So I've been thinking for a while that I need a soccer/football team to root for. Unlike most Americans, I've enjoyed the sport long past the age of 8, I like watching the World Cup, and the crazy-fan factor helps distinguish it from the other sports I follow (baseball, basketball, hockey, U.S. football, in descending order). In order to really get into it, I'm going to need a team to support, and therefore, other teams to vilify.
In terms of being able to see the games in person, our local MLS affiliate, the Los Angeles Galaxy, is the obvious choice. And I have been to some of their games. (They DO have a very nice new stadium, although even their old stadium, the Rose Bowl, is historic and worth visiting.) But it goes without saying that the MLS lacks experience, tradition, and talent. For someone who wants to raise their enthusiasm and knowledge of the game, MLS is a lame option.
The Premier League is the clear choice for that, so now I have to choose a team. I'm going to start watching more games to get familiar with the teams and players. A recent analysis from an American in a similar situation can be found
here. So if you want to see his observations and confirm/refute them, be my guest.
A few factors that matter much more to me than a fan who already lives in England:
1) I have to be able to see the games on TV here. Since only the top 6-8 teams get consistently shown here, that's pretty limiting.
2) I'm not interested in supporting Manchester United. Too much hype. And it would be like someone new to baseball calling me up and saying they want to be a Yankees fan.
3) The team has to have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top five. I don't need to see a championship every year, but I need to have reasonable hope through most of the season. I won't switch teams though. If my team takes a horrible downturn five years from now, that's just the way it goes.
4) The team has to be fun to watch. I'm sure all the partisans will claim that THEIR team is always fun to watch, but most teams know it isn't so. I don't need a lot of goals so much as I want to see scoring chances, an attacking style. (From my early investigations, this seems to make Arsenal a contender.)
5) Because of #3, I'll probably be accused of being a frontrunner, but I'm not especially worried about that. Since I don't have any built-in geographical bias that shaped my loyalties at an early age (the way the Dodgers and Lakers have for me here), I'm not betraying my long-time friends with my choice. And there aren't many American fans of the smaller teams anyway, so I'm not really going to take much face-to-face abuse for it.
All suggestions and twisted rationales are welcome and thanks in advance!
