The love of Fulham stretches from West London to the east coast of Africa.
I arrived in Durban this week with more than a thousand delegates at the World Economic Forum to the sound of the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.
We were here with investors, from more than 100 countries, to discuss fears over crashing economies all over the world. The first words person I ran into was one of the organisers who spends most of his life in air-conditioned splendour near the lake in Geneva.
"Play offs ! Yes!" says the fellow fan, grabbing my arm, followed by a rapid-fire conversation about the talents of Sone Aluko and Chris Martin. He hopes to get a ticket, through his brother-in-law in Dulwich who injected him with the Fulham virus in the glory days of Roy Hodgson.
We realised we shared the same bug at a WEF conference many moons ago. We were in a bar in Cape Town where the air was thick with talk of Manchester United and Liverpool. I thought this bloke from WEF would be more into skiiing than football. Who do you support ? I asked, almost as a joke.
"Fulham," came back the straight reply as if it was nothing - to me, it was like coming across an elephant strolling down Fulham Palace Road. We talked into the night about Hodgson and Europe and have been firm friends ever since.
Anyway, the reason I am mentioning this is because it sums up the fervour that is being whipped up around the world about Fulham. At last, it seems the grand old team of SW6 is stirring.
I think Sheffield Wednesday will be a tough nut to crack this Sunday. From what I have seen they are a sturdy set of no nonsense players.
Remember, they did the treble against us only last season? Plus there is going to be a fanatical crowd behind them; the people of Sheffield have waited long - and eaten a lot of humble pie - on their way back to the top and are unlikely to be denied very easily.
Speaking of humble pie; I have eaten a truckload with Fulham over the last 28 years. It happens when you stand in the rain and lose 1-0 to Exeter City away.
A Brentford supporter (I hope this wasn't false news) accused me of arrogance for my last column that said I was glad we didn't batter the Bees because it meant there was no false pride, nor overconfidence, leading into the last few crucial games.
I don't really understand. For a start, arrogance and Fulham don't really sit that well together. Secondly let they who are without sin cast the first stone - wasn't it the boys from Griffin Park singing: "Bees up, Fulham down" at Craven Cottage last year? A kick when a man is down in 20th position if ever there was one.
Thirdly, it's only a game.
Chris Bishop is the managing editor of Forbes Africa and follows Fulham from South Africa. You can follow him here: @ChrisBishopZA
