Drives Me Crazy

Stop calling them.

 

Obviously, DCU isn't Real, and MLS isn't the Premiership, but would any of your friends turn down a ticket to Maryland-Duke just cause the Terps and Blue Devils aren't NBA-calibre teams?

 

Stop calling them and check your private messages.

Sachin

 

Get some new friends! It sounds like if they would just go to one DC game they would be hooked. It's unfortunate they can't see the quality that does exist in MLS. I am a big EPL fan, but it doesn't keep me from supporting domestic soccer, regardless of the drop off in quality.

 

I love watching my Gunners play on tv. But that's the problem, it's not live soccer. There's nothing like being AT the match! The sounds, people, the drums, watching security harrass Barra ;-)

 

They'll come around man, hopefully...

I'm not exactly English, but I took to following Arsenal back when the EPL was shown on Monday nights on espn2; that and the champions league were my introduction to professional/european soccer. Watched DC occasionally on tv but never at RFK for years, for fear of my soccer dream being ruined by poor quality/atmosphere compared to what I'd been seeing from Europe. Something snapped though in 2000 and I just had to be there supporting my local team, joined bigsoccer, etc., even though id been watching soccer since '96. So give them time. And if you see anyone walking around college park with an Arsenal shirt, don't pre-judge! I follow the boys in black too!

 

define support. and i hate the galaxy, but i still go to their games, but not for them.

 

tell 'em to get bent, and in 25 years you'll have all the really pricey memorabilia.

 

You are a very smart person!

AND, you are going to have the time of your life!

 

With players that have that much skill and reputation, DC must have won the championship this year, right? Errrrrr.....ok, maybe they can finish second to last next year.

 

Tell them they're wankers.

 

Tell them to read "A Season with Verona."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...=sr_8_1/103-5149806-3770223?v=glance&n=507846

They'll learn that only wankers support big clubs over their own team. Plus, there's more to being a team supporting than watching them win. How can you get joy out of picking some team from a country you've never been to and haven't seen play and haven't experienced anything about the history and passion of the team? Tell them it's time to learn what being a FAN is all about.

 

Nothing worse than a soccer snob! While I support teams abroad for differing reasons (one history the other location), DC United is where I spend my passion! Nothing guts me like a DC loss or gets me on a high like a DC win!

Anyone that blows off their local team (regardless of the league) in favor of "the best league" on TV is not worth hanging out with in my book. Of course, I'm not a moderate person in this regard and could be considered slightly "touched" as I used to have DC season tix when I lived 7 hours away one way.

 

Re: Re: Drives Me Crazy

If you had paid close attention to the end of the season, you would've noticed DCU playing with genuine class and very nearly making the playoffs. But then again, you were probably too busy taking in Bundesliga results. If DCU finishes second to last in anything next year, it'll be the World Club Championship (provided it exists next year). And it'll STILL be a lot farther than any other MLS club will ever go.

And don't be mad; maybe Louisiana will get a club one day...

 

I probably would ignore these people and look for different friends. But in the off-chance that these are actually good, reliable friends...a little subterfuge is in order.

I think that I run into someone who fits the profile of your "friends" just about every week. The "I'm Too Good For MLS and Only Follow (insert name of foreign-team flavor of the month)" comes in about three primary flavors: the transplanted expat who refuses to let go of their homeland ties and refuses to support a team that has not been around for less than 50 years; the arrogant little prig who thinks that they are destined to become the next Maradona and refuses to watch soccer that is below what they define as "World Class caliber"; and the [anglo/euro]phile who is actually not a soccer fan at all but just likes to be a contrarian...to support a team that is local is not "contrary" enough.

What each of the three shades have in common, usually, is that they have an uninformed and oftentimes ignorant viewpoint of what actually is "good" soccer. They watch one match a week from overseas, see the beautiful atmosphere and the rather nice unis and hear the great announcers and say "that is good soccer." Often, they blindly ignore blatantly and patently atrocious tastics, skill, and effort on the whole and over-emphasize the good moments. Case in point: try counting the number of dives, poor passes, bad fouls, delaying tactics, and out-of-play balls in the next Serie A or Premier League match you see. You will never wish to do so again. So, why is this "good" soccer again? Obviously, these guys are the best in the world, right? Isn't it obvious from their salaries? It's all subjective. The worst soccer matches I've ever seen were Serie A and Premier League games...so anytime you can, point out the real stinkers, incessantly.

I wonder about this phenomenon all the time. I wonder if it is because they want to appear cool, or don't really understand the sport of soccer that well, but want to appear as though they do. What I have concluded is that the root cause of it all is that simple and ubiquitous problem we all have: self-confidence (or a lack thereof). Hell, I was exactly like one of the three primary shades when I first started following soccer back in 1986: it was different, fun, and chicks that it was cool.

So, remember this next time you deal with these guys/gals: they really don't understand themselves very well. You clearly are attempting to help their self-enlightenment. However, your efforts will likely backfire. The last thing that someone who is putting on a charade wants is to be called out and proven wrong. Hence, it is best, in my experience, to conduct subtle, reverse psychology on these guys/gals. Try to point out to them how ubiquitous and popular Man Utd and Real Madrid and Roma fans are. Tell them (lie) that you saw dozens of ManU, Real, Roma shirts this week...that everybody you know is really following it...that just everyone is doing it. And for the kicker, try to convince good looking women you know (or guys, if that is the case) to subvert the image that being a fan of an obscure soccer team that you rarely ever see is cool. No self-respecting college student will do something that is not cool to the opposite sex.

Then, try the "counter-culture" angle of attending MLS. Convince your women friends to talk about MLS around your friends and belittle Totti, Zidane, and anything european. Soon, they might attend a DC match and actually have fun right in their backyard. It's a very fine-line between cool and uncool, so play it smart.

Hope this helps,
Tim

 

Casually mention that McBride scored more goals in the World Cup than Totti, Figo, and Henry combined.

Dave

 

Re: Re: Drives Me Crazy

Barca Fan 2003:
I'd be more concerned about what Betis did to your side yesterday (a 3-0 whipping), than D.C. United