you don't "pick" the team..... it picks you ... and usually cos its your home town team (plus family connection etc)... sometimes it seems people are going through a catalogue .... and how is it "yours forever" in the states when the franchise and/or location seem to change every three minutes..... You think the 4th level of English football has average attendance of over 4,000 because these people have decided to "pick" Torquay or Notts County? The Championship is the 4th highest attended league in Europe .. who in their right mind "picks" QPR or Luton? "once you pick your team" dear oh dear ....
Well being someone who believes in free will I'm going to stick with "you pick the team". Many factors influence that choice. And most people pick their teams at a young age. When I was young I moved around a lot so my teams are all over the map and not based on geography. Matter of fact I generally despise most NY teams and I have lived here most of my adult life. I think it is admirable to stick with some Football II team especially if you move away and can no longer see their matches. But it is hard and most people tend to cheer for an additional team that they CAN see.
If I didn't support a team in the premiership it would be a lot of bordem just watching games. I follow a lot of the clubs though, like Reading and Fulham because of the Americans on the roster, but once there's a team in Philly all my energy is going to them. I'm not going to stop watching the teams I support. They just won't get my full atention.
I agree with this, and I certianly do it myself, as I live out of the country, and my team is Championship, but the additional team is not some team from around the world I see on the telly, its the team I can get to each week, down the road.
That's fine. That's what you are looking for. But not everyone is looking for the same thing. For some of us following a large worldwide club is more fulfilling. The reason we follow sports is because of the social bonding we experience. It is a shared experience that you can have with other people. You may have nothing in common with some bloke from down the street other than you support the same team/club. But that's all you need to enjoy a pint with him at the pub or talk to him at a bus stop or queue. The team's you follow don't need to be the one everyone else is following. For some people it is enough to bump into a common fan once in a blue moon. But that sense of exclusivity that you have regarding your club is the bond you have with other fans. For me, a person who was raised in a pretty much traditional American sports home, following a team like Arsenal is fullfilling because when I occasionally bump into a fellow Gunner I feel a sense of kinship with that person. Maybe someday I will get that sense from following the Red Bulls, my home town team, but I can't describe how little interest they attract in this area. I EASILY bump into more Chelsea, Arsenal, ManU, Liverpool, Barca, Real Madrid and Milan fans than Red Bull fans. Heck I know more Birmingham City fans that I do Red Bull fans. I hope that changes and I can start to get more interested in them but so far that hasn't happened. And if it does I will still continue to be an Arsenal fan and I see nothing wrong with that.
Suggestion: Find RBNY ultra groups on the internet...I did the leg work for ya, lol. Empire Supporters Club http://www.empiresc.com/index.jsp Raging Bull Nation: http://www.ragingbullnation.net/ MetroFanatic (supporter run site) http://www.metrofanatic.com/index.jsp meet up with them (either at the match or at a pub), etc. I met a few Fire fans when I got into footie...first Arsenal then Fire. Found out that tons of Fire fans were Gooners too! I'm not saying you will be that lucky, but I bet you will meet some cool people. I live in OH now...5 hrs from Chicago. I will always like the Fire, but went to a Crew game last year..gotta support MLS locally, sat in the Ultras section..north end. I had a blast with a good friend and fellow Gooner. If we move to near another MLS team, i will support them too.
Thanks, Cat. Honestly my sports fandom is pretty booked right now so I'm not sure if I will seek out even more teams to follow. But if I start talking to more MLS fans I will definitely start paying attention more. I have watched several MLS games this year which is a step up for me.
SO whats the point? I cant understand The american based way of supporting a team from a different continent i have a nephew in New Jersey and a nephew at home I gave both United jerseys for Crimbo (buy one get one free eh ) However i would only expect one to bother Supporting United
It's a cultural difference. Most American sports fans grow up supporting an NFL team that they only watch on TV, because while the team may play locally, tickets are scarce and expensive. The fans in the stadium are adults with good jobs who can now afford to attend the games of the team they grew up watching on TV, probably after spending years on a waiting list for season tickets. So it doesn't feel unnatural to become a fan of a club through watching them on TV, because that's the familiar route. I suspect this is also now true of the younger generation in England, considering the high-prices and near-capacity crowds at many clubs. But anyway, this means that for most American fans, supporting a local club isn't necessarily considered preferable to watching an English team on TV, because what they get out of following the teams they already do is more closely replicated by following a big club from Europe. That is, as mentioned in flyerhawk's post, being able to root for their team and discuss it with other fans, even if not physically attending matches. Also, the Premiership has more and better media coverage available than the MLS does. And many Americans' first exposure to soccer as a professional-level sport is through the World Cup, where even many of the players on the US team play pro ball in Europe. It may be "shallow" in comparison to the traditional English fan experience, but it is what is basically what being a fan of a team has meant in America for a pretty long time.
very good post, and exactly right. and, if you'll consider the highlighted part, it's precisely why there is resistance to it among the traditional english fans. the problem is that appealing to the 'american model' is potentially more lucrative to clubs than the traditional model (or at least that model, alone). for not only is it, as stated, a more "shallow" experience, but, more frustratingly, it* makes the traditional experience more difficult (if not impossible), what with obscene ticket prices, and greatly diminished availability. *by 'it', i don't just mean american fans, but the manner in which clubs now pursue revenues beyond the traditional 'support'. corporate sales, tv revenues, advertising partnerships, etc - the smaller the percentage of the club's revenue the traditional support provides, the less responsive to that support, and it's interests, the club tends to be (see emirates experience, the). resistence to (or at least a degree of distaste for) american-type support is the manifestation of just a fragment of the frustration for the traditional english football fan that accompanies the erosion of those traditions. i am an american fan, but i'm entirely empathetic.
I'm a die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan and I'll spend a weeks pay to go see one game for one ticket. Oh and we currently have a 4,000 year waiting list for season tickets.
The Packers, I heard was over a generation! I know the Bears is at least 10 years. Why on Earth don't these teams make much bigger stadiums???
Cause merchandising is whereits at for both those teams, and small(or vintage) stadiums give the older fan the more loyal feel and homely as well.
what's the old joke? man 1: there's nothing in green bay but football players and whores. man 2: hey, my wife's from green bay! man 1: oh. um, what position does she play?
Also, there is the problem of physics. The bigger a stadium the farther away some of those seats are going to be. In addition, American football teams play 8 home games. They may also play a few playoff games and a few preseason games. That's like 12 dates a year. Tops. Now, in order for a stadium to make money, you need to have healthy ticket sales for something like 81 dates a year. So, the stadium needs to also be a suitable size to deal with the demand for other events. Packer's capacity: 72,515 Chicago: 63,000 By the way, Redskins (Washington): 80,000, with a huge waiting list. The Lions went down, from 90,000+, to 65,000. I think it has more to do with the overall profitibility of the building and not just the football aspects.