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From PE to the Caribbean: Meet SA's most passionate sports fan

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Jeremy Bortz (Lloyd Burnard)
Jeremy Bortz (Lloyd Burnard)

Durham - At every ground the Proteas have travelled to during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, South African fans have turned up in their numbers. 

Results, of course, mean that they have almost always left disappointed. 

A win against Afghanistan in Cardiff on June 15 is all the Proteas have to show for their efforts, and it has been a tough old ride for the South African supporters who have given up their time and money to get to the stadiums only to watch their side lose. 

Some came from as far as Durban and Johannesburg, and went back home with stories of loss and failure. 

It takes a special kind of supporter to stay positive when things are going this badly, but in 38-year-old Jeremy Bortz the Proteas have one. 

'Jazza', as he is affectionately known, is as close to a professional sports fan as you are likely to ever see. 

He does work - a degree in finance and accounting at the University of Cape Town has led to a career as an advisor on company regulation change - but he admits that he spends all his money on watching sport, and particularly South African sport. 

Bortz missed South Africa's 2019 World Cup matches against India and New Zealand - duty calls - but he has attended all of their other six fixtures to date and he will also be in Manchester for their final match of the tournament against Australia. 

"Results have not been great, but I'm still here supporting the boys," he told Sport24 outside the gates to The Riverside in Durham on Friday. 

Bortz, draped in his South African flag, was about to watch the Proteas take on Sri Lanka and while he is always keen to watch his side play, this will not rank anywhere near the top of his list of sporting experiences. 

This is his fourth Cricket World Cup having attended the 2003 edition in South Africa, 2011 in India and then 2015 in Australia. 

From June 2010 to August 2012, after two years working in accounts in the Caribbean where he vividly remembers seeing Shiv Chanderpaul score a gutsy hundred against the Aussies in Kingston, Bortz embarked on a world tour of sports. 

It started with the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa before moving on to the 2011 Cricket World Cup in India, the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and then 2012 Olympics in London. 

To top it off, Bortz and his mates were at Royal Lytham for the 2012 Open Championship where Ernie Els won, while they also saw Hashim Amla's famous triple century against England at The Oval. 

Since then, Bortz has 'settled down' in his London life, but travel and sport will always be what he loves most, and he found time again two years ago to get back on the road. 

"From September 2017 to June 2018 my wife and I travelled overland from Ethiopia to SA on public transport," he says. 

"It was absolutely incredible. We watched football in Addis Ababa, cricket in Kigali, Sevens in Victoria Falls and the 2nd Test between the Boks and England in Bloemfontein where we won the series."

Bortz reckons he has to be careful with how much time he takes off to watch sport given his work commitments, but he says that is where almost all of his annual leave goes. 

At the end of 2019, for example, he is planning a trip back home for a wedding in the Midlands but, more importantly, a chance to watch the Proteas host England in four Test matches over the festive season. 

Home, after all, is where the bug first bit. 

"I grew up at St. Georges Park with the likes of Kepler Wessels, Philip Am, Dave Richardson, Tim Shaw ... that group back in the 1990s when they won the Benson and Hedges Trophy," said Bortz.

"That's where it all began."

Bortz has documented his travels on his blog, Jumpingjazza.com, where he has kept a record of everything he has been fortunate enough to do over the years.

It is a lifestyle that many will envy, but few in South Africa would be able to maintain. 

"I spend all my money doing this," Bortz said. 

"I wouldn't change a thing."

@LloydBurnard is in England covering the 2019 Cricket World Cup for Sport24 ...  

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