Right, I've been getting increasingly interested in Serie A and I'm thinking about what team to support. I hate the idea of just 'picking' a team, but the reality is I'm not Italian or do I have any Italian ancestry, and I'm probably not going to go to Italy for at least six months, possibly a year or longer, and I can't wait that long. I've narrowed down the choices to Roma and Napoli, whose fans I asked in the other thread. The winner gets their club's badge on my bag and unending support. I like Roma for several reasons. Totti is one, of course. He's a brilliant, charismatic player. The support of the fans is another, I've seen Roma-Lazio on TV and the ultras are amazing. And this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I have a fascination with the Roman empire as well, so Roma's tendency to use Roman imagery (the club colours, the emblem, the SQPR shirt, etc) is very cool to me. And who can ever forget the hilarity of Carlo Zampa blowing his top every time Roma score? What I wanted to use this thread for was to solicit opinions on Roma, in essence try and sell to me your club, as if I was some discerning consumer, which makes me sound like a gloryhunter. Spalletti will take us to the top, Totti is great, etc. Also one major thing, a nuts and bolts point if you like: If you think Roma are particularly easy to follow in the UK or to a lesser extent the USA, tell me. Bars in London/San Francisco (where I'm from originally) run or frequented by Napoli fans is a major plus point. Both clubs have obvious attractions, but part of the reason it's between Napoli and Roma for me is that North Beach has a strong Roman contingent and a good cafe run by a big Roma fan, and obviously you can't walk six feet in any Italian-American neighborhood without running into someone of Neapolitan descent.
Well, if you're NOT a Roma fan and you go see them play a home match you may get stabbed. Surely that is a major factor.
being both a roma and a napoli supporter its hard to say which team to choose, they both have incredible fan bases and both have a great future ahead of them. all i can say is roma is a team that is just well, different. They play attractive soccer and produce results without a ton of money at their disposal, the city itself is magic and every one of Roma's players fall in love with the shirt. Being a Roma fan is fun, especially when there are a lot of interesting Roma communities on the internet and a lot of resources to find out about the team on a daily basis. Try and watcha roma game soon whenever you get the chance, i think you might fall in love
Haha, not that Napoli is much better. Aren't both sets of ultras known for being some shanking fools? I couldn't say which to decide on considering I have always been a Roma fan. If either team gives you chills that's the one. This video always gets me. I'm sure Napoli has a similar atmosphere, but you can't go wrong with Roma. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dcsP-MGqWE
Being a Roma supporter comes with great pride. This team earns any accomplishments they win on the field and are not spoon feed Scudetto's like the other big clubs. The other big clubs have enormous amounts of money spent and do not have the greatest team chemistry. Roma play the most exciting and most entertaining soccer in Serie A. They have great world champions that play for the jersey on their backs and not for the pay. This team is truly special and if you want to support a team that gives 100% every match and cares for its fans, you be a Romanisti for life!!!!
I pretty much became a Roma supporter for the reasons you mentioned. I used to just watch Serie A alot, because the football is great in the league and it became my favorite league to watch. Just watching the passion of all the fans, but the Roma fans in particular turned my onto the team. Hearing Roma Roma Roma before the matches is amazing. Plus you have the loyalty of players like Totti and De Rossi, which is hard to find elsewhere. Also the whole Roman history aspect I like alot, and love how the club has stuck with its roots. The passion for this team is amazing though, and it really has become a part of life for me.
Didn't earn last season's CL... Just sayin'.. Remember that you guys got the CL because we cheated our way to third from bottom in 04/05.
I've got 7 reasons why you wouldn't want to support Roma. [youtube]jscC_8RS2PQ[/youtube] "They're just having a nightmare, that they will never ever forget."
I say, you pick based on history...at least thats how I did. And as in reference to this video, where has Napoli been? NOT in the CL. So, you basically CANT use that video as evidence against Roma.
For all the years Roma has been in Serie A, and participated in Europe, all they have to show for it is 3 scudetti and being Runners Up! Even Lazio won something somewhat meaningful in Europe.
Roma will get far more television coverage - definately in the US, and I would assume in the UK. So on that front they will be much easier to follow. At Roma we also play some of the most beautiful, flowing football in Italy with a great attacking flair. You have not just the unbelievable loyalty of Totti (who still has one of the best quotes I've ever heard from any sports star ever. Don't have the exact quote in front of me, but when asked why he didn't go seeking trophies at a Juve or Milan, He said something along the lines of "winning one scudetto with Roma is worth winning 10 with anyone else." Grazie capitano!), but you have Daniele De Rossi who looks to be the heir apparent. Roma is home to some of the very best of the young Italian talent - De Rossi, Aquilani for example, then of course old stalwarts like Totti and Perotta. There isn't a derby in the world that is as passionate and unbelievable as Roma-Lazio.
Oh, and I forgot - though the Napoli board here on Big Soccer might be more active than us (though there is activity in here) - there are some AWESOME Roma fan sights with extremely active message boards. This is one of my favorites, follow the link to the message board, join up, it's a great community: http://www.asroma-addict.com/
VERY easy answer There Not Cheats!!! Milan Juve Fiorentina Lazio all proven to be buying refs, and being favored and Inter are this years Juve. Don't chear on Cheaters.
Do you really want to be part of a team that housed a man infamous for the hand of god? Yeah, you won something meaninful....1000 years ago. :-D
Who cares if you forgot, or not? Maradona was the best player I ever saw. Why would the fact that he knows how to have a good time change my opinion of him? I'm guessing that there are more than a few former and current Roma players that have done, and still do, the same.
the world of drugs is huge, and gets bigger by the second. there is no telling who has done it and who hasnt. all we can see are the people who go overboard or the ones who have the strength to ask for help. I wont bash Maradona for his drug problems, but the hand of god makes me equally as sick.
He may have been a great player, but I would be ashamed to be a fan of his. Not only the hand of God play, not only the extreme cokehead he became, but he threw away a good part of his career to his partying. How much better could he have been if he had not wasted his life on drugs? And how big of an idiot has he become with some of the verbal diareah that he spews these last few years? He's an utter disgrace.
For those of us of the opinion that one gets but one life to live, why not enjoy one's time here? He's made his mark and he's had a good time. What more is there than that?