A couple of weeks ago, I watched Liverpool destroy Manchester United. This was, of course, a great game to watch; at the same time, though, I felt as if maybe I was intruding on history a little bit. You see, I’m relatively new to the game. I couldn’t understand why, but I felt like, perhaps, I was only along for the ride here.
Watching international games this weekend brought out a similar feeling. I watched Spain plod along against Turkey without ever thinking they’d lose, the Netherlands play their beautiful passing attack against Scotland, and then couldn’t get into the Wales-Finland game. The reason then hit me like a ton of bricks: I’m a total bandwagoner.
I really didn’t mean for this to happen. As I explained in my intro piece, I’m relatively new to actually following the sport at any level; I was brought in by the Euros and have been watching ever since. My team selection, though, shows a remarkable lack of creativity:
- Liverpool
- Spain
- The Netherlands
That’s right: the second best team in the Premier League (and, at the moment, the most championships of said league) and the first and third highest ranked teams in the world are my favorite teams. I wasn’t there in 1998 when Spain couldn’t get out of their World Cup group, I can’t find the Netherlands on a map, and I’ve never even heard “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. If I were a born-and-bred Liverpudlian who’d lived and died with the team for years, I’d hate me.
I’m not going to take the complete blame for this, of course; after all, the best teams are usually the easiest teams to get into. If you’re an NFL fan from England, it’s probably a lot easier to follow the Patriots than, say, the Texans; their coverage is better, they play more games, and they’ve even made the trip over there to play at Wembley. Still, though, I think I can do better.
I’m a Clevelander. At heart, I root for the Browns when the NFL season rolls around, and I follow the Indians (loosely; I can’t watch baseball) during their inevitable trek to be rendered irrelevant by mid-August. Probably because of this, I have a warped sense of what being a “fan” is; more often than not, it’s a miserable, miserable experience that crushes all hope from your being. It’s not usually fun. It’s not supposed to be fun. So while I’m enjoying my first full season following the sport, I do have to admit some guilt.
So I’m opening this up to you, readers. I need a new team; I’m not going to abandon the ones I have, but I want one that properly conveys the misery of following a team without any of the angst over possibly winning. We’ll take nominations in the comments; I’ll pick my new team from those offered up in a week or so and report back periodically on how they’re doing.
My son an I were drawn to Arsenal years back because of Henry and stayed because they remind us of our beloved Twins – except for, y’know, the spending part.
We were drawn to Southampton because of the awkwardness that is Crouch lumbering down the field, and were/are closet Liverpool/Pompey fans.
Reading is my official #2 club – I really enjoy watching Doyle/Hunt(s) play and look forward to them coming back up next year.
Point being if certain player/players catch your eye there’s no reason why you can’t use that as a starting point for choosing a club.
As for the Cleveland angle, you could go with Fulham – just good enough to stay in the league but never going anywhere else, or you could really take it up a notch with the Browns angle and become an MK Dons fan…
’tis the luxury of being in the US – you like Liverpool. It’s okay. Hate Everton, enjoy Rafa’s goofy-ass rotations and live it up!
As a Cleveland Browns fan, you are contractually obligated to follow Aston Villa (owned by Randy Lerner).
Fulham overachieved this year, but they usually suck, so that’s an option. My wife likes Villa (she likes the jersey, and we live in Bay Village, which is Brad Friedel’s hometown), so I follow them, but I can’t get behind actually rooting for them for some reason.
MK Dons is an option, although they remind me vaguely of the Ravens with the whole “We’re Wimbledon but we don’t own any of their records or their history” thing. Still a solid choice.
I’ve always had Nottingham Forest as my non-London rooting interest, and I will be truly gutted if they are relegated to League 1 this season. They are my “other” English team that I’ve always rooted for, but I, much like many others in England, was fascinated by Bryan Clough as a kid and thus, rooted for Forest when they were in Europe. You’re welcome on that bandwagon, my friend.
I avoided this sense of guilt by being a Blackburn and USMNT fan. Nice, long ago history for both sides, and nothing to feel guilt about recently…
That said, I openly rooted for Spain to win Euro08 simply because they played the best football. My ancestry says I should be an Azzuri fan, but I just can’t root for a team that always plays for either 1-0 or PKs…
When I have no direct interest, I go for the “best”-playing team, at least when ManUre and Chelski aren’t involved…
Nottingham Forest is a possibility (they’d be a lock if they had green kits and had kept their old crest). Looking at the table, I’m also thinking about Plymouth Argyle, as my genealogy crazy grandmother’s traced the lineage of three of my four grandparents back to the Mayflower. Also, they wear green and they’ve never been in the top flight (as far as I can tell).
Get twenty pieces of paper.
Write the names of the 11th-20th Premiership teams and 1st-10th Championship teams on each piece of paper.
Pick one. No matter who you pick that’s your team.
Ten years from now, no one will ever accuse you of being a front runner.
Buy at least one jersey, scarf & tshirt.(For you & wife)
Learn the history of the team. Heroes, goats & the grounds where they’ve played.
And when said team wins a trophy it will mean something because you know the team and it will not be a “big four” club that bought it with a PS200MM payroll.
What about choosing a team outside Great Britain? There are plenty of more or less interesting leagues around.
As a Norwegian (who quite accidentally found your blog) I would like to present Kongsvinger IL.
They now play on the second highest level in Norway after ten years of economic misery. But coming from a small village in Norway (only 17.000 inhabitants) they have quite a story. After finishing second in the Norwegian Premiership in 1991-1992 they went to play Juventus (with Roberto Baggio as the leading world player) in the UEFA-cup in the spring of 1993. As one of footballs greatest mysteries they got a draw (1-1) at home, and only lost by 2-0 in Turin. It should be mentioned that Juventus later admitted to pay off a lot officials during the UEFA-cup that year (which they won by the way).
Anyway, this year Kongsvinger is a favourite for promotion to the Norwegian Premiership (The Tippeliga). This after a winter where a supposed economic saviour, a danish multimillionaire, first accepted to support the club economically, but then was charged with fraud and quite extensive corruption, and went undercover.
The team is lead by a famous Norwegian coach, Tom Nordlie, which is mentioned as a possible candidate for the job as chief of the national team in the future (and a living legend with his record of getting sacked in every club (more than five) he leads, not because of results, but his temper and demanding style).
So if you ever consider to support any team outside the mainstream arenas of football, think of Kongsvinger IL.
I like Baard’s idea the best, but I can’t find any English language sites for Kongsiver; I’m all for dedication, but learning a new language is probably outside the scope of this particular project. However, if a good English site following Norwegian soccer exists, I’m all over it.
So far I’m between Plymouth Argyle and Nottingham Forest.
Ah, those damn language issues. Tried to find some pages on the web now, but they’re obviously not existing. If interested, I can for sure provide you with relevant updates, news and links to video highlights of each game.
If not, then I have to put in a word for Preston North End as your english outsider. They (as you for sure know) won the two first Championships in England. The last years they’ve been close to promotion at least three times – with two losses in the play-off finals (2001 and 2005). Deepdale, their home ground, is also the home of the National Football Museum in England.
The combination of a charming stadium and team, lots of football history and ever lasting promotion stamina makes a good base for any follower.
Ooo, Preston North End’s a good one; they’re old, sure, but I’ve actually seen them play (they played Liverpool in the FA Cup earlier this season). That might be a winner, actually.
I think I’m between Plymouth and Preston at the moment, actually. Maybe I should put it to a vote?
Put it to a vote!
Making a poll or simply collecting answers from the comment section?
If so, I put in a vote for Preston.
I’ll probably do a separate post for the poll, and I’m guessing it’ll probably be Friday (there’re so many games on that if I do it any other time it’ll get lost in the shuffle).
[...] True Confessions of a Bandwagon Fan, Part Deux Jump to Comments Hope you all had an excelent Easter weekend, this was quite the weekend for goals and exciting matches, but not much in the way of upsets/shocking results/table changing matches, Damn you Federico Macheda, (I feel I will be cursing that name far too many times in the coming years), so rather than write what would probably be a lackluster review, I’ve decided to add a part two to something we’ve already done. [...]
Genealogy: A hay stack full of needles. It’s the threads I need.