A natter with NATA

Blackpool fans are everywhere!

We caught up with our overseas Exile Officer, Jeff Hembury, to find out how things have been progressing with the North American Tangerine Army. Jeff is based in Colarado and has been pivotal in connecting Blackpool supporters in the States.

Can you tell us why you formed the North American Tangerine Army (NATA) and what progress you have made so far?

NATA was officially formed in 2011. I got in touch with my cohort James Guy through twitter and got chatting over a few match days. It got to a point, where we figured there must be more Blackpool fans over here - so we hit the message boards & started tweeting to see who else was out there. This was an idea born out of curiosity to be honest - neither of us had any pre-conceived notion to put a supporters group together, but it happened organically as more and more fans made themselves known to us. We are still a small group, but I get the feeling there are a lot more North American based fans over here.

What areas of the States have Blackpool supporters contacted you from?

Wow - all over. We have fans in Washington state, California, Arizona, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, Illinois, Florida, New York, West Virginia, Ohio - I'm sure I'm forgetting some. We also have representation from most provinces in Canada & someone from the Cayman Islands!

How important do you think it is for fans to become members of a supporters group?

Being part of a supporters group certainly gives a sense of belonging. Its been great to know that there are others over here that live life through tangerine tinted specs - its not the same as going to a match, but its fun interacting with our fellow fans over here in similar time zones. Our match day routines are quite different - for most of us, its too early to be drinking anything but coffee & we're listening in on the tangerine player. Occasionaly we get to see a match on TV, but its been a while! I'm sure we've got seasiders all over the world and it would be great to see some more fans groups popping up. A supporters group also shows the club that their 'catchment area' extends way beyond Blackpool now!

Finally, for our supporters living in America how can they get in touch with NATA?

Early last year James and I were contacted by Gerald Mortensen - he has really been driving our increased online presence.

Our Website Click Here

Facebook Click Here

Follow us Twitter @nataseasiders

Fans can also email the group at info@nataseasiders.com - new members are always welcome!