and Nicola was born at 3:06 p.m. that day. The following Saturday, Kevin Gallen gave QPR a lead against Bolton at 3:06 p.m., which Chris sees as a sign.

Chris has won the "Fan of the Year" award multiple times, and QPR has sent him signed jerseys each time he reached a milestone. In February this year, a week before his 1,500th match, the away game at Nottingham Forest, manager Mark Warburton personally sent him a congratulatory message. Chris has a match programme from every game, though most remain in his ex-wife's attic.

Chris witnessed Liverpool's last league title. In April 1990, Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool beat QPR 2-1 at Anfield, securing their 18th league title. Eight years ago, he also watched Manchester City defeat QPR with Sergio Aguero's injury-time winner at the Etihad to win the Premier League title.

Chris says QPR's victories stand out most in his memory: "The 2014 playoff final at Wembley, because it was the first time I saw us win there. After one of our players was sent off, I thought we had no chance of winning, so the last-minute victory felt miraculous."

He also mentioned that QPR secured their first away win at Liverpool in 1991, and nine months later, on New Year's Day 1992, they beat Manchester United 4-1 away. QPR also achieved first-time away wins against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest during this record streak. In an away match at Port Vale in 1997, QPR fell behind 0-4, an opposition goal that should have stood was incorrectly disallowed, and QPR ultimately drew 4-4. A few years later, QPR trailed 0-3 away at Stockport, rallied to 3-3 in the second half, and Chris Kiwomya's last-minute shot hit the post and went wide.

Chris said: "My one regret is that this record doesn't include European matches. That's a real shame, because I would have liked to at least try to take the record abroad. I'm not sure if Cardiff, Wrexham, and Swansea count!"

When QPR travelled to Preston on 7 March, they came from a goal down to win 3-1 with ten men, securing their first victory at Deepdale since 1980. This win gave QPR hope for a late push towards the Championship playoffs and a return to the top flight after five years away from the Premier League.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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