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 This past week I talked to two different people about something that has always been important to me: which sports team one supports. In these two separate conversations it was about American football. One person roots for the Washington Redskins, but she also roots for their division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles - when Washington has no chance (like this season). I was perplexed. Why would you root for a division rival? Well...her reasoning is that she likes the quarterback, the fat coach, and their continual bridesmaid status of not being able to win the Super Bowl.
Yesterday I found myself in New Jersey at a Christmas party hosted by some soon to be in-law’s extended family. Knowing that we were from Washington DC, a guy, born and bred on the western side of New Jersey struck up a conversation with us about the Washington Redskins. He’s always liked them. Did he have some connection? A parent or friend from the DC area? Nope. He just liked them ever since he was a kid.
I find this sort of thing fascinating when it comes to real football/soccer. Generally American fans can be quite orthodox with collegiate sports and popular pro sports. Mr. Albion Road has a very fierce allegiance to his university, and, I believe he was raised that way by his parents. My parents grew up in different parts of the country and (the Midwest and New England) while their children were raised in Washington DC. I grew up a fan of all the teams of Washington DC. My father liked the Washington Redskins when they were good (the 80’s through the early 90’s), but when they started to suck, he more or less switched allegiance to the team from near where he was raised: the Kansas City Chiefs.
What do soccer nerds in the United States do? I love Washington DC’s MLS soccer team DC United. I am from here, so they are my team. I have never had a crisis of conscience about that. Yet, MLS is a fairly new league not even fifteen years old. What about all those other teams out there in the world with a rich football history? That’s pretty much what Albion Road is all about: the teams, history of them forming, ups and downs, rivalries, and everything else. With MLS being so young, we are just starting up these kinds of things. We have some rivals here on the east coast, and a new team on the way that we surely won't like (Philadelphia’s new team the Union) mainly because they are close by...but looking at some other sports rivalries around the world, the United States is a mere baby.
Along with my own club, DC United - which will always come first, I want to experience, vicariously at least, some of the other rivalries across the world. It’s fun to support underdogs and root against villains. Like that person from New Jersey, it can be totally arbitrary. There are teams that I like just because of the way they play football, or they have a player, or even a coach whose style, or nationality, I like. Perhaps I like the particular city that the team comes from, but for bigger cites that can become an issue as there will usually be multiple teams in the same general area. For me personally, as an avid fan of cool uniforms that meet my particular/peculiar tastes, sometimes a nice looking kit is all I need.
I believe the most internationally decorated team is Real Madrid. They have won the most domestic and European championships. Some people are attracted to this kind of thing. I personally am a little turned off by it. The same goes for many of the other biggest and most successful teams around Europe and the world. If they already have their glory then I support one of the other teams. But these sorts of rules can be, and usually will be, completely arbitrary. I like the more flowing style of Spain’s Barcelona and England’s Arsenal. Both of those clubs have dominated their domestic leagues at some point and are full of international superstars. Not exactly small underdog clubs...but since we all seem to make our own rules about clubs we like, there is not a wrong answer internally.
A best friend of mine lives in Rennes France. Hence, I like Stade Rennais football club and have been to a game of theirs. It was spectacular. My fiancé was kindly shown around West Ham Untied’s Upton Park once while she lived in London and she has supported the Hammers (and hated Chelsea) ever since. A good friend of the DC contingency of Albion Road is a die-hard Brighton & Hove Albion supporter - thus we also root for the Seagulls.
I know that certain sports fans have a long tradition of rooting for a certain club. Just about every professional sports team has bed sheets and baby clothes so that two parents can raise their child to bleed whatever their team’s choice of colors...but for us followers of international football we come to support teams from all different kinds of reasons.
Why do you like your particular clubs?
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But from the very start I liked DC United's more traditional name, kit and the fact that they seemed to have really passionate fans. I was sold.
And now I live in DC and have been a season-ticket holder for 9 years!
As the Brighton fan referred to above, perhaps I should explain. There is something about being in a one club town (as Brighton is)that makes it easier to fall in love with that club. I used to walk past the ground on the way to school, the players would come and coach us at school and everyone had a friend of a friend who worked at the club. The club comes to represent your history and friendships are born and maintained through the club that last a lifetime. I do not live in Brighton any more but I know that I could go to a Brighton game in the far north of England and bump into someone I went to school with. That's something I don't want to lose wherever life may take me!