Meet UVA's "No. 1 Fan" - A blue collar immigrant from Laos

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It’s a “Fun Friday” at AOC Metal Works in Chester, Virginia, and employees at the fabrication plant outside of Richmond can wear pretty much anything they want.

For 52-year-old machine operator Som Patasomcit, the decision is a no-brainer.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the factory that requires workers to wear earplugs and eye shields, Patasomcit is sporting a navy-blue University of Virginia football T-shirt and matching baseball cap as he mans a forklift and oversees a stamping device.

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To many people who attend Cavalier football games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Patasomcit is the “#1 UVA FAN.”

At least, that’s what the license plate hanging from the faux gold chain around his neck says.

It’s just one facet of Patasomcit’s game-day get-up, which also includes a giant V-Sabre pendant, a Cavaliers’ shirt or jersey and, of course, an orange UVA hard hat.

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An only child, Patasomcit was born in Laos, a southeast Asian country that was taken over by the North Vietnamese communist regime in 1975.

He fled with his father to a refugee camp in Thailand, spending a terrifying year there before immigrating to Richmond when he was 12. Patasomcit’s mother stayed behind in Laos after being incarcerated for gambling.

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But it wasn’t until 2008 that Patasomcit was able to attend a game in person. That year, he came to the Cavaliers’ 16-0 win over the University of Richmond.

Two years later, Patasomcit entered a UVA Athletics fan essay contest asking participants to write about what being a Hoos fan meant to them. The grand prize: a free year of football season tickets.

In a 700-plus word piece, Patasomcit told his story.

“Early in my life, I applied for citizenship and by studying our U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence,” Patasomcit wrote, “I have really learned to appreciate the character and integrity of our third president, Thomas Jefferson, the beloved founder of the great University of Virginia. This made it an easy choice for a college program to support. Although I did not attend college or university, I am proud to be a loyal fan of the orange and blue.”

The essay was chosen as the winner.

On Sept. 4, 2010, Patasomcit went to the team’s season-opening win over Richmond. He hasn’t missed a game since.

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That passion extends beyond the football field.

Patasomcit has toured Grounds and, every year, on July 4, visits Monticello to watch a new class of immigrants get sworn in as American citizens.

Having been forced out of his homeland by a Communist regime, Patasomcit, who earned his own U.S. citizenship in 1990, said he has always felt a special connection to Jefferson.

“He wrote, ‘We want to be our own country and we don’t want to be under tyranny,’” Patasomcit said. “He wrote, ‘We want freedom, we want independence.’ So I love that.”

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