Of course, the author is biased and he’s going to hype the team he picks, but I’m going to have to agree with him and become a Spurs fan. They sound like my kind of team: asshole losers with a long history.

Asshole losers with a long history?

Philadelphia!

PRECISELY!!

The Spurs seem very much like the Phillies of the UK.

This was a really fun read. I always get really into soccer whenever the major tournaments come around, but then I slowly lose interest. This past UEFA championship was awesome, and I currently have an intense FIFA ‘08 rivalry going on right now, so I’m hoping that soccer will stick this time around. It’s so hard to manufacture an allegiance to a team though, and it really is kind of pointless to root for a team other than the big 4 in the EPL (unless winning isn’t important). If forced to choose an EPL side I think I like Arsenal the best, but my favorite player is on Bayern Munich, and I’m German, so I think they’re my real favorite team.

I agree, Jay, this was a fun read!

I had the good fortune to stumble upon a ticket for a Man U vs. Arsenal game back in 2001 when I went to England to visit a friend.

Of course, I haven’t played soccer since my days in the Pee-Wee leagues, so I had NO idea what this was all about (it wasn’t until I got home and my story was met with wide eyes that I realized that these were some supremo tickets).

So, the pitch, much to my surprise, was in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The main gate was sandwiched between two duplexes, and all around the concourse were chain-link fences bordering people’s backyards.

After a few (too many) pints at my friend’s local pub, we hopped on the tube with yet some more beer. Even in my hazy stupor, i remember feeling bad for the people who lived in this neighborhood.

It’s funny that the author mentioned the “superhuman energy” of the fans, because I’m pretty sure that exact term came out of my mouth after roughly an hour straight of being jostled by large men jumping up and down, waving scarves and singing songs involving “sticking the foul flag (or something to that nature) up your ass”.

Now, I’ve been to Fenway, and I can honestly say that on their best day, Red Sox fans couldn’t hope to muster even a fraction of the zeal that these ridiculous, face painted, obscenely drunk fans of Man U and Arsenal had even in the lulls of the game.

I highly recommend you try to catch a game if you’re ever there. Just be sure to be prepared as the seats are so tight together, that if everyone around you is jumping, YOU’RE jumping.

Like it or not.

i love how you guys only show interest in this randomly. that article is basically an Idiot’s Guide to the Premier League. take it with a grain of salt, actually WATCH some games (an entire season would be preferable), and then maybe decide on a team.

the offer has always stood to watch a game with us every weekend but no one ever does.

Jay said:

it really is kind of pointless to root for a team other than the big 4 in the EPL (unless winning isn’t important).

then why not root for the most winning (winningest?) teams in any american sport? this is a stupid way to pick a team. i support Man Utd (i basically married into it), but the first game i ever saw live was Portsmouth, so i have a spot in my heart for them as well. this was before they made their way into the Premier League.

ugh – come watch some games with us this season, seriously! LEARN.

Mandy, I barely catch a quarter of the Phillies season. Catching an entire EPL season just isn’t happening. I need all the dummies guides I can get.

I’d be over every weekend but flights get expensive! I know I put this up before, but here it is again. Link.

mandy said:

then why not root for the most winning (winningest?) teams in any american sport? this is a stupid way to pick a team. i support Man Utd (i basically married into it), but the first game i ever saw live was Portsmouth, so i have a spot in my heart for them as well. this was before they made their way into the Premier League.

.

I totally get what you’re saying, and believe me, while this article was interesting and fun it didn’t really influence me at all. But, I would think most people would agree that the dominance of the big 4 definitely adversely affects the rest of the league’s ability to draw new fans, and it’s actually a danger to the entire league. It’s kind of hard to compare it to N.A. sports leagues because even though there are a few perennial contenders (Yankees, Red Sox, Patriots hahaha, Red Wings), these teams don’t win literally every year, and there are actually measures in place (revenue sharing, salary cap, etc.) to maintain parity.

I mean, there’s literally almost zero chance that a team like Newcastle or Man. City will EVER win because of how unevenly distributed the league’s resources are. I could understand liking one of those teams if you married in, or happened to have a fun associated experience on a trip or something, but if I’m picking a team based on nothing but TV and statistics, why would I choose one that literally can’t compete? If you look at the list of recent major N.A. sport champions, you will see much more parity (Cardinals, White Sox, Marlins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Lightning, etc.), so it’s not really comparing apples to apples.

Jay said:

I mean, there’s literally almost zero chance that a team like Newcastle or Man. City will EVER win because of how unevenly distributed the league’s resources are. I could understand liking one of those teams if you married in, or happened to have a fun associated experience on a trip or something, but if I’m picking a team based on nothing but TV and statistics, why would I choose one that literally can’t compete? If you look at the list of recent major N.A. sport champions, you will see much more parity (Cardinals, White Sox, Marlins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Lightning, etc.), so it’s not really comparing apples to apples.

if you haven’t checked out the current table standings, Man City is in the top 4. granted, the season has just begun but they have had a strong start. plus, many many rich folks and organizations across the globe are starting to stand up and take notice of the Premier League, hence teams like Man City securing Robinho, who is slated to be the next Ronaldo. since the bigger clubs already have proper funding, i definitely forsee the smaller clubs getting bought-up and funded better. it’s a hobby right now for billionaires.

new fans of all clubs are popping up everywhere, though of course the bigger ones will always have more supporters. that was always the case, funding or not. Manchester United and Liverpool have had a huge following for pretty much the duration of their existence. Chelsea has only gotten the massive crowds in the past few years (wonder why).

though there is a recognized “Big 4”, the actual Top 4 fluctuates, sometimes wildly, and will change again at some point. Newcastle was in the top 4 in 2003 and 2003, and it’s only been since the 2006 season that the top 4 haven’t changed at all.

and i totally agree that the teams that are able to buy the best players are a danger to the league and everything football stands for. it sucks, but you also have to keep in mind that these players, aside from being fantastic, also have to be able to play well as a team. Chelsea ran into some shit with that, when the players just weren’t gelling and so did Man Utd.

another note on the article – his comments on sports fans is dead-on with my feelings. you absolutely cannot beat the crowd at an english/euro football game, pro or not. however the sky-high tickets prices are getting to be pretty much on-par with any other pro sport in any country.

i’d like to know when this was written because a few of his major facts are out of date.

mandy said:

i’d like to know when this was written because a few of his major facts are out of date.

Case in point: Thierry Henry. If he was still with Arsenal there’s no doubt they would be my favorite team.

Jay said:

mandy said:

i’d like to know when this was written because a few of his major facts are out of date.

Case in point: Thierry Henry. If he was still with Arsenal there’s no doubt they would be my favorite team.

so is your favourite team Barcelona? would your chosen team change depending on where a player was transferred to? i was certainly more interested in Portugal during the World Cup due to Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence there.

as far as other facts go, he seems to assume that Newcastle’s sponsor is Newcastle Brown Ale when that hasn’t been the case since 2000. and he mentions Jose Mourinho as Chelsea’s manager – he left long before last season was over. it seems the article is at least a year old.

mandy said:

so is your favourite team Barcelona? would your chosen team change depending on where a player was transferred to? i was certainly more interested in Portugal during the World Cup due to Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence there.

Nah. Barca is too easy a choice too. I just really like Henry. I’m going to stick with my Arsenal/Bayern/Juventus allegiance. I’m only taking Juve because of the Millencolin song.

So Mandy, since you seem to be the resident expert, do you have any idea what the best way to go about getting Euro soccer (non-EPL) tickets would be. I am traveling to Germany/Netherlands/Belgium next month and I figure it would be pretty sweet to catch a game. There is a Bundesliga game between Schalke and Wolfsburg that seems pretty interesting, as well as a World Cup qualifier between Belgium and Armenia. Any suggestions on how to grab some tickets?

Jay said:

So Mandy, since you seem to be the resident expert, do you have any idea what the best way to go about getting Euro soccer (non-EPL) tickets would be. I am traveling to Germany/Netherlands/Belgium next month and I figure it would be pretty sweet to catch a game. There is a Bundesliga game between Schalke and Wolfsburg that seems pretty interesting, as well as a World Cup qualifier between Belgium and Armenia. Any suggestions on how to grab some tickets?

kevin will be better suited to answer your question, as he has actually purchased tickets in the past for these things. i will tell him to come play here for a bit.