Watching a match wid dis fella playin upfront...he is a BEAST
Northampton's giant striker Adebayo Akinfenwa makes critics eat their words with first hat-trickhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/northampton-town/9671884/Northamptons-giant-striker-Adebayo-Akinfenwa-makes-critics-eat-their-words-with-first-hat-trick.html Akinfenwa, a cult figure at the Cobblers due to the size of his shorts as well as his goal tally, is no stranger to chants about his weight. But the London-born striker says the terrace jeers are a motivating factor.
"Their fans were giving me some stick a couple of minutes before my first goal so it was nice to shut them up a little bit,” he told the Northampton Chronicle.
“It’s a beautiful thing. I want them to talk when they need to talk. I know it’s pure banter and part and parcel of football. When they do that, I generally score so they need to keep doing it so I can keep scoring goals.
“If I was playing a game and they weren’t doing it I would think something was strange so they can do what they’ve got to do and I’ll do what I’ve got to do.”
Nicknamed The Beast, Akinfenwa admits: “I eat loads — but I’m not a McDonald’s or fast food guy. But I think I should have shares in Nandos because I live there so much.
“The day the fans stop singing my name I must be doing something wrong. I try to play with a smile.”
Akinfenwa's fame has already spread beyond Northampton fans. He is the CEO of HAHA! clothing range, and the star of its popular '2 big 2 play football' T-shirts, which retail for £20. He even has a slogan, something he calls 'Beast Mode'.
“Beast Mode is trying to be the best you can and hit it hard. A lawyer, a chef, going to school — anybody can be in beast mode," explains Akinfenwa, who has now scored 10 goals this season for Northampton, who are 12th in League Two.