A rather interesting thing has happened recently and, while it does involve Americans and football, please just bear with us.
Bill Simmons, a senior, very popular, sports writer for ESPN in the US (his ‘Page 2‘ column is prominently featured on their website) had been going on all summer about how fantastic the World Cup was. Such was his enthusiasm that he decided to embark on the perilous journey towards selecting a Premiership club to support. Understandably, he’s been inundated with emails – from Brits and Yanks alike – trying to sway his decision.
As awful as this idea could have been (Gimme a C! Gimme a H! Gimme a E!…err…Chelsea!), Simmons is an experienced sports writer and understands the complexity of such a decision more so than your average yank who may simply pick a club because they happen to like the way Arsenal’s ‘jersey’ looks.
An excerpt from his article:
And this isn’t going to be a half-assed thing, either. I’ll be buying the merchandise, TiVo-ing the games, traveling to see a couple home games, throwing myself into the team … I’m going all out. Obviously I’m not a huge soccer fan, but I’m a huge sports fan and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that I missed the boat with the English Premier League and UEFA. Better late than never.
So far, so good, and his big decision finally came yesterday with a two-page feature that not only makes for a superb read but, given the the fact that Americans tend toruin football for other Americans, it was nice to see someone over there put some proper effort in. It’s especially impressive considering he’s only been following the sport since June, which you would think would make him fit in perfectly with the rest of Chelsea’s supporters, but this is one American who explicitly wanted to AVOID getting on any bandwagon …Whaaaaa?
Be warned, though, as he does spin off into realms unknown to most of us…
His take on Villa:
Aston Villa — By all accounts, they have the most miserable, self-loathing fan base in the EPL. That’s what happens when you support a team that sounds like a Cadillac model.
Not really sure what that last bit means… but we shall assume our American readers are struggling to stop their sides from splitting.
His final decision is revealed after the jump, but if you’d rather read the full article first yourself then click here. Here’s a hint, United aren’t even in the final six shortlist (consider your mind blown).
HE CHOSE TOTTENHAM OMG WTF.