Favorite Clubs

What about fave foreign club? For me:

Not 'cause it's a safe bet, but I defy any neutral to visit Camp Nou and come away without being awestruck.

Other main fave:

Always had props for Benfica, once again no idea why.

And as for Belgian clubs, always thought these were cool:

Think it's because their kit is (or was) like Flamenco / QPR away circa late 80s.

Much to the chagrin of my father, who would have me support Middlesborough.

Locally I guess I'm supposed to support the Vancouver Whitecaps, but do I have to. Fuck me, I'm not paying to watch football not much better than what I can see for free down the park.

Yeah, Manchester United is pretty cool. I can totally see why you'd support them. Neat team!

As opposed to the amazing side you have in whatever godforsaken shithole you crawled out of? (oh wait, you don't live in either London or Newcastle, never mind).

You know how you said you couldn't compare this World Cup final to the one in 86, because at that point in your miserable life, you had no appreciation for the game?

Well by that point I was 12 and had already been playing for 6 years, with my love for Man U starting the year previous to that. So go take a flying fuck with your snide accusations of bandwagon jumping.

  On 7/13/2010 at 7:15 AM, chenGOD said:

So go take a flying fuck with your snide accusations of bandwagon jumping.

So it started in 1985...the year they won the FA Cup...what was that bandwagon point again?

  On 7/12/2010 at 10:43 PM, margaret thatcher said:

YES

  On 7/13/2010 at 7:15 AM, chenGOD said:

As opposed to the amazing side you have in whatever godforsaken shithole you crawled out of? (oh wait, you don't live in either London or Newcastle, never mind).

You know how you said you couldn't compare this World Cup final to the one in 86, because at that point in your miserable life, you had no appreciation for the game?

Well by that point I was 12 and had already been playing for 6 years, with my love for Man U starting the year previous to that. So go take a flying fuck with your snide accusations of bandwagon jumping.

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

good job in getting a rise out of me, well played

 

lol...We're around the same age. I started playing when I was 6, too. Anyway, I had no appreciation of the international game when I was 11. I grew up in the middle of Alaska and like most Americans, I caught my first glimpse of the World Cup when it came to the U.S. Until 1994, the games didn't even show on mainstream cable channels, which we didn't have.

Most Americans have to pick out favorite team for fairly arbitrary reasons. I starting supporting Newcastle when I was around 15. I bought a football video tape from the back of Four Four Two that had highlights of all the Newcastle greats like Supermac, Beardo, and Keegan. I loved the kit, I loved the enthusiasm of the geordies, and I loved that they were, culturally, nearly Scottish. I had no idea what misery I had set myself up for...1995-1996 almost ruined my soul.

I'm not sure what made you so mad at me though, sugar bear. I think it's wonderful you support America's team.

By the way, I'm guilty of bandwagoning with Arsenal and I only list them as a favorite team as, more or less, my "London" backup team. That support started purely from the success of the club during the early 2000s with Freddy, Thierry, Dennis, etc. I still love them now.

I'm not really mad at you, you know that puddin'

I got ManU magazines and videos and shit from several visits to England as a youth. Plus we got Soccer Saturday on TSN here really early, like in 93 or maybe even 92. I remember being excited as hell when that started to air.

Fuck off with your "America's team" comment.

Conor - for a Canadian kid at 11 years old, the fact that they had won the FA Cup didn't mean I was jumping on a bandwagon. It means that they were the side I was exposed to early on, with no local side to follow, and I've stuck with them through thick and thin.

I'm guessing how you were exposed to Cork City at an early age and are thus a fan of that side.

Now these JOhnny-come-lately faggots who have jumped all over the Man U bus since the earlier part of this decade piss me the fuck off.

However to be fair, the number of people, even in the UK, who are true "fanatics" is not that high. Don't believe me? read Soccernomics - the chapter it does on fans is pretty good. Better than most of the rest of the book.

  On 7/13/2010 at 5:39 PM, chenGOD said:

Fuck off with your "America's team" comment.

Arsene Wenger - why the penchant for young boys?

  On 7/13/2010 at 5:39 PM, chenGOD said:

I'm guessing how you were exposed to Cork City at an early age and are thus a fan of that side.

Nope, everyone around here my age supported Liverpool or ManU in the mid 80s. In Ireland, it's par for the course. Being the youngest of 7, my brothers were Leeds Utd fans, and tbh always keep an eye out for Leeds scores...but I like to see live football and Yorkshire is not just down the road. It was in my late teens when I studied in Cork that I started going to games, before that just watched the English game on telly.

  On 7/13/2010 at 6:44 PM, chenGOD said:

Arsene Wenger - why the penchant for young boys?

Wait, what's wrong with having a penchant for young boys?

  On 7/13/2010 at 6:51 PM, Conor74 said:

  On 7/13/2010 at 5:39 PM, chenGOD said:

I'm guessing how you were exposed to Cork City at an early age and are thus a fan of that side.

 

Nope, everyone around here my age supported Liverpool or ManU in the mid 80s. In Ireland, it's par for the course. Being the youngest of 7, my brothers were Leeds Utd fans, and tbh always keep an eye out for Leeds scores...but I like to see live football and Yorkshire is not just down the road. It was in my late teens when I studied in Cork that I started going to games, before that just watched the English game on telly.

See if I lived in a place where there was decent quality football, I'd support the fuck out of that side.

You still had the chance of going to watch Cork City when you were young. Me, nada - yeah we had the Edmonton Drillers when I was younger, but then I ended up playing alongside some of those guys as I reached my teens.

  On 7/13/2010 at 5:22 PM, The Overlook said:

 

Most Americans have to pick out favorite team for fairly arbitrary reasons. I starting supporting Newcastle when I was around 15. I bought a football video tape from the back of Four Four Two that had highlights of all the Newcastle greats like Supermac, Beardo, and Keegan. I loved the kit, I loved the enthusiasm of the geordies, and I loved that they were, culturally, nearly Scottish. I had no idea what misery I had set myself up for...1995-1996 almost ruined my soul.

 

 

*must not take bait, must not take bait, must not take bait*

I wouldn't say Geordies had any greater cultural affinity with the jocks than any other post industrial area in England. Historically there has always been animosity. It's still possible to get into a fight in Edinburgh on the basis of a Geordie accent. Having said that, and I don't want to in any way set myself up as voice of the Geordie nation, that's Gazza's job, but Geordie identity is strongly linked to Newcastle as a place rather than overtly historical. This feeds into the status of the club. We're one of the very few single club towns to have the stadium in the town centre. Up until a few years ago before the closure of the brewery it was possible to walk through the toon with the smell of hops in the air from the Brown Ale and to hear the crowd from St. James'. (I once heard Newcastle score against Man u from nearly 3 miles away) One of the reasons some football fans have a soft spot for Newcastle is that it in some way harks back to an idealised version of what a city football club should be.

whats a 'back up team'?

a team which you support when your side gets knocked out the FA/Carling/Johnston Paint/Charity shield cup?

when you love a team through and though there is no need for back up teams, imo. take chester city, they went extint and the fans had to make a phoenix club..thats the thing, Die hard (no matter what) Fans. c'mon why bother if you live in chester, you have a mountain of amazing better clubs to follow -

derby-crewe-stockport-liverpool-manchester (U or C)- preston NE - Bolton - blackburn - stoke - shrewsbury - bury -halifax - huddersfield -blackpool - wigan - bradford

but YOUr team is your team, and i say good luck to chester city fans, hope to see you in the professional leagues in the next 5-6 years time.

  On 7/14/2010 at 12:55 AM, kakapo said:

  On 7/13/2010 at 5:22 PM, The Overlook said:

 

Most Americans have to pick out favorite team for fairly arbitrary reasons. I starting supporting Newcastle when I was around 15. I bought a football video tape from the back of Four Four Two that had highlights of all the Newcastle greats like Supermac, Beardo, and Keegan. I loved the kit, I loved the enthusiasm of the geordies, and I loved that they were, culturally, nearly Scottish. I had no idea what misery I had set myself up for...1995-1996 almost ruined my soul.

 

 

 

*must not take bait, must not take bait, must not take bait*

 

I wouldn't say Geordies had any greater cultural affinity with the jocks than any other post industrial area in England. Historically there has always been animosity. It's still possible to get into a fight in Edinburgh on the basis of a Geordie accent. Having said that, and I don't want to in any way set myself up as voice of the Geordie nation, that's Gazza's job, but Geordie identity is strongly linked to Newcastle as a place rather than overtly historical. This feeds into the status of the club. We're one of the very few single club towns to have the stadium in the town centre. Up until a few years ago before the closure of the brewery it was possible to walk through the toon with the smell of hops in the air from the Brown Ale and to hear the crowd from St. James'. (I once heard Newcastle score against Man u from nearly 3 miles away) One of the reasons some football fans have a soft spot for Newcastle is that it in some way harks back to an idealised version of what a city football club should be.

Keep in mind that my perspective is very distant, American, superficial, and probably quite irrelevant. I've read before about the tensions between Geordies and Scots, but I've always likened it to tensions between folks from the Yukon Territory (or even British Columbia) and Alaska . A lot of Alaskans have far more in common with Canadians nearby than idiots in Connecticut. Proximity has bred some contempt, yet the cultural similarities remain. Isn't the Scottish parliament fairly close to Newcastle?

Newcastle have always seemed atypically English compared to other prominent teams and although I've done my fair share of romanticizing, they seem to have far more loyal, genuine, and spirited fans than just about any other club (in the very plastic premier league especially).

Don't ruin it for me or I'll have to cheer for my backup team just to piss off Chris.

  On 7/12/2010 at 10:15 PM, Obel said:

 

COYS!

once a yid always a yid

also i guess due to geographic proximity soon:

*le sigh*

haha, oh c'mon! i dont care what team people support. if you a supporter your a supporter. my chester comparison was only to tell people what its like supporting basement clubs. but saying that i think i can only relate to peopel who have teamss in the football league, as we all know what its like to have no money or being relegated feels like.

before i became a bournemouth fan in 1992 (thanks to my mum lodging trialists and youth team players) i liked manchester united (1993-4 season team FTW) and liverpool, west ham and at one time i was a 'fan' of portsmouth, i say liked not supported.

For me big teams like these always came and went, i only ever liked the style of football they played and the players, but it's always been and always will be AFC Bournemouth for me, never missed a game in the early 90's went with my dad loved the ground (old dean court= smells of memory's) missed a like 5 years when i was at school and uni, but 2006-2010 i have only missed a handful of games when i couldnt afford a ticket.

for me now-a-days out of premiership teams only like Spurs (my dads side - plus strong bournemouth connections) and Villa (good bach of english produce on the way. + always wanted to goto villa park)

but then again i just like to watch football, i love the 3 hour football marathons on saturday night, come home from the game drink a few beers, moan about losing money on the accumulator have a nice take-away then settle down to watch MoTD followed by the football league show, then on sunday (super sunday) another game then monday another game then some tuesdays go watch bournemouth play (BTW i love midweek games...cold, dark, wonderful; you get a real sence of what its all about being at a game :)) Wednesday night European cup football, 2 days off and do it alll over again.

i <3 Football (then NHL)

Like Chris, I'm proud and glad to be a supporter of a basement club... probably sub-sub-basement.

I'll not bore anyone with a rant about the differences between the Seniors and the Juniors save to say it's a weirdly archaic situation in Scotland that I wish would change. The top Junior sides like Talbot play at level of probably the middle of the Scottish 2nd Div. You can make your own translation as to where that compares to in England.. maybe somewhere in the Conference.

But it's only been in the last 3 years since I moved back to Ayrshire for the first time since I was 6 years old that I've been able to go to games on a regular basis. As much as I've enjoyed the World Cup of late, tune into the Champions League, MotD etc etc nothing really compares to getting to the games.

I should just say that I don't have Vics and Alex as 'back up' teams. I grew up supporting Everton for as long as I remember, but growing up poor and working class I never went to see them for years (as I lived a fair way away in Cheshire, where I was born unlike my family who are scouse Evertonians bar one brother who's a fan of the reds). So I inherited a love of Everton, while I was born near Northwich (hence my fondness for the Vics). And Crewe who were the nearest league team to me. So I've got a few split loyalties to do with the club I inherited Vs the clubs near me (and fuck Winsford United, hate the town and hate the team). And let's face it, none of those three ever win fuckall anyway.

FCB

The proper fucking badge....

1.st

2.nd

  On 8/11/2010 at 7:23 PM, b born droid said:

The proper fucking badge....

 

remmeber the 1991 adidas Shirts Manure used? the Scrolls were Footballboots.