American fans of EPL clubs

[Matthew Wyatt]

Interesting article, I thought (don't worry about the Arsenal headline; it's about US-EPL love in general). @The American @yankspurs @Kentuckyid @fortworthspur et al, how does it reflect your own experience? Sounds like I'd be able to find a footy bar and a few Spurs fans in most American cities of any size.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/28/premier-league-epl-nbc-america-fans

 

[KentuckyYid]

I'm a London expat but grew up with Spurs. To be honest, surprising enough, here in the Bay area when I'm out and about I mostly meet Tottenham and Chelsea fans, United 3rd. All with old and new fans. The banter is different, its more civil ha ha but its there.

 

[yankspurs]

Most of the fans I come across are United, Chelsea, City and Arsenal. Met a Bayern fan once, and know a Barca fan, Real fan and an Atletico fan. Dont know any Spurs supporters. But I know theres a fairly large official supporters group in the city.

 

[scissor_gang]

I'm from the states and was visiting denver in January. Found a football pub to watch the game vs City. Arrived in my spurs jersey and was looking for the screens the game was on and a couple of spurs supporters called over to me 'you want this one over here'. Later a guy came in and asked if they were playing the Chelsea game. The bartender said yeah that ones on in the shi**er. Loved it.

 

[Matthew Wyatt]

I was thinking too of the romanticisation of British working class culture suggested in the article. Do you secretly long to be East End skinheads or Northern miner's sons?

 

[KentuckyYid]

I've met more W Ham fans than both Arsenal or City. Obviously they don't know what they're talking about - but still...

 

[coyspurs18]

I am from Annapolis and it seems like there are a good amount of City, Chelsea, and United fans that I see. I can't say that I have seen any fans of any club that romanticize the British culture like the nutter guy in the article. I coach here and it appears to me that the kids I coach are more attached to players than clubs. They couldn't tell you who Real play this week but will spout off all of CR7's stats. I imagine their infatuation is that of a European kid who may love LeBron but not care about the Heat at all if he left the team. I have been fortunate enough to find some Spurs fans near me and was surprised that an old friend that I had lost contact with was a fan (he commented on a FB post of mine). My initial introduction to Tottenham came when I visited England during the 98 World Cup, the friends I stayed with were Australian and Tottenham fans. I traded a Michael Jordan basketball jersey for a Klinsman kit before I came home. I pretty much forgot about it and did as many of my players now do and just follow players rather than the club. That changed in the 2010/11 season when I watched Spurs in CL. I decided to watch more of them and the following year I watched every match I could and was hooked. I quickly fell in love with the drama and felt the sting of the transfer window when we lost Rafa and Modric. I now feel it's my duty to persuade all my players to become Spurs fans and to get them as excited as I am about watching their matches.

 

[AmericanSpur]

Watching games in the US is much easier than it was 10 years ago or so. I remember going with a Bulgarian coworker to a bar in Philadelphia because they showed simulcasts of 2002 WC qualifiers. It was $10 to get in the door and then $20 to get into a room with the game.

I agree with @coyspurs18 though that many folks find their teams through players. I found Spurs through my grandfather who obsessed over feeling connected to his Irish roots so I'd go to the library with him to read the Irish papers. We read about Robbie Keane and his signing for Spurs so I committed myself then (helped that my keeper camp coach that summer was an academy graduate).

 

[TheChosenOne]

My brother high up in the Sierra Nevada, N.Cal was a Spurs fan when he lived here, even went to the QPR final back in 1983 when he was only 15. But he was more into rugby than anything else and played and coached with the oval ball out in Oakland/ San Francisco.

Still hates Arsenal though.

 

[fortworthspur]

Interesting article, I thought (don't worry about the Arsenal headline; it's about US-EPL love in general). @The American @yankspurs @Kentuckyid @fortworthspur et al, how does it reflect your own experience? Sounds like I'd be able to find a footy bar and a few Spurs fans in most American cities of any size.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/28/premier-league-epl-nbc-america-fans

thanks for asking. Im American, but lived with my family in Surrey from age 12-17 while my father worked in London for an oil company. I had American friends who supported Leeds and Arsenal and decided I needed to pick a club. We lived in London for a short time after arriving, and the very first thing I did with my first new friend was go see Star Wars at Tottenham Court Road. I know now thats a long way from White Hart Lane but at 12 the word "Tottenham" was strongly associated with a very intense experience - a trip out in a great big brand new city. I also remember thinking "Hotspur" sounded really cool. Its as simple as that.

 

[fortworthspur]

back then (1978-83) of course you had BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Thats it. Id watch the news every Saturday to get the result and I watched Match of the Day every Saturday hoping they'd show Spurs. I remember watching the two FA cup finals - probably the only two entire matches I watched until satellite TV brought it all to the states about 10 years ago.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

I spent 6 months in the US in 1995, and on about the 3rd day there I was out and about in Carmel, California and was wearing my Spurs shirt.
A couple walked past and the guy said "bloody hell, those Spurs fans get everywhere".

 

[JerryGarcia]

I'm English, born here in Chelmsford but My Mum is American and so I have dual nationality and loads of family on Long Island and around New York. Last time I was there I saw a few Spurs fans and I think it's a great thing, I welcome all American fans and hopefully there will only be more in the future. It's not an accident that football is the most popular sport around the world but it just didn't get the TV coverage in the States in the past ahead of the Major League type sports.

I can relate in a way too as when I was younger I became a Chicago Bulls fan, obviously you could call it glory hunting but I just wanted to watch MJ do his thing and when they won the finals against Utah and Seattle I was up at 4am going mental, even though I had no natural affiliation to the team. When the Bulls broke up I was gutted and Kirk Hinrich just wasn't going to cut it so I kind of stopped watching after a while, good to see they have a strong team again though.

Hopefully in the future when the MLS is stronger, there can be some kind of internationl club tournament maybe in the world cup format but with teams from MLS, Brazil, Japan, Europe etc.

 

[Matthew Wyatt]

thanks for asking. Im American, but lived with my family in Surrey from age 12-17 while my father worked in London for an oil company. I had American friends who supported Leeds and Arsenal and decided I needed to pick a club. We lived in London for a short time after arriving, and the very first thing I did with my first new friend was go see Star Wars at Tottenham Court Road. I know now thats a long way from White Hart Lane but at 12 the word "Tottenham" was strongly associated with a very intense experience - a trip out in a great big brand new city. I also remember thinking "Hotspur" sounded really cool. Its as simple as that.

Yes, I agree that Tottenham Hotspur is the coolest name out there. No-one else comes close, except possibly Sheffield Wednesday. (Actually, Woolwich Arsenal would have been OK had they not ditched the first part.)

 

[Matthew Wyatt]

I coach here and it appears to me that the kids I coach are more attached to players than clubs. They couldn't tell you who Real play this week but will spout off all of CR7's stats. I imagine their infatuation is that of a European kid who may love LeBron but not care about the Heat at all if he left the team.

Interesting point, and it's a similar story here. I'm an Englishman in Australia and my football-mad 15-year-old Australian stepson is far more attached to the players - notably Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovich and Rooney - than the clubs. He's all over the place with his club support, although sadly no-where near THFC.

 

[scissor_gang]

I was thinking too of the romanticisation of British working class culture suggested in the article. Do you secretly long to be East End skinheads or Northern miner's sons?

No thanks, I'm comfortable with my american suburban upbringing The guy in the article seems to have a bit of an identity crisis but I guess if being a devoted gooner and brittish working class fanboy keeps him out of prison who am I to judge?

I only started supporting Spurs in the 2011-12 season. I fortunately discovered that my GF's cable had Fox Soccer and Fox Soccer Plus. I had a lot of free time then so I started watching all the EPL games they played. They'd replay the games all week so I'd catch a game or 2 a day and ended up watching a fair bit of football over a couple of months. I liked watching all the games just for the sport but found myself drawn to Spurs because of the attacking, free-flowing football they were playing. That and they weren't MU, Liverpool, Arsenal, or Chelsea. I was aware of these teams prior and didn't want to root for a 'big 4' team, I prefer an underdog. Spurs of course imploded that year and I got my first taste of the inevitable disappointment that comes with being Spurs fan but in a sick way that is where some of the appeal comes from to me. It wouldn't be fun for me to support a team like Barca who wins nearly every game. Where is the anticipation? the nerves? I think I get too much nerves and disappointment from Spurs but I'll take that over supporting a soulless team like Chelsea.

 

[spurs-r-us]

That is an absolutely horrid article, thanks to the vernacular used.

"...shouting beside like-minded fanboys as his Gunners take to the field."

Should we be admiring Ms Shapiro for pledging to stand by Cardiff, 'even if they get relegated'.

The thing about football over there is that it died after the NSL fad, made a comeback for US 94, and recently re-emerged under the banner of 'EPL'. When people call football EPL, and it happens a lot here in Australia, I just fucking despair. This bloke claims to have a romanticised notion of working class life, yet he went and picked a side nowhere near his residence who are amongst the best and biggest clubs in the world. I can only imagine what football would be like if it were formed by some of the people in this article.

The Italian fella who likes Chelsea appears to be one of those who started following in the early 00's, just like the rest of them. What a shock that Abramovich arrived just after they started supporting the club!!

Meanwhile, the United fan who saw Giggs' goal. Wowwee, how unique. I wonder if anybody else liked that goal. In other words, he liked United because they were the best and hasn't had any reason (until now, and even still not so much) to question his decision.

Football culture in Britain was formed by supporters who came together in spite of what they saw out on the pitch, not on the conditions of it being any good!

**I apologise to the majority of good and genuine US and foreign supporters.

 

[Shea]

I'd like to ask our US Spurs fans what drew them to support the club

Was it when Dempsey signed? or something else

(sorry if this is a tangent away from the purpose of this thread - I just wonder how we attracted fans in the US when we've not been part of the big 4 in the time where football has been growing over there)

I know from my own point of view whenever I have followed teams from other countries or other sports I've naturally been drawn to the winners and or most high profile teams (because I am a casual fan of that sport or league I guess)

Like as a youngster I liked the Bulls because of Jordan, Rodman and Pippen, Milan because of Van Basten and Gullit, Barca because of Lineker etc

I couldn't imagine myself suddenly getting into watching a new sport or league and finding myself drawn to a team who were in our position - below the top tier, never winning anything etc

What is the connection that attracted you as a US fan to our beloved club?

 

[pook]

I'd like to ask our US Spurs fans what drew them to support the club

Was it when Dempsey signed? or something else? ...

... What is the connection that attracted you as a US fan to our beloved club?

I get asked that all the time. I wish I knew.

when I was a kid (early 70s) the only meaningful (proper) football I could see here in Indiana was the world cup. but lo and behold, with the coming of a public broadcasting system (PBS) channel, there would be occasional broadcasts of 'the road to the FA cup'. it was my introduction to club football, and for some reason, spurs always stood out for me. over time, I found that I could get the odd English footy mag (even though they were invariably months old), or for more current information, go down to the public library and read the prior Sunday's Times. and for no reason that I can explain, tottenham hotspur's results were always what I looked for first.

fast forward to the early 90s, by which time I'd stopped playing (and after the strike of '94, paying any attention whatsoever to) baseball, and footy began occupying a lot more of my interest. not long thereafter came the internet's ability to bring timely information and interaction ... then televised club matches ... and my first trip over in '96 ... and roughly once or twice a year to white hart lane since ...

... what is it they say? 'you don't pick the club, the club picks you'? that's gotta be right, because I know damn well that I never made a conscious decision to sign up for what these bastards put me though.

 

[coyspurs18]

I'd like to ask our US Spurs fans what drew them to support the club

Was it when Dempsey signed? or something else

(sorry if this is a tangent away from the purpose of this thread - I just wonder how we attracted fans in the US when we've not been part of the big 4 in the time where football has been growing over there)

I know from my own point of view whenever I have followed teams from other countries or other sports I've naturally been drawn to the winners and or most high profile teams (because I am a casual fan of that sport or league I guess)

Like as a youngster I liked the Bulls because of Jordan, Rodman and Pippen, Milan because of Van Basten and Gullit, Barca because of Lineker etc

I couldn't imagine myself suddenly getting into watching a new sport or league and finding myself drawn to a team who were in our position - below the top tier, never winning anything etc

What is the connection that attracted you as a US fan to our beloved club?

I had followed the Premier League for well over 10 years but never claimed a team, mainly just watching players that I liked. I'm from Baltimore, Maryland and have grown up despising teams that buy their way to Championships. So for me, it was about supporting a club that does things the right way but was still competitive. I became a casual fan of Spurs watching them in the CL and was fortunate enough to catch several league games on Fox Soccer that season. Watching Spurs battle for CL and finish Top 4 was elating, watching Chelsea crush that dream gutted me. It was at this moment I was hooked, the more I watched the more of a fan I became. Each year my devotion has grown and I find myself spending more time on this forum than should be allowed. The next step for me is attempting to start a supporter's club in Annapolis where I live.

As for why other Americans may have turned to Spurs, while Dempsey (and Friedel) did help, I honestly think Under Armour was a huge influence. They are one of the hottest brands around in the states right now and are extremely popular across all ages and genders. Having Tottenham UA gear has become trendy...