What Team should I support - Part 2 (cont)

Discussion in 'Premier League' started by Rick B, Feb 27, 2009.

  1. InsigneForBalonD'or

    Jul 16, 2014
    The 6ix
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Someone ban this guy
     
  2. jeremygl09

    jeremygl09 Member

    Jan 20, 2012
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Arsenal has a German connection (Key Players) :p and it seems they have had that for a while!
     
  3. Phoenix Rising

    Phoenix Rising Member+

    Jan 4, 2014
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Perhaps you should try watching La Liga. Real Madrid has Kroos in their current squad and past notable players include Ozil, Khedira, Schuster, Ilgner, Netzer, Uli Stielike and Breitner. Outside of the big two, there are teams like Atletico Madrid, Valencia (Mustafi plays for them), Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Celta Vigo and Villarreal that all play great football, have a good history and could be fun places to visit for games.
     
  4. Lizzie C

    Lizzie C New Member

    Feb 27, 2016
  5. LeetOwnage522

    LeetOwnage522 Member

    Mar 26, 2008
    Doodlestan
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nope, never heard of them
     
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  6. Chris Fizia

    Chris Fizia New Member

    Mar 20, 2016
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
  7. dinis

    dinis New Member

    May 3, 2016
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Lithuania
    Arsenal is the best.
     
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  8. USA Saint

    USA Saint Member

    San Jose Earthquakes
    England
    Jun 30, 2016
    Upstate New York
    Club:
    Southampton FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    HINT: not a big club!
     
  9. JuggleMeBalls

    JuggleMeBalls Member

    Aug 9, 2010
    Formerly Sec 103
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    I think its kind of lame (and in my experience doesn't really "stick" ) if you just pick a club for some random reason (ancestors, etc.) I sort of did that in PL, but eventually my real PL club became clear. Now domestically I could not give two shits about MLS until I had a local club in the area.

    I also think that definitely not picking a big club is as silly as only picking a big club.
     
  10. overmars2001

    overmars2001 Member

    Jun 11, 2010
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    I'm curious to hear more about this
     
  11. JuggleMeBalls

    JuggleMeBalls Member

    Aug 9, 2010
    Formerly Sec 103
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Well when I started watching PL I didn't have a team, but I watched a lot of matches and followed the Americans pretty closely. After a couple of seasons, there was clearly one team in the league I liked more than the others( not one of the ones with Americans). They became must see tv for me. While I enjoy watching other teams, and certainly pull for some more than others ( Everton for example ) , I don't feel the same passion ( and heartbreak ) for these teams like I do for the team I love. It's just different, and this happened naturally.
    And if I were to have just picked a team at random or for some well thought out reason, the team I ended up following would have literally been the last team I would have picked.
    I think if you just pick a team with your head you will have a hard time sticking with them through the inevitable ups and downs.
    I dunno, at least that's how it worked for me. There are tons of people who wouldn't be fans of West Ham if it weren't for a movie, but I don't doubt their passion now ( well not some of them anyway ;) )

    So I always advise folks looking for a team to pick a random team for whatever reason, kind of half ass follow them for awhile, and if they watch a bunch of matches and are honest with themselves their team will be obvious to them. The club will pick you, as they say.
    Same rule as Fifa, one-time switches are allowed, lol
     
  12. tigersoccer2005

    tigersoccer2005 Member+

    Dec 1, 2003
    North Bergen, NJ
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #1537 tigersoccer2005, Oct 10, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2016
    Leeds United or Wigan--- Leeds because of the unbelievable story of their rise and fall and how great it would be if they could once again rise to the Premiership. Wigan because you gotta love the story of a team that comes in dead last in the Premiership but wins it all in the FA Cup--all in the same year!

    I guess it might be fun to root for Watford-- you gotta love a perennial yo-yo team. How long can they stay in the Premiership this time?
     
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  13. jeremygl09

    jeremygl09 Member

    Jan 20, 2012
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    I met someone from Middlesbrough at a work conference before the season started. He seemed so passionate about his local team. It made me want them to be successful and stay up in the PL this year. Just as long as they don't beat my team PL team Everton. The only reason I cheer for Everton is because my first game I went to was in Everton and i'll never forget the local kids throwing rocks at the bus we were riding in on.. it was a liverpool bus, but we were 15 year olds on a international trip training at Liverpool for the summer.
     
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  14. el americano

    el americano Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Jun 9, 2006
    San Francisco
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Getting rocks thrown at you by Everton kids made you want to join them??
     
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  15. pookspur

    pookspur Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 3, 2001
    Indiana
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    presumably, having spent time amongst them, he realized that being pelted by rocks is precisely what Liverpool deserves; and ergo recognized an Evertonian virtue.
     
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  16. JoeySpe

    JoeySpe New Member

    Oct 26, 2016
    California
    Leicester could be an idea...
     
  17. The411

    The411 Member

    Oct 12, 2013
    Luton Town Madhatters. They were in Division 1 the year before the Premier League was created. They were relegated ran into massive issues with their ownership and fell all the way to the Conference. They won the conference in 2013-2014 and got promoted to League 2. They are in a playoff spot at the moment (still very early). Would be a great story if they got back to the PL in a few years.
     
  18. TheSelectFew

    TheSelectFew Member

    Dec 21, 2016
    The pool but hardly religiously. Support my team in oz first.

    Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
     
  19. Coyote89

    Coyote89 Member

    Atlanta United
    United States
    May 18, 2017
    #1544 Coyote89, Sep 28, 2017
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2017
    Well, that depends on where you're from, doesn't it?

    I'm a relatively new EPL fan in the US. The "big" clubs are generally the ones you can watch on TV without a paid subscription. The only time you'll find a West Brom, Stoke, Burnley, or Crystal Palace game on the NBC networks is when they are playing one of the Big 6 and the Championship teams aren't shown at all. And unless you were born and raised in England, you're not going to have a particular attachment to a certain city or area. It also makes it more enjoyable if the team you pull for is involved in the Champions League or at least Europa, and it helps if you can actually talk to friends about your team, hear about them on sports radio, or even attend a game-watching party at a local bar. Thus, 90% of American fans are going to adopt one of the big 6 and there's really nothing wrong with that.

    I chose Liverpool, even though I suspect that will bring some heartbreak, simply because I like the atmosphere at Anfield, their attacking style of play under Klopp, and the overall history and tradition of the club. Plus, although Pool fans are skeptical of FSG, I like the fact that they are owned by the same group as the Red Sox and Fenway Park. After all, had they been bought by anyone else, they might have replaced Anfield instead of renovating and expanding it. Meanwhile, I pull for all of the EPL teams in international competitions, even Liverpool's bitter rivals.

    My friends are divided among Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, and the Spurs. No City fans for some reason, despite their recent success. We also have a few Everton fans because Landon Donovan and Tim Howard played there. That's probably the one team outside the big 6 that also gets a decent amount of TV coverage here in the US.
     
  20. eagleStevat

    eagleStevat Member

    Jan 4, 2012
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Thing is though, of that big 6, Spurs, City and Chelsea were always quite big teams, but similar or lower in stature than teams like Leeds, Newcastle, Villa historically. If everyone supported only a top 6 side, the others would fold and you'd have a league with 6 teams in. Maybe it's just, but me as a fan of a less than fashionable club up North but it seems to me to be rather vacuous to just choose a team because they're successful - hardly the basis of a meaningful and lasting relationship.

    I understand that access is an issue, but I find the challenge of supporting my second team part of the allure, Pro Vercelli in Piedmont, Italy - once the greatest team in the World that suffered a spectacular fall from grace. Their story is truly staggering, and the fact that I follow them genuinely gives me a feeling of belonging to a small town in the foothills of the Alps that I am afraid I don't have the brevity to explain fully.

    Both ways are fine really, but following a large club (especially overseas) I'd imagine you're lost in the sea of bandwagon jumpers. I'm Geordie born and bred, had no choice in the matter when it came to NUFC, but I really feel like I belong with Vercelli, despite having no discernable reason to do so.
     
  21. el americano

    el americano Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Jun 9, 2006
    San Francisco
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Spoken like someone who follows a front running club. It's more difficult to get up early for matches on west coast time than it is to find a stream or download of your club's matches. Beyond the matches, club news is readily available online for all of them. Assuming you like your team based on more than how they win silverware from time to time, you will have plenty to follow.
     
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  22. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Games between two clubs not in the Big 6 are occasionally shown. Clubs not in the Big 6 play 12 games a season against Big 6 clubs, so it's not likely that a club not in the Big 6 will go two months or more without being on TV. ESPN3, which is free online, shows some League Championship games. Clubs not in the Big 6 and League Championship clubs are also sometimes televised on a Fox Sports channel in the FA Cup.
     
  23. eagleStevat

    eagleStevat Member

    Jan 4, 2012
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Hard work is it's own reward. The problem I have with people choosing clubs based on success - which is what you're doing effectively (as they are always going to be televised more) - is that it implies you could have simply been a fan of Hull City, or Accrington should they have been more successful. It hardly sounds as if there's a deep affinity with the club, it's fans or it's culture.

    The more fans a team has, the less personal the experience becomes. I love working hard to find out how Pro Vercelli are playing, reading about new signings that I've never heard of in a language that is far from native to me. I'd imagine following any Premier League club would be easy to do from anywhere on the planet. To simply choose United or Chelsea because they win things would be akin to everyone from outside the US supporting the Patriots or the Cowboys - when part of the fun is being there in hard times and actually partaking in the journey.
     
  24. Coyote89

    Coyote89 Member

    Atlanta United
    United States
    May 18, 2017
    #1549 Coyote89, Sep 29, 2017
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2017
    I totally relate to what you're saying as the deep affinity with a club and its fans are something I value. College football is my favorite American sport for that very reason. I love the connection that fans feel to their school and team, the history of each team, the unique traditions, the rivalries, etc. All of that is even more important than how often they win. I've had season tickets for 27 years and will probably keep them for life. But it's hard to replicate that when you're following a team from another country, thousands of miles and 5-6 time zones away, especially if you have no prior connection to a particular club or city and had to just randomly pick one from afar. Under those circumstances, you're going to gravitate toward certain teams based on ease of access, affinity for certain star players, coaches, or style of play, and the ability to share your fan experience with others. That doesn't make a "big club" fan lazy. It just recognizes the realities of becoming a fan, for the first time, from thousands of miles away.

    I like to be able to actually watch the games, for free, on a major network that is easy to find in my home or at the local bar rather than trying to find streaming video on my computer or phone. I like being able to watch TV segments, hear radio broadcasts, or read articles about my team, its players, its coach, its transfer targets, etc. and I want to consume all of that in my native language. I like being able to watch my club play against clubs from other countries and not just within their own league. I like being able to talk to friends, neighbors, and co-workers who have common interests.

    In that sense, there's actually much more humanity in following a "big club" when you're doing it from afar, because choosing a small club would be a rather lonely existence. I'd be watching streaming video, by myself, on my phone or computer and my only outlet between the games would be chatting with complete strangers on some lightly-trafficked message board. How is that more satisfying?

    I happened to pick Liverpool, despite the fact they haven't won an English football championship since 1991, because I like Anfield, the game-day atmosphere, the fans, the players, the manager, the style of play, and the rich overall history of the club. But the fact that they are on TV a lot, discussed by the media a lot, and either liked or opposed by many of my friends certainly helps.
     
  25. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know what made me become a Manchester United fan, but it was when Fox Soccer Channel had the Premier League. I was a fan during the 2007-2008 Champions League win but I don't know how long before that. I don't know if I knew what relegation was when I became a fan. I don't watch games with other people, so Manchester United being more popular than every other (or almost every other) Premier League club doesn't make me watch with any more people than if I was the only American fan of a club, albeit if I was the only American fan of a club they wouldn't be on TV. I haven't been to a regular season professional game in any sport in years, and what a stadium looks like is irrelevant to if I support a team regardless of what country that team is in. I am a fan of bad teams also. The New York Red Bulls have had good regular seasons but haven't won an MLS Cup in 21 years or a U.S. Open Cup in 22 years. Genoa has 2 points from their first 7 Serie A games and were bad in the second half of 2016-2017. They must be one of the worst clubs in any top league in 2017 excluding clubs who got relegated after 2016-2017. The New York Islanders have won one playoff series in 23 seasons and the New York Knicks have won one playoff series in 17 seasons.
     

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