Hailing from Indianapolis in America, John Green has brought a dose of international flavour to Wimbledon for the best part of a decade.
From initially curating a hit YouTube series whereby he played as the Dons on FIFA to sponsoring the back of our shorts, the award winning author has become part of the family at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Fresh off the back of playing a key role in helping the Club to permanently sign Joe Lewis, John sat down with us to look back on his time here and offered his own unique perspective on the following subjects:
- The story of our season so far
- How his love for the Dons continues to grow
- His relationship with Wrexham’s owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
- The involvement of American investment in English football
- The inside track on how he helped to make Joe’s move to Wimbledon a reality
Read the full interview with John down below!
How often do you get to watch our games when you’re in America?
I watch almost every single game via iFollow, so I’m able to follow along with the team pretty closely. I get out to Plough Lane maybe three times a season.
I got to take my kids to Mansfield Town away, it was great for my family to see another part of the UK, not just south-west London. There was no goals that day but I didn’t mind at all! I’ll take the point we got all day!
What’s been your highlight of your time supporting the Club?
I’ve got a lot of wonderful memories but the one that stands out was going to Wembley with my Dad for the League Two play-off final in 2016. I was with my Dad and several friends, it was a really special day. The Indianapolis 500 was the day before, it’s a very famous car race in the States, we got to go to that and then fly directly to London to take in that special day.
Going back to Kingsmeadow after we’d won was brilliant. My Dad had never seen the pitch before. We had a lot of fun celebrating with the players and the trophy.
The Don’t Forget To Be Awesome (DFTBA) logo has been on our shorts for several years now. How big a source of pride is that for you?
It’s something that we really love and value. It’s a real joy to be able to be part of the kit of this football club that I love so much and that lots of people in our community love. I still play FIFA sometimes, so I still get a little jolt of joy when I see our logo on the game itself.
You’re a great story teller. If you were to tell one about the season so far, how would it go?
It would be about a group of people who are overperforming because they care about each other and believe in what they’re trying to accomplish together. It’s one of my favourite kinds of stories – it’s a proper underdog story, we have a real fairytale. We’re never going to be the richest club in football but if we all contribute what we can contribute from players, to staff, to fans, I really think that there’s no ceiling for us.
I really enjoy watching the team this season. I think we’re playing Wimbledon football and that’s a joy to watch. It’s great to see a group of players that are playing for each other, playing for the shirt and playing for the fans.
