I was in London and went to my first West Ham game (against Chelsea) on January 2. Here are my observations: a) Upon getting off the tube at Upton Park, I noticed the plethora of folks wearing carnet and light blue (which is really a nice color combo). Folks were eating fish and chips at a local stand and preparing for the game. I was wearing a Betar Yerushalyim hat just to see if anyone would notice, and I overheard at least 6 people speaking Hebrew--one of whom, from Belgium started talking to me--I'm American and don't speak Hebrew so I just nodded. b) The neighborhood--Green Street--appears very much a working class neighborhood. I'm not sure if I can liken it to a neighborhood in Israel--maybe one of the modest suburbs outside of Tel Aviv? There were quite a few Muslim shops, halal meat stands, etc. nearby and so I took it that it was a heavily Muslim area--but I could have been wrong. The KFC I went to was all Aravim too--needless to say, I took off the Betar hat when I walked that way. Now that I've been to Green Street I really want to see the movie Green Street Hooligans. b) the West Ham crowd was fantastic. The Chelsea crowd was quite active too, but folks were singing, cursing, etc. I got so much flavor from the folks in my section--the Doc Martin stands--and even picked up a song or two. The crowd quieted, but that much so, towards the end--and the goal we (we being West Ham, gotta root for my peeps) scored was fabulous. There wasn't a trace of anti-semitism--in fact folks were cheering on "Yoss" right along with me. On the other hand, there isn't a song for Yossi like there is for Nigel Reo-Coker. They need to work on that They rooted against Argentina... and against Russia (after Russian Jewish owner Roman Abramovich)... but nothing against Israel or Jews. c) The game was great. At one point Yossi almost scored. At another he was elbowed right in front of us and knocked to the ground. They didn't even book the other side. I would have liked West Ham to win, but you can't get everything. The match left West Ham at the losing end of a long weekend. While they're solidly in the middle of the standings, they've lost ground since the opening weeks and only stand a few points above the relegation line. d) It seemed like the used Yossi mostly for midfield control instead of the type of one-on-one playmaking that we're used to seeing. One thing I noticed about West Ham was they consistently got beat off the headers--especially near Chelsea's goal. That is one area they're really going to have to improve. On the other hand, Chelsea's one of the best teams in the World--so its nice to see Yossi keep up with that level of play. e) I can't say enough about the West Ham fans. Besides the guy who snookered me for 100 pounds a ticket (and even he did that with a smile), they were warm, friendly, and accomodating. Really good people, despite any bad reputation they may have. f) The line to get back on the tube was redonkulous. It moved quickly, but must have been a half-mile long between walking from Green Street to the line to the Tube. My advice is if you do go, stay in the stands and on Green Street an extra hour, eat, drink, wager, and chill a bit.
great post. this is the kind of stuff you got big soccer for. go israel, do you want a job with S.I.? forever blowing bubbles... ps has anyone seen "Munich"?
I too had a nice day as a Hammer this summer. In August, I was in England for a friends wedding. I dragged a buddy of mine to Upton Park because West Ham United was having an open practice for fans to watch. Yossi has just played two days before in that tournament in the Ukraine, and was not going to be there. I went into the club shop and purchased a West Ham United Benayoun shirt. I was so excited I put it on and took a pictures wearing it outside Upton Park while holding my Israel scarf over my head. Then we noticed that some guy was giving autographs in the parking lot. I walked up to him and in a very impolite and Israeli way, asked if Benayoun was training inside. He said that he indeed was. So my and my friend walked inside and started to take pictures by the pitch. I started talking to some fans who had no idea what to expect from Yossi. Then the team took a short water break. As Yossi walked to the cooler, I shouted, "יוסי בוא רגע!" (Yossi, come here in Hebrew). It was once again impolite and very Israeli of me. Later after the practice I had a chat with him and he signed some autographs. We took a photo together and told him that I will be at the game in Switzerland and he sounded real excited about the match. On September 1st when the national team returned from training the day before the crucial qualifier with Switzerland, you can see on the news in Israel (I have it on tape), Yossi walks right over to me to say hi. I was wearing the West Ham shirt so that he would recognize me. I told him that I brought a blown up picture of us together and he agreed to sign it. Saturday night, after the qualifier, he was on the phone with his wife and signaled to me to bring the picture. He addressed it to me and wrote, "thank you so much for coming to the game in Switzerland. Your friend, Yossi Benayoun 15." I was on cloud nine. He was the only player to keep his word and treat a fan so nicely (aside from Adoram Keisi and Michael Zandberg), much better than Pini Balili who took my E-mail address and promised to send me a Kayserispor shirt after a game for my collection.
I saw it 15 or 20 years ago when it was an HBO movie called "Sword of Gideon." I have yet to see the Spielberg remake, but from the clips I have seen, the two are quite similar, so I'm not rushing to the theaters. "Green Street Hooligans," on the other hand, is definitely worth seeing for those interested West Ham, street violence, or both.
Green Street Hooligans is a piece of hollywood garbage that is not based on reality but pure fantasy of Americans that naturally don't understand anything about football.
Insulting. Strange thing for me, I seem to remember this thread being in the West Ham forum originally.
What is insulting about this. It's a fact that most Americans don't understand nothing about football. Or has football finally beaten Hockey, American Football and Baseball?
Well most Americans, but you are on a soccer forum with a lot of knowledgeable people. Do you realize that some 50 million Americans have played soccer and that number is growing. Sure its not our #1 sport, but we are growing slowly. The key thing for me is so many dismiss Americans as being knowledgeable and that's not correct, and that is what I find insulting.
Soccer... lol. I also find it funny how you can support two different clubs. Support your local team, mate. That would be a good start to grasp real football culture. There are plenty of match reports on this forums written by Americans. It is evident that half of them don't really know the game. That's not in insult, it's just an observation. You may be surprised but I'm not a US basher at all. On the opposite, I'm probably the only one in my town that is flying a US flag and it pisses off the commies here big time. However, when it comes to football you have to face facts. Sorry mate.
Don't even start the Soccer v Football. Everyone knows that soccer was the term given to association football and that is what it was called in England when the sport made its way to the US. I'm glad you support the US, because we support Israel in a pretty big way. As for football, I'm sure you are well versed in the game - but there are also a lot of Americans who know the game, know the complexities of the sport, as well as the business side in a way you probably cannot comprehend. As for supporting my local team, find one for me to support and then we can talk. Its not hard to support West Ham and Feyenoord. I spend my money on merchandise and things with both clubs, and my reasons for each club are different and more complex than just living next door to one or the other.
Since I'm not in Israel I don't see how your statement is relevant. However, it is very debatable. I'd say it is Israel who supports the US... the monetary help is being paid back with dozens of invaluable services and know-how that can not be matched by money. But since this is not a policital forum I'll leave it. Interesting. Explain. I'd say it's the other way arround... why should folks who know little about the game, it's politics etc. know more about it's business side? Didn't you say that there are plenty of teams in the US I thought... arn't there? Buying merchandise does not make you a supporter.
Fair enough. Where are you and what team do you support? First you make the mistake of assuming that we know little about the game. The US has made great strides in the past 16 years, and from having no league to one with 12 teams that average 15,000 game may not impress in England, Germany, Spain, or Italy - but those numbers are pretty good. Especially when you consider, as you said earlier, that the sport is behind the NFL, baseball, basketball, and maybe hockey. However, the biggest problem is baseball, but the others do pull cash out of the marketplace. The key is knowledge, and just because someone is American does not mean they cannot understand the business side of the game or the technical aspect. I for one, have been around the game for 30 years. I've coached, worked for pro teams in the US, and get this - worked for pro teams in Europe. That's right, pro teams in Europe have paid me for my knowledge and understanding of the game on and off the pitch. I think they are quite a few Americans who are making their mark on sport that we love. I don't think I did, but we have 12 first division teams, 12 2nd division, and 9 or 10 third division, depending on the day and time. We have millions of players, but few pro teams. Sure it does. That's why clubs offer merchandise. We can't all go to matches, but we can all buy a strip or a t-shirt or a scarf. We can follow on the internet and live and die by our team's success or failures. Nice discussion.
Without wanting to offend anyone, especially no West Ham fans - i have to say that Green Street Hooligans really was a pretty terrible movie. Come on, Elijah Wood as a hooligan?! now that's a horrible miscasting. The only good football hooligan movie i've ever seen was Football Factory.
I've grown up with West Ham. I used to live in London. On the contrary. I think this is very impressive. And I really hope that it continues to grow for the sake of all the people in the US that like the sport. That is one of the main cultural differences and also connected to your merchandise comment. And don't take this as a personal attack. I realise that this is not because of 'inferiority' but really part of the cultural difference which has it's pros and cons. But because of this difference it may be hard for a lot of Americans to grasp the real extend that football takes in the lives of people that grew up with their local teams. Your team doesn't have to be a pro-team to support it. You support your team through all stages - not just for glory hunting. Even if your local team is an Amateur team. The clubs most of us support are not just a franchise that can be aquired by merchandise but part of our identity and the friendships we form through the support of our local teams. I think that what the US really needs is a real league system modeled after the traditional European model with relegation and promotion. With time this would allow the US to develop it's own football culture. Teams with a real supporter base would be able to grow and transform into a real force and teams only based on a franchise but little support in their community would be on their way down.
I envy you. I started my "support" back in 1995. Came across a West Ham mailing list and been on board since then. Where are you now? Slow and steady wins the race. With a few more stadiums, MLS will control the venues and that's a huge component to seeing the growth. Have you ever heard of our college sports? "March Madness" in hoops, college football, even the NFL and all our pro sports. thanks to television and the internet the world is a smaller place and allows us to support teams all over the place. Do you have any other sports that you follow? For me, I can support West Ham and Feyenoord because they will rarely, if ever, compete against one another. Preaching to the choir brother. It won't happen with MLS, but I would love to see it happen in the USL (2nd and 3rd divisions) and that is talked about in the coming years. Our biggest problem is we are too big geographically and the founders who started off regionally, soon were swept up in the desire to become a national league. Big mistake and probably over 100 teams foled over the past 10 years. Had they continued with the regional program the league would probably be on a much stronger footing and rival the FA for shear size. The problem will always be stadia, or lack thereof. Communities in Europe often have stadiums just for the local sides to use, that doesn't happen in the US - and if it does, some gridiron club runs the place.
I hate to jump in, because the thread is so far away from its original intent, but let me be a diplomat. Both sides are right, to an extent. Soccer is still a red-headed stepchild of the American sports-scene. Its unfortunate, but as a whole, Americans still know little about soccer. Its been said that 0-0 matches just don't fit with the American psyche. American likes to see itself as a tough country--and folks feigning injury after a kick to the shins just don't fit with the play through pain, no matter how great, mentality present in American football. However, with that all said, there is a growing and growing soccer fan base in the US. You could probably say with a straight face that soccer is growing faster in the US than in any other country in the world. I really do envision a time in the not-so-distant future where soccer overtakes hockey as the #4 sport in America. And remember, America is the country of immigrants--if you go to a soccer match in America there's a high percentage of Mexicans, Poles, Italians, etc. As the number of immigrants grows, soccer is bound to increase in popularity.