Why Did You Start Following Your Favorite Club?

Arsenal - 2010

I followed the EPL in 2009 and decided I needed to pick a team to fully get into it. I settled on Arsenal for basically 3 reasons, in this order:

1. Arsenal is a cool name for a team.
2. The only people I knew in person that followed the EPL were Arsenal fans.
3. The fluid way they play.

I started watching Manchester United about ten years ago, when I was the only soccertard in my rural AL town. (We had a rec league for people who didn't play American Football, and I was the only one who took it seriously. I looked like Messi.) Back then, United was one of the few teams that was always on TV. Plus, they were ridiculous to play with on FIFA. Ten-year-old me liked their kits, the fact that they were on TV the most, and their greatness on a video game. Yeah, shallow, but I was a kid.

I followed all the games I couldn't watch on Man U's team website. I subscribed to a kid's soccer magazine that always seemed to have a United pull-out poster. I also found it strangely cool that I shared a last name with the team's manager. (I still think that SAF is a distant relative.)

Over the last decade, a lot of people have asked me if I would ever change my club loyalty...grow out of my childhood choice and pick a club that wasn't so dominant. As a United fan in America, most people think you're an idiot bandwagoner that only picked the club because they win a good bit.

But I'm hooked. I've invested too much time into this club and fought enough haters to turn my back. I love United's style of play and the talent that SAF assembles year in and year out. They're just an exciting team to follow.

Newcastle United - Summer 2010

Two main reasons:

1. I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and I read an article back around that time that compared NFL teams to EPL clubs, and it mentioned how NUFC fans were as passionate as Steelers fans.
2. I had been following the EPL for awhile without a club, so I needed to pick one. I figured why not root for the down-and-out recently promoted club trying to prove something.


and Barcelona - 2007ish

Thierry Henry and Messi.

I marginally watched WC in 2006. My interest in soccer truly started in 2010 WC. I actually thought "Chelsea Arsenal" was a club at that point.

I got FSC last year and followed EPL a decent amount but wasn't sure what club to follow. I just knew I wanted to figure out a club that would be competitive for UCL. Most of the top flight teams didn't click with me for a variety of reasons. But I kind of took interest in Arsenal which has a cool name and a lot of history. Once I started watching at the end of last year, I realized how attractive their brand of football is to watch.

I'm actually interested in finding teams from other leagues to watch based on my lineage. From what I can tell, I should research Aberdeen, Hearts, and possibly a couple of French and German clubs.

Man United about 18 years ago or so when i started playing soccer. Used to always see them on espn2 for the champions league with the like of liverpool and arsenal.

The my love for the english game got even bigger around 12 when we got fox sports world when my dad got dish network.

good lord do i feel old.
In 1977, I watched a PBS show every weekend called Soccer Made in Germany. That year, Kevin Keegan had moved from Liverpool to Hamburg and was regularly featured in the show. My best friend at the time was a huge Beetles fan (I think his parents did it to him), and the connection between seeing Keegan and Liverpool sparked an interest (I had no understanding of how Liverpool fans viewed Keegan's move at that time. Likewise, I had no idea that there was more than one team in Liverpool that the Beetles could possibly have supported. I was only 9). At some point around then or a few years later, the Keegan boots manufactured by Patrick were the ones to have. For some reason, my Italian soccer coach was okay with me being a 'Pool fan but not a Hamburg fan. When I was older and could get more informaiton on a semi-regular basis and learn more about the history of the club, there was Macca then Fowler then Owen that re-ignited the fascination.

Now my 15 year old son has a huge Liverpool banner on his wall and asked for the new Warrior home shirt for Christmas. He then convinced his mother to order me a classic '86 Crown Paints jersey. (my daughter on the other hand, loves to torture her older brother and comes home from every tournament with some new ManU bobble or trinket)

YNWA

United '99...this happened
[link=(www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgHi3D7OjNs)]Giggs[/link]

Had it been T Henry I'd be a Gooner...glad it was Gigsy

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Why Did You Start Following Your Favorite Club?

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Well to start it off and I know it's silly but I started with FIFA because that's the only thing I knew about futbol. My team that I always chose was Liverpool because they had the big boss in the middle, Gerrard, & lightning in a bottle, El Niño, Fernando Torres.

I remember my freshmen year at Ole Miss one of my fraternity brothers played for the U-18's america side and was always watching soccer so I go and watch a few matches with and we'd usually end up playing FIFA as well.

As time went on I leard the year prior Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League and what their history was so I was naturally inclined to like them. I continued watching their matches and really found that I had a love for the game as well as the club. Torres & Gerrard were the true selling points because I had never seen to players like them before and they were amazing together.

Anyway my junior year I was able to take a two week study abroad to Dublin. I knew I had the weekend off and looked around to see if Liverpool might be playing at home. I saw that they were took a short boat ride across the water in to the city itself. They just so happen to be playing and it was against Everton at Anfield. The atmosphere was amazing and it was my first professional soccer match to ever attend, I was blown away. Anyway I watched the Reds to victory and have been sold ever since.

I know we have been down but I will never regret choosing Liverpool's side it was a great decision and a wonderful club with amazing fans and support. It almost seems like Barca the 'Pool is more that just a club and as they say You'll Never Walk Alone.


YNWA

I started following Chesea in 89. Became a fan of Graeme Le Saux and that was his first year in the League. Followed Blackburn as well during his time there and became a diehard blue when he made his way back to Stamford in 97.