What category as a soccer fan do you belong to?

abroad only

The city I live in the USA has no MLS team, and I don't follow the MLS (other than what I pick up just by reading BS).

From abroad I follow the league from my own home country only. I ocassionally check up on the standings of the Premier league or the Bundesliga, but it's not often enough to be called following it.

 

Largely an MLS fan. While I follow a few teams abroad, everything else, as "beautiful" and "sophisticated" as they are, is just soccer played over there. Not much point for me.

 

MLS Baby - and I defy anyone to come to the HDC and not see that it is one of the prettiest places for a soccer game anywhere.

But if I go to England, I'll see a Premiership game - though frankly, I'd rather go back to Argentina and see a Boca Juniors game. Since I love soccer, though, I like following games on FSW when I can, or Gol TV, which runs through half the leagues on earth.

 

Domestic meaning back home in England by the way. Just to clear things up.

 

i watch mostly domestic, but i am pretty passionate about la liga and serie a and the like.

 

I am passionate about both abroad and domestic soccer. However, I said I was more passionate about domestic soccer because I support my nation's national team!!!!

 

Category 2, but with an added wrinkle.

I'm very passionate about MLS and American soccer and American soccer players, over how I follow other leagues.

The wrinkle is that I am based overseas, in Australia. And on top of that, I'm an American living overseas, and one who lived in the States for more than 30 years before moving here.

It's hard sometimes being an American soccer fan in a country where there's still a very heavy European influence, especially when it comes to all things soccer, but somehow I manage.

 

I mainly support MLS and the MetroStars, but I do enjoy watching the EPL, the Bundesliga, and La Liga. I support Real Madrid and Newcastle United too, but not to the extent that I support the MetroStars.

 

Does the domestic league there get televised on a regular basis? Is soccer coverage in general about like it is in the USA?
My guess is that soccer in Australia is in a similar situation to the USA.

 

The NSL gets zero coverage here, on TV. In the newspapers, even less.

I work for the local newspaper here in Ballarat (for point of reference, Ballarat's about 90 minutes outside of Melbourne), as a sub-editor. I was going over a lot of the Sunday night sports stories, and I asked one of my editorial supervisors whether we were going to be running a brief weekend summary on the NSL, since we were doing the same on the National Basketball League. He gave me a really weird look, saying that there were "much better leagues to cover" in the smaller spaces that we would have to fill.

Generally, soccer coverage here is good-- but only if you define that as coverage of the EPL, and Aussies abroad as well. Other than that, it's very much like the situation back home (which I think is a very astute comparison).

On these boards, we've talked about the Euro-snob factor when it comes to American soccer-- but here in Australia, it's much worse. Between the Euro-snobs, Euro-poseurs and Euro-wannabes, and the Australians themselves, they'll prefer to follow the European leagues before they even consider the NSL.

But having said that, there are MLS teams that can and would run circles around NSL teams. I say that with the perspective of having covered the NSL for an internet site last year.

As for the lack of TV coverage on the NSL and if or how that may change, there's currently a thread on the Oceania boards discussing that: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=75374

Hopefully, that situation will indeed change. But consider this-- for as much whinging as some posters at BigSoccer do about the inadequacies that tend to pop up with the TV coverage on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, etc., at least there's a good deal of TV coverage of MLS games. We have the polar opposite here, with regard to the NSL.

Yeah, it is. Very much so.

As far as coverage of the domestic product goes, I would compare it to what it was in the USA like pre-MLS, or even pre-1990.

 

Thanks babytiger2001 for the great answer. Those Eurosnobs are like a plague on the earth that spread everywhere!

 

I try to follow the entire MLS. The game here has improved significantly since the start of the league. Well worth putting up with the frustration early on, as the product is quite good.

I really do enjoy watching the super-stars in Europe, though.

 

No worries. Answering as unflinching and as honestly as I can about what I've observed here.

And yes, the Euro-snob problem is universal.

 

Ditto for me. Except I support Ajax and Spurs but not nearly as much as the Metros.

 

Since I can only go to Rapids games live I like to follow the Rapids and MLS more closely then abroad. However, I do love to play Championship Manager and follow the major euro teams.

 

I only support (if you could call it that) a foreign team. However, I follow the MLS pretty closely, and if I ever get a local team, I'll support them.

 

My option isnt in the list...

#1 USMNT
#2 MLS
#3 EPL

as William said, being a Yank overseas with almost no chance of watching MLS here is tough.

I do make it a point every Saturday to stay up REALLLLLLLLLY late and listen to the MLS matches on webstream and watch one or 2 on Yahoo Platinum.

In addition to that, I also purposely planned my annual vacation to California to coincide with the opening of Victoria Street and was able to catch the first eight weeks of MLS this season

However I am 10X more interested in the Nats, and would rather see our best players in Europe than in MLS.

Not sure what this makes me though...

 

I think that would put you in my category, my friend... Category 2.

I'm surprised that you don't have any TV coverage of MLS there in Italy. I think MLS is gaining an international foothold bit by bit, and perhaps some other European television markets, in addition to those in the UK, will be conquered.

Here in Australia, we get a game a week courtesy of the ESPN International affiliate in the Pacific Rim, and at this time of year, that's provided that the timeslot is available.

But during the heart of the regular season, it's quite satisfying, and communal, to get up at 5:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning to prepare breakfast and get ready to watch the live MLS match of the round at 6 a.m... and it's the same game those back home get at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET on a Saturday. And with the same pictures and commentators, too.

But like Tree said, audio webcasts and Yahoo Platinum exist as the lifeblood of a fan overseas. It does impact on my bills slightly, specifically with that of my ISP in terms of added downloads, but I gladly pay that money. It's a necessary investment, as far as I'm concerned, and my wife realises this.

It's a hard effort keeping up with the soccer-related goings-on back home, but it's well worth it.

 

I read "domestic" to mean domestic league i.e. MLS.

I personally am more country first, club second.

re MLS here in Italy: nope. nothing. ever. We don't get any type of ESPN here aside from ESPN Classic and for me to get any other form of EPSN it would cost me 100+ euro per month. Can't afford it.

 

Good Question

Well, I'm obsessed with the English Premiership...so thats my 1st choice. I mean I will watch 2 sucky clubs play a match where I already know the outcome...that is how nuts I am about the English Premiership!

Just started in on MLS this season (Go Fire) following the SPL via the net(but hard to really enjoy a league/support a club when you never see their matches!)....been watching and following the Eredivisie and Bundesliga this year...but not too educated on the coaches, stadiums, and players. Wish I could see La Liga and Serie A.

 

Wow. That's a lot, and admittedly pretty steep. I guess I shouldn't complain about my cable bill, comparatively speaking.

I would consider "domestic" to be the whole ball of wax, eg. MLS + all of the various USA national teams. So that would still qualify you for Category 2, I'm guessing.