Collingwoodfc.com.au is giving supporters from around the world the chance to share their experiences following the mighty Pies. The first fan to tell his story is Patrick McGeoch, who grew up barracking for Collingwood in country Victoria but has been forced to dig deep to keep track of his club since moving to the United Kingdom in 2010.

To share your story with us, email digitalmedia@collingwoodfc.com.au and tell your tale of following Collingwood from abroad.

As a Collingwood supporter growing up in the AFL centric landscape of country Victoria, there was precious little else discussed come winter apart from the fortunes of the Pies and footy in general. Every newspaper was devoted to it, all your mates dissected the games on a Monday morning, TV and radio programs analysed it endlessly. It was an all-consuming topic and that was just the way I liked it. This trend continued into adulthood, and I found myself having that same weekly debrief in the office, only this time we naively considered ourselves experts.

Not having taken this into consideration when I made the move across to London two years ago, it was an amazing shock to observe a culture that not only didn’t follow the sport, but hadn’t even heard of it. AFL wasn’t even a blip on the radar in the UK save for a few expats like myself, and this meant it was going to be difficult for me to follow the weekly happenings of Collingwood with the usual scrutiny that I had grown accustomed to.

There are ways to keep up to date; ESPN is the easiest as it usually shows three games a week at random. This will always include the Friday night game live which is about 11am London time. If you record it you can watch it when you get home but if Collingwood is playing it will require me not checking the score the entire day. That rarely pans out and if they have lost I can’t bring myself to watch the replay. Day games start at 5am, which is a battle, but you get it done. Come finals time, 'Australian' pubs will usually screen these games but the thought of a cold beer that far south of lunchtime is an uninviting one when it's pitch black and three degrees outside.

I have tried a few times to stream the games live but not being that technically savvy, it has proved more difficult and fruitless for me than it would most people. More often than not, I end up being drip fed updates off various websites or iPhone Apps. Needless to say, this is a frustrating way to follow an ANZAC Day game decided by one point.

One way that I wouldn’t advise is to listen to the Triple M broadcast via the web whilst at work. In round eight this year I first realised I could do this, and as Collingwood seemed headed for a comfortable win I initially succeeded in pretending to focus on my duties throughout the game.

But as Geelong came back and eventually drew level, I found it extremely difficult to not let the tension of the game manifest itself in my increasingly nervous body language. My co-workers looked on in confusion as my palms began to sweat, my face went as red as a tomato and muffled profanity began to find its way out. It’s an unusual look for someone in a low stress office on a Friday morning. Also, due to the fact I was still at work, when we won the game my jubilation was short lived as I had to catch up on what I should have been doing for the previous three hours.

Probably the most difficult day was the 2010 Grand Final replay. An amazing day for the club and by extension the fans, but it was a little bittersweet not being there on the day or being able to celebrate with family and friends. Also, being in London meant there was no coverage of the result at all; no one around to properly dissect the game with or any St Kilda supporters to gloat to meaning everything was quickly forgotten. I was very grateful for that same process a year later however; the loss quickly swept aside with a few drinks as I dived straight into the Rugby World Cup for a while. Avoiding any of the post-match talk and celebration from Geelong fans meant that it was a lot easier to stomach that loss from a pub in London than the MCG.

The lack of AFL exposure over here has been one of the more difficult things to acclimatise to, but my affection for the game has left me no choice but to push on. The Premier League has acted as a useful distraction and I must say I am right into that now, but the lack of an emotional connection to any team ultimately means the contest will never be as interesting. So for now my struggles with technology and early mornings will continue, and my work can expect a few patchy performances from me come finals time.

At the end of the day I can gripe and moan about these hardships from the other side of the world all I want but it matters not. Come September, I will be first in line at 4am at the Walkabout so I can cheer on Collingwood while I force down a rusty Fosters and a bacon sandwich.