The Fan Guide for US Soccer Newbies
The World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event with no peer to speak of, is just around the corner, and those of us who are already soccer/football fans can almost literally feel the buzz in the air. Every four years, the spectacle of the World Cup draws in a few more American fans. If your journey is anything like mine, you’re probably finding it hard to find information about the World Cup and about the sport in general. It’s tough being a football fan in exile here in the States. To that aim and speaking with the voice of someone who has already walked this path, I offer the following advice for following soccer/football here in land of Uncle Sam.
Pick a team to follow. In the upcoming World Cup, support your country. If your country gets eliminated along the way, pick a surrogate team to keep your interest up. I’ve heard a lot of people call soccer boring here in the US, but I assure you that, when a team you care about has their hopes on the line, it brings a well of passion to the surface. After the World Cup, pick a club team to follow and put your hopes behind. It doesn’t matter in the end which club you choose. Pick one in a city you like. Pick one with colors you like. Pick one that showcases your favorite player from the World Cup. Just pick one to focus your attention and energy on. Sports tend to seem boring when you don’t have any context for the magnitude of what’s happening on the field. This is the sole difference between a bunch of men in funny suits and baseball’s World Series.
Pay attention to non-US teams. I don’t intend to slight MLS. It’s the USA’s league, and we need to support it if we want the sport to thrive in this country. Nonetheless, I will say that the quality of play in MLS simply doesn’t compare to the first-division in countries like England, Argentina, and Italy. In addition, you’re dealing with countries that have a football culture that simply can’t be matched here in the US. The environment at the foreign games sometimes seems like a vicious animal just waiting to be unleashed. Immerse yourself in the sports press from your country/league of choice. Following all the personalities involved is actually rather like a soap opera. Or the NBA.
Get Fox Soccer Channel. If you want to watch regular season games from a league other than MLS, you’ll need FSC. Most digital cable packages have it, and you can certainly get it if you have a satellite system. Fox has the exclusive American rights to the English Premier League, which is arguably the finest league in the world. They also play games from France, Germany, Argentina, and Italy. In addition to games, they have some great highlight shows that will give you a great overview of what’s happening in the world of soccer and provide you with a real depth of context for the sport.
Subscribe to Four Four Two. Four Four Two is an English soccer magazine that is quite simply the best in the world. If you speak English, you should be subscribing to it. It will keep you abreast of who the real newsmakers in the sport are while maintaining a humorous style that will actively seek your attention. I actually read this magazine from cover to cover each month, and I feel sad when I’ve reached the end.
Follow RSS feeds from a variety of sources. RSS allows you to use a news aggregator to track web content in much the same way that you manage your email. This more than anything you can do short of moving to England will jumpstart your immersion into the culture surrounding soccer. Here are some great sites to start with:
- ESPN SoccerNet
- MSN Soccer
- BBC Premiership Updates
- BBC League Championship Updates
- Football Commentator
- Guardian Football
Virtually nothing can match the excitement of the FIFA World Cup, but there’s a world of soccer/football happening during the other three years as well. With the right preparation, it’s only a matter of time before you too are bitching about bogus offside rulings and divers like Didier Drogba along with the rest of us.