Hi Guys! I was wondering whether your love to football started with a local team or a Premier League team? Do You support both teams in Europe and States? Also if You would like to help me and get a chance to win one of two $20 Amazon vouchers, please fill in the questionnaire: https://aber.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/fans-usa . It is on Premier League clubs' presence in USA. I hope You can help me guys! Need hundred responses so don't hesitate to share it amongst your friends!
I started out as a national team fan in World Cup 1994. I followed the Hexagonal (last round of World Cup Qualifying in CONCACAF) in 1997, followed by qualifying in every confederation starting with World Cup 2002. I'm guessing I was a MetroStars (now Red Bulls) fan when MLS started in 1996. I don't remember when I became a Manchester United fan, but it was after that. I was a fan by the time they won the 2008 Champions League. My favorite clubs are a mix of a top club in a top league, a club that has been good the last few years but still hasn't won any of the 22 MLS Cups, and a club not doing well in a top league, Genoa.
That is quite interesting! Can You remember how the league (MLS) was shaping and establishing properly over the years? Is there many differences over last, say 10 years?
My first memory of the CONCACAF Champions Cup (now Champions League) was in 2005, which was the last time it wasn't won by a Mexican club. At that point the Champions Cup had 8 clubs. Each Quarterfinal had a Mexican or an American club against a Central American or Caribbean club. In the four Champions Cups before it became a Champions League, MLS clubs advanced 5 out of 8 times and were eliminated by the Mexican club they faced in the Semifinals all five times. Looking at Champions Cup results, the Costa Rican league may have been better than MLS in the last Champions Cups, but MLS had more Quarterfinalists than Costa Rica in the first few Champions Leagues, which started in 2008-2009. I read that the Costa Rican league got worse because now some Costa Ricans play in Europe. I think MLS has been the second best league in CONCACAF for a while. The Central American and Caribbean countries have too few people to be elite leagues. When I watch games, I don't think about the league I'm watching being better or worse than other leagues. I think Europeans can name more MLS players now than five or ten years ago.
Grew up playing soccer as a kid in the 80's but didn't know anything about it as a spectator sport. First introduction was the '90 World Cup, watched a few games including the final. Started following the US team and the overall build up for the '94 World Cup over here. Fell in the love with the sport during the tournament and afterwards watched any soccer that I could find on TV, which included random premiere league highlights. This was also the start of the internet so was able keep up with scores and news even in the US MLS started around this time as well, I watched the first game, and the MLS Cup but never really got into it. There isn't a local team for me to support and after watching the W.C. and the European leagues, it was like watching a game played at 1/2 speed. In 98-99 I studied abroad in the UK which allowed me to follow an entire premier league season and got to actually go to a game at Anfield. When I came home I found games on Fox Sports World and began actively following Liverpool. Since then it's only gotten easier and easier, and become a bigger and bigger part of my life. Still don't have a MLS team, although would buy season tickets if one came here. Attend a couple of games a season south of the border in Tijuana though. Follow the US National team, used to watch every game and attend any games within a 3 hour drive, and traveled to South Africa to follow them. Now just watch the qualifiers and tournaments, and only attend games actually in San Diego. So that's my story.
My interest started super-locally...with my daughter’s rec team (the Ligers). When we moved from Florida to Seattle, competitive dance just wasn’t a thing, so soccer became her competitive outlet. As her interest grew, so did mine. Around the same time, NBC picked up the Premier League rights and they were running a “choose your team” ad campaign. I wanted a club that was competitive, but not too popular (i.e. not Liverpool, Man U, or Arsenal), and with some echo of my childhood sports teams (from Detroit). Hull were the Tigers, but not competitive enough, Wolverhampton sounded like Wolverines, but same deal, and there was nothing like a Piston (unless you really stretched for Preston North End). I ended up with Chelsea for the blue kits and the Lions in their crest. They’ve treated me well. My Chelsea fandom grew into Sounders fandom. Game tix led to half-season packages, and just this year, season tix. It’s a great atmosphere and the Sounders have also been successful and easy to root for. Now I watch 3-5 soccer games a week from the Premier League, Champions League, Bundesliga, MLS, etc and my favorite teams are Seattle United West Blue (my daughter’s select team), Chelsea, and the Sounders (with a heavy dose of the USWNT)...and from the previous Euros and the upcoming World Cup: Iceland!
I realize your survey is closed, but I'll share my story, in case you need one more. I played soccer when I was a kid in the 80's. Fast-forward to the time when NBC picked up the PL broadcast rights and I happened to start watching matches on Saturday mornings before the day would really get started. I started to follow Chelsea, since, if I remember correctly, they had Euro play and PL play, so I was really able to see a lot of games. That sort of got me interested in the MLS, Bundesliga, La Liga, MX and Serie A. Now, soccer is about the only sport I watch and I've found that there is enough on TV to keep me engaged year-round. I also tend to find that when I travel, I can spark conversations more easily about the beautiful game than I can with any other sport.