(Newser)
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A Chinese soccer fan has paid the ultimate price for supporting his favorite teams, the Telegraph reports. Jiang Xiaoshan, a fan of France and England, died this week from exhaustion after staying up for 11 sleepless nights to watch every Euro 2012 match-up. With the time difference, he watched games at night with friends and trudged to work the next day. On Tuesday at 5 a.m. he finally fell asleep at his Changsha home, and never woke up.
His friends are shocked, and say he lived a "relatively healthy life," even playing soccer on his university team a couple of years ago. But sources say that smoking, boozing, and chronic fatigue had fatally weakened Xiaoshan's immune system. He's not the first Chinese football fan to suffer for his devotion, either: Several were admitted to hospitals during the Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010 World Cups due to exhaustion.
