Now what I need him to do is make the cable companies and DirectTV start airing EPL in HD. It's going to be a come-down from the World Cup if I can't see the gel in Becks' hair. That is gel, right?
it could singlehandedly make a big difference in how people perceive the sport in the US. I couldn't agree more. That's why I got so frustrated at the coverage of the World Cup in the states. Every sportswriter, to a person, went overboard on covering how much diving there was. Sure, there was some, but there was so much more to it than that. Even this relatively rigid and predictable world cup had moments of stunning beauty. George Vecsey focused on this a little bit, but the rest of the Fourth Estate pretty much dropped the ball, and focused on the negative. He thought about it for a little while then told me that since I'm of blue collar heritage that I should be a Tottenham fan. NoMich, you should probably do a little more research. Your friend, who pretty much adopted the Dallas Cowboys, didn't do you much of a service. Everything about the game in Britain is blue collar (except Fulham, maybe). Not that I would discourage you from supporting Spurs, but selecting a Premiership side should be a process. For my own part, I had been torn between Crystal Palace (who had some great players when I was a kid), Sunderland (which is where some of my ancestors were from) and Arsenal (because of its proximity to London). Like Terrapin, Hornby's book sealed the deal for me (though it helped that Palace and Sunderland were relegated).
There was more to our conversation than just that one tidbit, psmealey. I posted the only part that I could truly remember. But point taken. I probably should spend the upcoming season feeling my way around the EPL. My friend adopted Chelsea because that was the only team his English friends would allow him to cheer on. I guess they took him to see a bunch of matches as well. So it's not like he just picked a team because he liked the name or something like that. Besides, I think he would be dismayed in knowing that somebody accused him of jumping on a Dallas Cowboys style bandwagon, what with him being a Washington Redskins fan*. * - The Redskins were the football team of choice among most Raleighites prior to the arrival of the Carolina Panthers. A lot of them have continued to keep their wagon hitched to the Redskins train since then. Just trying to explain why a North Carolinian would root on a team from DC.
I made the same choice as Simmons last season. Tottenham is good without being too good, has no recent history of success that would inspire bandwagoning, and of all the teams I watched on Fox Soccer last season, I liked their style of play the best. I hope Davids comes back, because I've been calling him Milli Vanilli. In that 2003 SportsFilter thread, I asked for an English club a couple of divisions down to root for. I've settled there on AFC Wimbledon, because I can't wait for the day they're in the same division as Wimbledon's former club, the MK Dons. But you can't watch them anywhere.
"Fun column. It's easy if you're English: you support your local team unless there are strong enough extenuating circumstances to hold up in a court of law." Nonsense, there would be a lot more people supporting the likes of Barnet, Oldham Athletic and Tranmere Rovers if that were true ...
Just to carry on the logic in my previous post: Liverpool fans would only come from L4, Manchester United fans would only come from Old Trafford, Arsenal fans would only come from Finsbury Park, and etagloh would be supporting whatever conference or non-league team is closest to him in Middlesbrough. Many people support the biggest team which could be considered local. Others follow the team their father and grandfather followed, no matter where they are brought up. Some follow the first team they saw live, others have an affinity to a certain club and decide to follow it because it appeals. The only rule is to never change your club. That "follow your local team" nonsense only applies to a tiny minority of football supporters living in an ivory tower.
Oh, and that tired old sectarian bullshit about Everton being a Catholic club and Liverpool a protestant one is just that. There used to be a chant on the Kop before the games a while back, where some would shout "Rangers" and others would reply with "Celtic". The split was about fifty-fifty. Same with Everton supporters. Neither club has any sectarian affiliation, and they never have had. It's largely a family thing which club you support, but many people support the opposite club to their family as an act of defiance.
Okay, living in Indiana, which EPL team should I be supporting? 'Cause I'm wide open here, and a very loyal fan on top of that. Some lucky club's about to get a grade A fan, with your help. I mean, is there a questionaire to fill out, qualifications I need to have, maybe a copy of my resume? Oh, and I'm Irish Catholic, if that helps.
...and etagloh would be supporting whatever conference or non-league team is closest to him in Middlesbrough. Oooh, burn.
TBH, Queen's Park Rangers sound like the team for you.
Despite being a fan of another team in the same division, I heartily support yfm's endorsement of Queens Park Rangers. They're a bit crap, but they have a decent enough past, a decent enough kit, a club director who was forced to resign at gunpoint and, most importantly, they're not Manchester fucking United.
"Oooh, burn." Well, I might be being unfair ... etagloh might live right next to the Riverside. But I've heard that "support your local team" line so often from "scouse" reds who then turn out to live on the Wirral that I get suspicious about it ;-)
And my mother's relatives all live in Chester or Wrexham, but still have Anfield season tickets. Although I have gone with them to stand at the Racecourse from time to time. I guess their local loyalty is only ever tested if the FA or League Cup throws up a fixture.
My point being that the concept of local loyalty is nonsense. It never existed: even in the late 1800s people used to travel to watch the team they fancied rather than the closest one in the city.
