good post mr rover, but i was never gratefull walking away from the boleyn having been beaten by anyone.which is one of the reasons for giving up my season ticket this year.we are not in it to win it unfortunately. incidently mr rover since picking and chosing the matches i attend ,i've been 4 times this this season, it's been alot more enjoyable . win or lose,having a beer with your mates and the match has become something to look forward too.i haven't miss the games when not there and must have saved a fare few quid as well.i reccomend it.
That was my excuse when I first started playing soccer in the very early 80's. I didn't have access to cable and the internet back then like I do now. I basically only heard of a few teams back then so I basically was only given those options. That said, as I have fox soccer channel, I am able to watch all the teams and I have grown to enjoy the tenacity of the teams that have to fight for every good or bad that happens to them week by week causing their fan base to pull their hair out to the point they have no hair. I would much rather go see a Fulham or a Tottenham home match when visiting London than an Arsenal or Chelsea home match.
I've read pretty much the majority of this thread. Skipped a few I won't lie but I got the basic meaning of it all. I am recently a footy convert. And I don't have a local club anymore really. This past season I supported Miami FC. Management however decided that is was time to bring back the Ft.Lauderdale Strikers into the NASL. Anyway, I knew that the best football in the world was played on the pitches of England. But I also knew it was pointless unless you had a club to root for. So I began my research. I ended up with the backbone of the 66 World Cup squad...my beloved West Ham. To answer the question "If the claret and blue ever came to play against the Strikers"...I would hope that the Hammers would destroy them. Now if Miami were to pick up an MLS team, well that would have to happen for me to answer that question.
Hmm... First of all, coining the term "glory hunting" and applying it to only Americans is rather ridiculous. If English fans in their own country supported clubs from their local areas then you would see bigger attendances throughout both league and non-league clubs. One could actually make the point that there are a far greater number of glory hunters in the home country of a club than abroad...case in point...club attendances always go up as the club rises through the leagues. Some clubs that have risen through the leagues were getting attendances of 2,000-3,000 or less in the fourth division (league 2) a few seasons back, and average around 20,000+ once they hit the Premier League. Same principle applies to many clubs...more recently Fulham, Reading, Hull, Blackpool, etc. but to name a few. Statistically, considering the whole issue, someone saying they support their local club through thick and thin and attend games on a regular basis no matter what the division, are really talking a load of nonsense. Otherwise, attendances would be the same throughout the divisions and there would be no need to increase stadium capacity once they arrive in the top flight. I think it's actually quite hilarious that some people believe foreign (or more specific to this thread...American) support only increases with the amount of silverware won by a club. If this were true, I'd love to see what kind of local English support the big clubs would have if they were playing in League 2. Anyhow, who cares what clubs we in America support? We all choose our clubs for various reasons. I chose mine because my grandfather is from the area, and I used to go to games all the time while visiting family in the Swansea, Llangyfelach, and Ynsforgan areas of Wales. I've watched some pretty poor football played by my team when we were in the bottom division, and some great football in more recent times, but have supported them and attended games when I'm able to regardless. So your notion that all Americans are just in it for the glory is a completely mute point with me, and probably with most other Americans.
In some sense, I don't get this glory hunter argument. So supporting a successful team is about luck of birth? lol... Yes, football support is not just about success, but I don't think glory hunting will ever cease. Too many, supporting the best team(s) is just something to show off and look cool on.