Guilty as charged.
But it wasn't always this way. I grew up watching & playing a lot of traditional American sports; football, baseball, & basketball. I even played basketball competitively for my high school until 11th grade. It wasn't until 2010 that I even watched a full 90 minutes of soccer (or what the rest of the world calls football).
That year on family vacation we all gathered around our television to watch the World Cup in South Africa. We watched the USA draw against England & who can forget the late drama of Landon Donovan putting in that goal against Algeria late into stoppage time. I remember running around my living room celebrating the win that put us top of the group instead of a draw that would have knocked us out at the group stage.
Needless to say, I was hooked. I was bitten by World Cup fever. But that's not where it ended. I wasn't just bitten by World Cup fever but by soccer fever. I began looking for ways to stay connected to the game. The MLS season was in mid-swing that summer & I caught a few games on television that year but didn't have a team I really rooted for. I have since come to support Sporting Kansas City since they are the closest club to us in Arkansas.
As the European league seasons started that fall I found out that the American goalkeeper, Tim Howard played for an English Premier League team called Everton (based in Liverpool). I began following Everton & Howard weekly. The excitement of the World Cup was the same in the Premier League for me.
As I began to learn the ins & outs of the league & the game, the appreciation for it only grew. One aspect that really fascinated me was the idea of promotion & relegation. Every year the worst teams in the league go down a division (think Major League Baseball & Triple-A, Double-A, etc.) & the best teams get promoted to the next highest division. So, instead of the worst teams getting the best draft picks like sports in the US, they would instead go down a division & lose millions in revenue. What? That's crazy right!? No wonder this sport is not popular in the US!
But these type of details & many others captured my attention. This led to more & more interest until it easily became my favorite sport to watch, read about, & follow. Other sports have lost their luster (with the exception of college football).
And so, if you are like me back in 2010 & you have caught the bug for more of the beautiful game, here are some next steps for you to stay connected to the game.
(1) Pick a league
You don't just have to pick one. MLS is in full swing & it's likely that you live within driving distance of a team. Also, you can watch it weekly on ESPN. It's not the best league in the world but it's growing & attracting better & better players (remember David Beckham?). It's still fun to watch & follow.
But there are several other great leagues, most of them in Europe. My favorite by far is the top flight in England called the Barclays Premier League. It's the best league top to bottom. There are several teams that fight for the league title every year.
There is also a top league in Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A), France (Ligue 1), & Spain (La Liga) as well as countless others. Pick one & follow!
I follow the Premier league because of Everton & it's accessibility. I can watch every league game on NBC Sports Network or on their live streaming app. I watched every Everton game last season because of this (38) & it was amazing.
One of the best things about European soccer is they have a league of the top teams from each league called the Champions League. They play each other regularly as well which is the best soccer in the world in my opinion. It's second only to the World Cup & the good news is, you don't have to wait 4 years to watch it because it happens every year.
Oh and another reason to love soccer is that the season runs from August to May with a major international competition every summer. Soccer is year-round!
Oh and another reason to love soccer is that the season runs from August to May with a major international competition every summer. Soccer is year-round!
(2) Pick a team
Once you have a league you like, pick a team to follow. Follow that team throughout the season. By a jersey or a scarf & root for them hard! It will keep you connected to the game. I got to go to San Francisco last summer & watch Everton play Juventus (Italian Serie A champions) in a friendly & it was amazing. All the big players were there & played.
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| JUVENTUS vs EVERTON, San Francisco |
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| Jessica & I with Everton & US Goalkeeper Tim Howard |
NBC sports network has some great stuff on how to pick a English Premiere league team here:
(3) Get to a game
Go watch a live game. We went to a World Cup qualifier in Kansas City last October & you can't beat the atmosphere. If you think you are hooked now, just wait. You probably have a club within driving distance. I also saw Chelsea & Manchster City, both from England, play in May of last year in St. Louis. It was a great time as well!
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| CHELSEA vs MAN CITY, St. Louis |
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| Me with US soccer legend Alexi Lalas |
(4) Get to know other soccer people
I have a couple of people I talk to regularly about the game & it's a lot of fun. There aren't a lot out there but there are always a few of us running around. And, we always make ourselves known (see above).
Well, that's about it. If you do those things you will be able to stay connected to the beautiful game & your affection for it will only continue to grow. And what's even more amazing is next summer we have the women's World Cup, the Gold Cup, & several other major international competitions to look forward to each summer until 2018 in Russia.
Here are some other articles about what to do next that I found helpful as well. Enjoy!
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