Sometimes, being a sports fan can be a fun place. Sometimes, being a sports fan can be a crazy place.

Whether fans dress up, wave flags or scream their heads off; the scale of fandom can be downright bonkers.

We spoke to some heavy-duty fans at the YONEX All England Open 2020 including Brad, Alex, Jack (all 14 years old), Oliver (13) and Kieran (16) from Ormiston Horizon Academy in Stoke on Trent.

“I am so excited to be here and watch Marcus (Ellis) and Lauren (Smith) in person. They are super medal contenders for the (Tokyo 2020) Olympics and I’m excited to see how they play today,” said Jack.

Ellis and Smith went on to sweep aside No.4 seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the mixed doubles 21-15 21-10 on Thursday to book their quarterfinal spot.

“We’re on a school trip and we’ve come to see some exciting badminton. I have a real passion for it. I like to beat my friends,” added Brad.

“I’ve been playing for about a year and although I want to be an actor one day I really enjoy playing and watching badminton.

“This is my first time at the All England Open and we’ll definitely be returning.”

A little further afield, we met with Pia Bachmann and Jens Nielson from Denmark.

Jens, a former player, is Chairman of the Noore Aaby Badminton Club in Denmark and has been coming to Arena Birmingham for nine years.

“Badminton is brilliant! It’s good for your body, mind and it’s just really fun,” said Jens.

“The family and I love Birmingham. It’s so friendly, cheap and we love to watch the badminton. Hotel, badminton, Malt House and repeat.”

“We found a great curry house in the Jewellery Quarter last night,” added Pia.

“Badminton and curry; what’s not to love?”