Marka Ragnos Posted August 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 18, 2013 Apart from Villa, I love so many clubs, very hard to choose ... AS Livorno Calcio PSG Atalanta I'm Anglo-American, but have never been able to warm up to US soccer. Dunno why, just haven't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivevilla Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 1. Villa 2. NE Revs of the MLS - local club for me these last 10-15 yrs3. None as of now. I've been trying to find a third club to follow, but no one h as stuck for more than a few games, let alone a few seasons. Until then, the half-hearted search continues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Villa .Jacksonville Jaguars.Jacksonville Suns (Minor League baseball).Cubs(MLB).Florida Gators (UF)NCAA . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I'm Anglo-American, but have never been able to warm up to US soccer. Dunno why, just haven't. Cause it's shit? (I genuinely don't know) I'm Singaporean and I can't bothered in the slightest about the goddamned S-League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 19, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) I'm Anglo-American, but have never been able to warm up to US soccer. Dunno why, just haven't. Cause it's shit? (I genuinely don't know) ... (Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news. Edited August 19, 2013 by Shifted To Neutral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Fair enough. Same here in Aussieland, A-League teams don't get a lot of coverage. Funnily enough, in Singapore the (government-controlled) newspapers always publish full reports on S-League matches, even though hardly anyone gives a **** about the local league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post leviramsey Posted August 19, 2013 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted August 19, 2013 (Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news.Time for a Levi Ramsey mini-epic...The time difference really hurts eastern MLS teams. It's completely viable for someone in Boston or Philadelphia or even Chicago to watch nearly all games of their preferred PL club without too much effort (the 7:45 am games are the only problem, but you only have to worry about a couple of those, tops, a season). I'd go all-in on at least three PL clubs (Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd) having more fans within 75 miles of Gillette Stadium than the Revs who play their home games there (and I'd be willing to bet that Arsenal, Spurs, Man City, and maybe Everton?? have more fans, too). Yeah, the only fully-professional club in a catchment area of 6-7 million people might well be the eighth most followed club!Part of that may be because the Krafts don't give a shit about the Revs, but even in Philadelphia, where the Union are the most successful MLS club in terms of local fanbase, I'd still bet on there being more fans of at least Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd, and either Arsenal or Man City (and it's perhaps telling that the Union, along with Toronto FC (and the Impact, but they're French, so they don't count for this discussion), don't have the baggage of the MLS's first decade when the focus was on selling the league to soccer moms that the other Eastern MLS clubs do and have focused at some level on developing a more "European" fanbase). As international football has converted non-expats into soccer fans, on the East Coast it's been the PL that has soaked up the interest.But on the West Coast, as noted, you have to put in the effort to watch the PL (especially since the PL doesn't really have nighttime football on the weekends...). Unless you're already invested in a club, you're probably not going to become a fan.Datapoint: I can name three VTers within 100 miles of Boston (maybe 8 million population) who have posted in the past week (I'm the second on this page). There are over 80 million Americans in the Mountain and Pacific timezones, but I can only think of two VTers from there who have posted in the past week, plus two more inactive? notables. Of those four, at least three were Villans when they were first out there (and two of those were already notable VTers when they moved!). So if you've become a soccer fan, MLS is a lot more convenient.This has a lot to do, I think with the atrocity that was Fox's coverage. Fox Sports has been LA from day one (trivia: a fraternity brother of my dad's (Kappa Sigma!) recently retired as the head of non-game programming for Fox Sports... yes, he hired Warren Barton, and Eric Wynalda, and Rob Stone, and greenlighted Being Liverpool, and created The Best Damn Sports Show, Period), and I think they always had this idea that the only people watching were already fans. That's why the games that they chose to show on free Fox were Super Sunday-type games between big clubs that are, more often than not, turgid. To overcome the time-difference, they re-ran a lot of games later, but if I see a game in my programming guide that's "as live", I'm very unlikely to watch it.Contrast this with East Coast (Philadelphia/New York/Stamford, CT) NBC: their whole idea is to get general sports fans to start their 12 hours of vegging for college football a couple of hours early and to pick a club to follow. The games that are on free NBC are the Saturday evening games, typically with a midtable club involved (and these games are generally more entertaining, I think, and not just because Villa). 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 19, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) (Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news. Time for a Levi Ramsey mini-epic... ... Part of that may be because the Krafts don't give a shit about the Revs, but even in Philadelphia, where the Union are the most successful MLS club in terms of local fanbase, I'd still bet on there being more fans of at least Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd, and either Arsenal or Man City (and it's perhaps telling that the Union, along with Toronto FC (and the Impact, but they're French, so they don't count for this discussion), don't have the baggage of the MLS's first decade when the focus was on selling the league to soccer moms that the other Eastern MLS clubs do and have focused at some level on developing a more "European" fanbase). As international football has converted non-expats into soccer fans, on the East Coast it's been the PL that has soaked up the interest. Loads of great points in your excellent post. I live an hour north of Philly, and this summer I saw about three kids wearing Union jerseys. Always white suburban boys (and I'm one myself lol), for whatever reason. But if I add up all the others I saw -- heaps and HEAPS of Barca, Real Madrid, Chivas, América, and a few Chelsea and Man U and, for some reason, Everton shirts -- there's no comparison. The fandom around here is completely diffused with no higher number of MLS fans that I can see. I know, I know -- purely empirical, purely anecdotal, etc. I know it's pretty lame, but I think I'd get more excited about the Union if it didn't take 2-3 hours in Philly traffic to travel to a match. So out here in the "hinterlands," I just don't feel "clubbiness" of any sort. Naturally, I find myself reverting to old faves in Blighty. As you suggest, you can practically speaking be "closer" to Birmingham than to many major American cities due to general crap coverage, history, market dynamics, etc. Lots of irony! Edited August 19, 2013 by Shifted To Neutral 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponky Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 What I love about the A League is that it's an even competition. Pretty much any team can win the league any given year (apart from Wellington who are completely crap) and no match is a foregone conclusion. Nowhere near the same quality but at least it is an actual competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giro Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Use to support moor green before some prick burnt the stand down. Live round the corner and used to hop over the fence to go there loads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Känner du Peter Andersson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieZ Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Maccabi Haifa (Israel) - I am in the process of relocating to Israel for work and Maccabi Haifa will be my local club. Following the team is one of the ways I look forward to connecting with the city. I already have my least favourite club lined up in the unapologetically racist and xenophobic Beitar Jerusalem. I see you did your homework. Picking the #1 team in Israel for that past 20 years (albeit being a bit behind Maccabi Tel Aviv in recent years) is a sure bet. You could pick Hapoel Haifa - their local rivals. If you appreciate the occasional win - that's the team for you They seemed to me to have the most cosmopolitan fanbase of the teams, as well. I'm really looking forward to the new stadium! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 (Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news. Time for a Levi Ramsey mini-epic... The time difference really hurts eastern MLS teams. It's completely viable for someone in Boston or Philadelphia or even Chicago to watch nearly all games of their preferred PL club without too much effort (the 7:45 am games are the only problem, but you only have to worry about a couple of those, tops, a season). I'd go all-in on at least three PL clubs (Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd) having more fans within 75 miles of Gillette Stadium than the Revs who play their home games there (and I'd be willing to bet that Arsenal, Spurs, Man City, and maybe Everton?? have more fans, too). Yeah, the only fully-professional club in a catchment area of 6-7 million people might well be the eighth most followed club! Part of that may be because the Krafts don't give a shit about the Revs, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambridge-AVFC Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 I use to follow my local club Histon FC(the village team that beat Leeds 1-0 in 2009). But haven't been for about 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 What I love about the A League is that it's an even competition. Pretty much any team can win the league any given year (apart from Wellington who are completely crap) and no match is a foregone conclusion. Nowhere near the same quality but at least it is an actual competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 What I love about the A League is that it's an even competition. Pretty much any team can win the league any given year (apart from Wellington who are completely crap) and no match is a foregone conclusion. Nowhere near the same quality but at least it is an actual competition. You Kiwi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 What I love about the A League is that it's an even competition. Pretty much any team can win the league any given year (apart from Wellington who are completely crap) and no match is a foregone conclusion. Nowhere near the same quality but at least it is an actual competition. You Kiwi? Spent most of my childhood in Wellington so have a soft spot for the Phoenix. I know we're pretty crap though, but still... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 3 games in and its 3 wins, 15 scored and none conceeded for Barry Town (8:0, 3:0, 4:0) there's nothing like an injustice to fire up a team! just got to keep that momentum going when they are being kicked off some godforsaken boggy pitch in the semi darkness in November or February Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islingtonclaret Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Glad you lot are doing OK. I'm fed up of us losing to sodding Rhyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelmsley_villan Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 I wouldn't say I supported them but I keep an eye on Solihull Moors as they are around the corner from me. Will probably pop down over these next couple of weeks whilst there no villa game Helps that with my villa ST you get reduced entry aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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