Six Reasons For Middlesbrough
59Here are the six reasons I am very seriously considering Middlesbrough as my soccer/football team.
1. Middlesbrough is in the Cleveland area of England. I don’t think I have to say anything more. Middlesbrough is protected by the Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Department. This alone seems a good enough reason.
2. Middlesbrough fans, many of them, apparently called themselves “Smoggies.” This too seems a good enough reason.
3. Middlesbrough, according to Wikipedia, has a 20% woman fan-base, one of the highest percentages around.
4. Middlesbrough is apparently sponsored by Garmin — I come to this conclusion based on the giant GARMIN across the jersey* — and I know a bunch of people who work for Garmin since it is based in Olathe, a Kansas City suburb. I love Garmin!
*As we know, I’m still learning this soccer lingo — so I ask you, what the hell is a “kit?” I see it everywhere on these soccer Web sites. Man, when I was a kid, I used to love the word “kit.” It just seemed so full of possibilities. Now I wonder, if I order a Middlesbrough home kit, will I get like a box that I can open up and inside will be all sorts of great Middlesbrough gadgets and drill bits and stuff?
5. Middlesbrough seems to have a very spotty past, one lonely League Cup championship to brag on, a few relegations, a classic moment in 1997 when they apparently canceled a match because too many players were sick, and now they have a manager named Gareth. That definitely seems like my kind of team.
6. Not one person, so far, has written in to recommend Middlesbrough, and not one person, so far, has voted for Middlesbrough in the poll. It’s hard to argue with that.
Of course, no decisions are made. I’m still very much for sale.
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You probably won’t want the “kit,” which is the complete uniform, including shorts and socks. Stick with the jersey (or “shirt,” as they say in English soccer).
Still no Everton in the poll!
Would it help if I bought your book?
Here’s the history of the club from the official Everton site.
\http://www.evertonfc.com/history/10108/history.html
Kit is actually short for Kit-Kat. If you buy a kit, you get like, a million Kit-Kats, all delivered gooey because they’ve been flown over from England in extreme temperatures. Serves you right!
If you are going to consider Middlesbrough (also known as Boro), you might want to consider Sunderland. Sunderland is in NE England near Middlesbrough and Newcastle. In fact, Newcastle is their biggest rival. They are nicknamed the Black Cats and they wear red and white pinstriped “kits”. They are managed by an Irishman named Roy Keane. He played for Manchester United where he was the captain and known as an emotional, ultra-competitive leader. In his time as manager, I think he’s shocked everyone with how calm he’s been, and he’s one of the more honest mangers in the game.
A few years ago, they set the record for fewest points in the Premiership and got relegated. They won promotion, only to set a new record for fewest points and be relegated again. They’ve been promoted back to the Premiership, and they survived this season in 13th place, while watching Derby break their record for fewest points again.
Honestly, there is so much history and so many stories in the Premiership, that you really can’t go wrong no matter who you pick.
Wow, Joe. There are good reasons no one recommended them. You can’t get a more bland, anonymous Premier League team than Boro. It would definitely be a “swimming against the tide” kind of choice.
They are the Houston Astros of soccer.
13 years ago I had a roommate who was from England - we still keep in touch, even though he’s moved back across the pond, and Middlesbrough is and has always been his team
(Said former roommate lives in Nottingham, near the famed forest)
That is one ugly jersey
I’m a bit late to the soccer discussion, but I wanted to throw in my two cents and a small warning.
I lived in England for three years right outside of Leeds, so I obviously started rooting for Leeds United. A good solid pick: they had good history, were near the top of the table, and they had some good young talent at the time. Heck, they even made it to the semis of the Champions League one year. Those were good times.
Leeds got relegated. Twice. And now its almost impossible to follow them. I know you want to pick some scrappy underdog, but let me tell you, rooting for Leeds from America is nothing but pain and hard work. So at least choose a team that you think will stay in the Premiership.
I do like the suggestion of watching Euro 2008, finding out which players you like from that tournament, and just pick up rooting for their club team as long as it is not pure evil like Man U.
Good luck.
Joe, You convinced me, I’m voting for Middlesbrough.
Joe, I’m not sure if you really get just how hopeless it is for the Boro’s of the world. You may think it is devastatingly hopeless for the Royals, but at least lower-level baseball teams get control of their players through their entire minor league career and then for five or six years once they’re in the majors.
In soccer, Carlos Beltran probably never would have made it to the majors with the Royals, and he certainly would have been snapped up by the Yankees, Sox or Mets after a year in the big leagues, and all KC would have had to show for it would have been some cash.
I’m not entirely sure why, but in soccer, the players have about 100 times more leverage than pre-free agency players. If BJ Upton decides he wants to be a Yankee, the Rays can just tell him to shut up and play. If Christiano Ronaldo really decides he wants to play for Real Madrid, and they’ll offer a reasonable price, there’s basically a 0% chance he stays with Man U.
Sure, players like Stuart Downing (one of Boro’s best players) hang around for a while, but they’re no more than squad players on the big teams. Great players rarely don’t stay on non-Big 4 teams for more than a couple years.
The EPL is extraordinarily unfair. To choose to root for a non-Big 4 team is just masochistic. Actually, Everton, Tottenham, and Man City are reasonable choices if you really can’t stomach one of the big boys, but even that’s pushing it.
Also, let me get a shout in for Liverpool: they may have won 18 championships, but they have one zero Premiership titles (been around about 20 years). Of the Big 4, they are the biggest losers, and, until the Torres signing, never ever bought expensive players, and it looks like their owners have closed the coffers once again this summer. Also, youtube highlights of the 2005 Champions League Final. If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t think anything will.
Joe,
I’m an Arsenal supporter, but like your choice of Boro…they are definetly Cleveland all the way. They’re a hard working, blue collar, middle of the road team. And they consistently make life miserable, at least for Arsenal, as they’re a dogged, gritty club. I would also consider someone’s suggestion for Sunderland. They keep getting relegated, but keep coming back…and best of all, they play in a stadium called The Stadium Of Light. which I always think is pretty cool.
Following on Sam’s post, I’d have to add:
For someone who lives outside of Europe, choosing a team in the lower half of the league is a very dicey proposition. If your team gets relegated, you won’t really be able to see them play. At all. Until and unless they fight their way back up.
It’s not as bad as it used to be, before the Interwebs. Nowadays you can get crappy Internet feeds for lots of games that were totally unavailable last century. And the second tier teams do get a game-of-the-week type broadcast on the major networks. But it is still a major, major problem.
When I first started following the Premier League around 1997, I had no real sense of the vast gulf in resources from top to bottom, either. I initially chose to follow Sheffield Wednesday, figuring that since they represented a major city, it couldn’t be that bad, right? Well, they were relegated within two seasons. So, not having formed a strong loyalty to them, and not being able to watch any of their games in the second tier, I made another choice: Leeds United. Bigger club, better finances, challenging in pan-European competitions… safe bet, no? Four years later, after substantial mismanagement, they too were relegated. (Twice, as stepbaker notes above.) And so I have had to switch my allegiences again.
I’m not the type to recommend rooting for a Manchester United or a Chelsea, on the grounds that relegation is essentially impossible for them. It’s not masochistic to root for other clubs… but you do have to recognize the risks you are taking. The Royals can never be worse than 30th. Most EPL teams, even big ones like my preferred club (Villa), Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham, etc., are never secure from a potential fall from grace into the nether regions of the lower tiers. Recovery can take years, or decades, or even never really happen. Ask Nottingham Forest, former champions of Europe, now a team that oscillates between the second and third tiers.
It’s funny. Europe is considered socialist in character, while the US is laissez-faire. But in sports leagues, the preferences are reversed. Here in North America, we have drafts, salary caps, revenue sharing, and fixed tiers. Over there, players are free agents from the get-go, there are very few income-leveling arrangements, and teams are free to accumulate as much capital as they can. The players attitude toward their contracts is, “If a bigger fish comes along to snap me up, nobody had better stand in the way.” There’s a pervasive sense that if you haven’t played for Real Madrid (essentially the richest club in the system), then you haven’t really made it, regardless of how many championships you may have won.
It may be that this does not bother you, and if that is the case, then feel free to choose a Boro, or a Fulham, or a Sunderland, and root for a scrappy underdog or a generally ignored nonentity. But if it does, you probably need to decide on a risk floor, whether “nothing less than top-four” as Sam advocates, or top-half, or “no team that pulls in less than 35,000 fans per match”, or whatever.
Good luck. You may need it.
Remember, if your choice actually sticks and you do become a longtime fan of an EPL club, eventually you are going to want to get on a plane and make a pilgrimage to see them at their home grounds.
Are you really prepared to take a ten hour flight to go to Middlebrough?
I’d choose Arsenal.
I’ve been voting for Leicester City (yes, more than once–I guess I need a hobby) because I thought it was in Ireland.
You and your darn butterfly ballot Joe! Oh
I’m so humiliated. I feel like I voted for Pat Buchanan.
I became a Chelsea fan only by accident back in ‘97 when I was touring through Europe. Some guys I met invited me to a Chelsea vs. Blackburn game. It was a home game so I had to root for the home team. THe rest is personal history!
Good things about Chelsea - They are Freaking RICH!… Although I was a Chelsea fan long before Russian oil came into the picture. Their “B” team is probably one of the top 10 club teams in the world. Much like Manchester United and Liverpool, because to their status.. you can always find games to watch that they are in.
Bad things about Chelsea - They are Freaking RICH!… They have so much money they are accused of “buying” the championship. Because of this “much like the Yankees” they are often hated. But they are amazing to watch. IF you are a fan of the underdog then I doubt you would enjoy Chelsea.
Other Premier Teams you might like:
Newcastle - Scrappy and always filled with drama
West Ham - They move up and down from the Premier to the Championship (the lower division) but they are a physical team that always attacks. And they are called the “Hammers”.. now how cool is that!
Man City - The tortured club always playing 2nd fiddle and living in the shadow of Manchester United (hands down the most popular club in the world), with 1/10the budget.
Portsmouth - “Pompey” are full of drama and have only been in the top flight for the past 3 years. Plus they have this one crazy fan that changed his name to “Portsmouth Football Club” and is has been adopted as their club mascot. Crazy crazy fans.. I love there chants and actually look forward to watching their games.
Obviously the top teams area also an option but they are Chelsea’s rivals and I could never forgive myself if I created a fan of these Teams:
Manchester United - The “In crowd” club.. Man U is simply a bunch of trendy bitches. If Chelsea is what the Yankees are in Baseball because of “money” Man U are what the Yankees are because of the “bandwagon” factor. The thing I enjoy most about being a Chelsea fan is watching the Man U fans cry and complain.
Liverpool - These guys are hot or they are cold.. when they are hot no one can beat them.. but when they are cold they lose bad. I can tolerate Liverpool fans but they leave a bitter taste in my mouth simply because they beat Chelsea way more than they should.
Arsenal - Another London team (North London), the bane of Chelsea’s existence. I hate Arsenal.. I hate their coach.. I hate most of their players.. I even hate their goalie.. now that is hatred!
And that is pretty much my run down of the Premier League. As far as following other leagues, I wouldn’t. The English league is the most physical, talent and dramatic League in the world. And in the states by far the easiest to catch games.
[...] extraordinairre Joe Posnanski is asking for advice on which EPL team to support. As of today he’s leaning towards Middlesbrough, but the poll is still open. So, here’s what I’ve been thinking: I need a soccer team. A [...]
nooooo! i’ll echo what several have already said: choosing boro would condemn you to a life of blandness. boro will never win anything of consequence, but it’s unlikely they’ll be relegated any time soon as well. boring, boring, boring. they are the quintessential definition of a mid-table team, without the possibility that they might qualify for the UEFA cup (a european competition for those not good enough for the champions league).
choose a team near the top or the bottom, and at least you’ll have some drama. as much as it pains me to say so, even fulham would be a much better choice than middlesbrough. but the best choice would be arsenal.
Middlesbrough offers a nice illustration of the differences between English soccer and American sports. While we have expansion teams that have accomplished a great deal in only a few decades (Bulls, Spurs, Pats), England has no expansion teams–most of them are as old as baseball’s National League teams–and many of them have plenty of empty space in their trophy cases. Boro is a shining example of the latter.
A local KC fan who roots for the local teams would probably say he roots for the Ipswich Town of MLB (farming area, team had greatest success in the 70s-early 80s, now stuck in the dregs of their sport with little hope of improvement), the Manchester City of the NFL (success in the late 60s, once shared a city with the Dallas Cowboys–you can probably guess which team is the Cowboys of the Prem), and the Tottenham of college basketball (at least until Mario’s 3-pointer fell). An Englishman would then wonder why said fan hasn’t committed suicide.
Boro is more like KSU if they had only played football until 1991, then dropped football for basketball. Fulham reminds me an awful lot of Missouri–owned by a shopping magnate (Mohamed al-Fayed of Harrods, meet the Walton girls and their husbands) determined to spend their way to victory, to nowhere near the success of a Chelsea or a Texas.
I still say that the Browns are most like Newcastle (if they hadn’t abandoned the old Dawg Pound), in its rich history of past success and heartbreak in more recent years.
Finally, one more note on Wolverhampton Wanderers, mentioned in a previous blog entry. Kansas City’s short lived entry into the NASL was known as the Kansas City Spurs. In the NASL’s second year, the league was in trouble, so they brought in English sides to represent NASL teams. Wolves played as the Kansas City franchise and won the league that year. So they are without question the only English team to win a championship for KC. Of course, right now, they’re in the second tier trying to break back into the Premiership and don’t figure to be seen on US TV for a while, but then not many outside KC will be able to see the Royals or Chiefs for a while.
A prolonged discussion about soccer. Gee, and I thought it was boring to watch.
Stop this insanity, Joseph Aaron Posnanski! Stop it!
For the love of all things bright and beautiful, it is baseball season. Well, maybe not in Kansas City…
Oh, and a final note on local links: Arsenal is a publicly owned franchise, and a major stake (12%) is owned by none other than major Mizzou donor Stan Kroenke.
Also, I should have added to my list of not-totally-masochistic-to-root-for teams from before Aston Villa and Portsmouth. Villa are actually probably my second favorite team–they 0ften play two strikers and two attacking wingers (Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor) who are a blast to watch. And Pompey (Portsmouth, that is) have some seriously athletic and powerful Africans, Sulley Muntari first among them. They’re pretty fun to watch as well, and pretty good too (though the FA Cup was a complete fluke–they didn’t even beat a top-flight team in the final).
I was in the same boat you are. I picked up FIFA 07 and played that and got hooked on using Fulham and since then I have been trying to follow them. Get one of those games and that way you get used to all the players and such and maybe you come up with a team.
One vote for Aston Villa because that’s the retirement home my great aunt lives in near Tempe, AZ. Didn’t know they had a soccer team.
I wouldn’t worry too much about which team you pick to follow, Joe.
The odds are pretty good you’ll watch one or two games, get bored out of your mind, and never watch again. (I’m incorporating your negativity principle, how am I doing?)
A lot of people say baseball is (or can be) boring to watch, but even at its most dreadful, it can never reach the lows a really really bad soccer game can reach. I’m talking Klingon Opera level bad here.
Since Soccer isn’t really a sport (if god had wanted us to play soccer he wouldn’t have given us hands), I’ll vote with you on Boro, Joe. Got nothing better to do during this conversation.
I think you will find it hard to instantly be a fan of whatever team is picked. I was never into soccer until I studied abroad in London in 1999. I instantly fell in love with it and have been a pretty big fan ever since, even attending the ’06 World Cup in Germany. Since ’99 I’ve watched a lot of the Premier League, a decent amount of the Bundesliga, and of course Champions League and international soccer. But I’ve never really become passionate about any team. I really would like for that to happen, but I just can’t fake it. I certainly have found teams I favor, and you could probably say I’ve found teams I passionately dislike, but no team that I’ve really come to love. I’ve found individual players who I root for (Gianfranco Zola is still my favorite ever), and of course root heavily for all the Americans playing abroad now. I’ve found teams that I really want to like because of their history, but just find watching their style of play to be dreadful. And of course the opposite to be true with teams I want to dislike (Arsenal), but are a joy to watch.
So good luck to you Joe in finding a team you really support. But instead of just going with the team that wins the poll, I recommend just start watching the game. Watch Euro 2008, and try to really get into the Premier League season in 08/09. As you watch, you will start to find teams you like and dislike, and players you like and dislike. And maybe over time you will gradually become passionate about a particular team, but I don’t think its something you can just fake.
I say that you should go with whichever team is dressed in red with “Carlsberg” on their jerseys. My one visit to Ireland was sprinkled with many a pint and it was Guiness for dark beer and Carlsberg for light.
Joe, Arsenal is my favorite, but I think Jeff is right, the only way to do it is just start watching the Prem when the season starts in August, and odds are by Christmas you’ll have a favorite. I did that, and though (like Simmons) I originally wanted to root for Spurs (underdog team in the big city), after watching for several months Arsenal won my heart in spite of myself.
By the way, if you actually want to see a Prem team play, Everton are coming to Denver and Chicago this summer to play the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire in pre-season “friendlies” (the soccer term for exhibition games).
Awright, who’s stuffing the ballot box?
I’ve been in the process of moving and away from the internet for a bit, so I missed the whole discussion on picking an EPL team. I wish I hadn’t as I’m a massive Arsenal supporter and would love to throw in my two cents. Or pence, as may be more pertinent to this discussion.
Boro are an absolutely woeful team. If you pick a bad team, you can cheer for them to not get relegated. If you pick a top 8 team, they’re playing for something. Boro are awful. They’re boring, they never score, and their ambitions consist of… well nothing.
Arsenal play this best style of the game and frustratingly come short of silverware, but are still a top 4 team that has a chance. If that’s too big for your tastes, I’d recommend, like others, you turn your eye towards Sunderland. Small club, huge stadium, fantastic fans, a character for a manager (whom I despise mainly because he’s a glory boy for ManUre). But I think it would be quite rewarding to follow them. Also, Aston Villa are up and coming with some great, fast young players. They’re from a big city (Birmingham) and really are on the move. Even though I always want my Gunners to crush them, some part of me acknowledges that if I didn’t follow Arsenal, I’d probably choose them.
Please, please, please stay away from Man U, Chelsea, and Tottenham. Man U are… repulsive. It’s like rooting for the atomic bomb or AIDS or something. Chelsea are morally repugnant, a boring team with an obnoxious owner trying to buy some sense of history or accomplishment. Tottenham are just… tripe. Always thinking they’re bigger than themselves, always falling short, and always looking foolish.
Anyway… those are my thoughts. Up the Gunners!
Joe,
As I said in the other thread, I don’t have the passion for the EPL that I do for MLS because I can’t really relate to it in a way that I can relate to our league.
I enjoy watching the EPL though, and to give you some idea of how disorienting it is, here are my rooting interests:
* Fulham because of all the Yanks they have employed, including Columbus Crew legend Brian McBride.
* Arsenal because they are always on TV and a fun to watch.
* Boro because of they are located in Cleveland.
* Blackburn Rovers because their goalkeeper is former Columbus goalkeeper and U.S. World Cup hero Brad Friedel (of Bay Village, Ohio.)
* Aston Villa because they are owned by the Browns.
* Man City because my cousin’s friend bought me a hat to compensate for the fact that she got a job at Old Trafford while studying abroad despite the fact that I told her Man U. was evil.
* Everton because their goalie, Tim Howard, is a Yank.
* Newcastle United because Sir Bobby Robson was a blast to interview when they visited Columbus, plus one of their beat writers, Jason Mellor, described Columbus as “an altogether less fashionable part of the United States”, which I think should the city’s official slogan.
* And next year I can add Stoke City to the list, since apparently Cleveland’s old NASL team in the early 70’s, the Cleveland Stokers, was made up of over-the-hill Stoke City players.
So as you can see, that’s quite a list. There’s no preferred order and it can change on a whim.
One of these decades, maybe I will form a real bond with some foreign team, but it hasn’t happened in the past decade-plus. It can’t be forced or faked. I’d recommend just watching games and go with whatever moves you.
And for God’s sake, make sure you get to some Wizards games, or U.S. National Team games, or some of the pre-season money-sucking U.S. tours by foreign giants. It’s a game that needs to be seen and felt in person.
Sirk
For all of the “experts” can anyone recommend some good books/web sites that would help me become oriented to European(English?) soccer?
As a follow-up - who carries games in the US? Are there any available in HD? I know ESPN has Euro 2008.
Pick the prettiest uniforms (I’m always partial to red and black), choose based on who has the most hooligany fans, make your selection using rocks/paper/scissors- just decide something so someone can put this thread out of its misery.
Sirk wrote:
“Newcastle United because Sir Bobby Robson was a blast to interview when they visited Columbus, plus one of their beat writers, Jason Mellor, described Columbus as “an altogether less fashionable part of the United States”, which I think should the city’s official slogan.”
Great stuff!
Andrew,
Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports carry the Premiership games here in the US. I have FSC as part of my cable package (no HD), and they usually show 3 live games and 1 tape-delayed game per weekend. There have been rumors lately that ESPN may buy the TV rights and put them on a new channel that would replace ESPN Classic. And I think wikipedia is a great resource. Tons of trivia and history on there.
One thing I failed to mention is that if you really choose to follow the on (and off) field drama of your team, you may find yourself more and more engrossed. I’ve spent most of my weekends over the past few years soaking up every piece of Arsenal news I can find. I skip quasi-important functions to watch the Gunners play whenever they’re on TV… anywhere. My love for Arsenal has blossomed into full-on fervor as time as gone on.
I also meant to point on that this fervor can blind you and make your irrational in an incredible way. I find EPL fans to be crazier than most.
Case in point: Cool Papa Bell above is obviously a fairly serious Chelsea fan from before 2002. He is one of about 9 that can say that, so all due credit to him. But he’s said that they are “amazing” to watch. The only person that could possibly say that is a Chelsea fan. They’re the most boring, negative team in the Premiership on many occasions. I don’t just say this because I root for the only real team in London. Almost anyone would agree with me. All credit to them… they win. But it’s ugly, boring, brutal. A Liverpool v. Chelsea match, apart from the Champions League semi-final, has been known to make hedge clipping seem an exercise in ecstasy.
But isn’t it great to know that, if you let yourself, you can find yourself loving the colors of a team thousands of miles away and becoming blind to their weaknesses and enamored with their strengths? Sport is wonderful.
Soccer is at the top of the sporting list. Best of luck with your (possible) new love.
I voted for Arsenal because West Ham wasn’t an option. The Hammers wear maroon and powder blue. ‘Nuf ced.
I have to agree with the other comments as to why you would purposefully choose a consistently mediocre team. Growing up, you are stuck with the team that is in your hometown, sometimes you get lucky (me - Yankees), sometimes you are not so (you - pick your Cleveland team). But when you branch to other countries, you can actually pick a good exciting team. And you consider cornflakes instead of Coco-Puffs (Man City), Trix (Arsenal), or Frosted Flakes (Man United)!? Why!? At least pick a team with a good kit!
Wow.
I’ve also missed this entirely, and the only sport I love remotely as much as baseball is soccer.
There seems to be an awful lot of gloryhunting on this thread, which surprises me, as I would think that the average reader of this blog would mock anyone who chose their baseball team based on their performances over the last ten years and the probability that they would be holding that thing with all the little flags stuck in it in early October.
Sports is more important than that.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with picking ‘Boro. Harry Pearson, who writes for the Guardian and is one of the best “mainstream” football journalists writing in English supports them (and has written a marvelous book at football in the northeast called “The Far Corner” that anyone interested in fan culture should read).
They have won a major trophy this decade (yeah, it was the League Cup, but it still a major trophy), and made it to the final of the UEFA Cup (the second most prestigious European club competition). In American terms, they aren’t chopped liver, and the comparisons between the two Clevelands aren’t that far off (Middlesborough’s largest traditional industry is chemical plants, and both the weather and air quality are less than perfect.
The other club I’d put in a word for is Aston Villa. Randy Lerner, who you obviously know about, is proving to be the classiest and most sensible owner in a league increasingly dominated by megalomaniacs who in at least one case literally have blood on their hands (yes, I’m looking at you Thaksin). He’s hired one of the most highly regarded managers in Britain in Martin O’Neil, and let him run the team without interference from above. While the Americans now running Liverpool and Manchester United have hobbled the clubs with massive amounts of debt, Lerner has been using his own money to build Villa according to a long term plan. And they’ve just cancelled their shirt sponsorship contract with an on-line betting firm that had been paying them more than a million pounds a year and replaced it with a childrens’ hospice that will pay nothing, nada, zilch.
Have you ever watched Middlesbrough play football? It’s like watching paint dry. Besides, when they get relegated next season you’re going to have to go through this whole process of choosing again.
As an American, I would have to say that you should look no further than Fulham for two reasons: 1) Fulham contains the greatest number of American players. Last season, Clint Dempsey, Kasey Keller, Eddie Johnson, Brain McBride and Carlos Bocanegra (alas the last two have just left). 2) Fulham are also have that flighting underdog spirit that Americans love. You only need look at last season’s “great escape” from relegation for evidence. Hope this helps. Incidentally, I’m not a Fulham supporter, I’m from Aberdeen, but love to check out the odd Fulham game.
Don’t let the windbags advocating the Big 4 cow your gut instinct Joe, go with the Boro. Not only are they in the Cleveland area, but all the teams of northeast England have a distinctly rust belt feel. I made a similar “discover a soccer team” voyage a few years ago, and landed on the Boro. I’ve absolutely loved it. If you are an underdog type of guy at all, you simply can’t jump on the bandwagon of the big teams, and Boro provides a nice, scrappy, alternative. Although they had a down year this past season, they’ve been as stable as any club outside the Big 4 as far as relegation worries go. I think they’re headed for a top half finish, and will likely challenge for a UEFA Cup spot next season, and invevitably, they’ll knock off Man U, or Chelsea, or Arsenal at home. Which is always extremely satisfying. They just splashed 12 million on a Brazilian striker by the name of Afonso Alves who was scoring a goal a game in the dutch league. A goal every other game would be like slugging .450. So Alves was off the charts. He should be a menace next year. Do a little history on Boro’s UEFA Cup run from 2 years ago, they had some absolutely stirring comebacks and unlikely wins to get to the finals, where they ultimately lost. But the run up to that UEFA Cup championship included some of the most exciting football matches I’ve seen. Just look at the arrogance from the Chelsea/ManYoo/Liverpool/Arsenal fans…..isn’t it a bit too much? Boro is a choice that displays character, and going to the margins to find something interesting.
Boyz, haven’t you been paying attention? Joe Posnanski may be a lot of things - great writer, wit, sports expert - but the one thing he’s not is a “Cleveland guy”. His infidelity with the Cincinnati Reds after pledging his troth to the Cleveland Indians is proof positive of that. So no, Joe signing on with any of the non-Big 4 clubs is doomed for betrayal right from the start. Just like Joe’s loyalty switch in the mid-70s, eventually he’ll be seduced by the siren-wail of a winning team like ManU or Chelsea. So why pretend?
So Joe, just sign on with a front running team right from the get-go and avoid the inevitable betrayal.
I’m with Jeff and Perry. I’ve been watching for years and it’s hard to develop a passion for a team unless you’ve got some reason to do so. (I lived in St. Pete for two years and thus picked up Zenit - Now that made for a great summer, this year!)
But just watching a lot of the premiership games, you pick up teams you like and teams you dislike (Chelsea, ManU). Each year I pick a team in the relegation battles - mostly based on style of play and American-based players.
And comparing the European leagues to the US Soccer League is like comparing the NBA to the WNBA.
Pick a new team if they relegated?
Is that supposed to be a parody of an American gloryhunter?
Kansas City’s first outdoor soccer team was called the Spurs, so its only fitting that you pick them.
I go out of town for a weekend and miss the poll. Was AS Roma on it? Why does the team have to be English?
There’s something very important about Middlesbrough: the people there don’t like the word “Cleveland”. Not even a little bit. You see, they are very proud to be from Yorkshire. That’s why they were so pleased to abolish the politically-imposed word “Cleveland” ,although, as you know, it lives on in a few political organizations. Imagine if a corner of Texas were taken out of Texas and renamed “Gulfland”- yes, that’s how popular it was. So, Joe, if you’re ever in Middlesbrough, best not to mention the C word.
Wow, how did I miss my favorite KC columnist finally writing about my favorite sport? Middlesbrough is a very KC Chiefs pick on the field with a Royals fanbase. Always doing just enough to stay up in the Premier League or possibly in a very good year push for a lower cup spot.
Good call with the local sponsor too. I’ve been paying more attention to them since Garmin showed up.
Middlesbrough are probably in the bottom third of the Premier League in terms of support, but let’s just say the competition is rough there. 96+ professional clubs in an area the size of Louisiana. They’d have a decent amount of bandwagon fans if they made some real noise.
Make sure you try to watch as many of your clubs games as possible so you can ride the highs and lows of a season. Be prepared for some lows. Maybe play a PS3 or XBOX360 season of the new FIFA or Winning Eleven with Boro so you get to know the upcoming players names. Cheers. blog bookmarked!
I can’t believe people suggesting you chose Fulham over Boro? Middlesbrough every day of the week…a great choice.
Middlesbrough would be a good choice, and certainly not a boring one. Contrary to what some people have said on here, they have an exciting recent history such as the uefa cup run 2 years ago and the league cup win 5 years ago. They lose games they should win and have a habit of making things hard for themselves, but have a very impressive record against the ‘big 4′, allowing you to gloat when you see your gloryhunting friends. The current team is very young with the manager training an attacking emphasis into the team.
And the guy who said people from Middlesbrough do not like ‘cleveland’ is talking out his ass.
Middlesbrough are shit!
Never a dull moment with Boro. It is an white-knuckle ride very single year. We are a proud, parochial, bloody-minded, pessimistic, witty, sexy, philosophical crowd who don’t care what other fans think. We won’t be begging you to support us.
If it is cheap second hand glamour and nailed on reflected glory you want, try the Manchester Home County Reds or Liverpool Bindippers. If you want a character building, emotional assault course that will help you earn respect and learn to experience the game as a people’s opera of hope and adversity, we are your boys.
Boro all the way!!!!!!!!!!! great choice, you will love supporting the,
Six famous people from Middlesbrough possibly known in the States
Chris Rea
Paul Rodgers (Free and now Queen)
Captain James Cook
George Washington (OK 30 miles north and closer to Sunderland)
Sir Ridley Scott and Tony Scott grew up in the Boro
note: Ridley Scott based the opening shots of a futuristic LA in Blade Runner.on his childhood memories of the Middlesbrough chemical plants.
fook me, Ive never seen such ridiculous comments before.
I had heard Americans were thick but you lot are taking the piss.
Im from Middlesbrough and ive been laughing my arse off reading comments on here.
To be honest we dont need stupid Americans supporting our team, you might as well support Man U or Chelsea.
Also to the guys saying we will never win anything, we were the last team out of the top 4 to win anything before Portsmouth won the fa cup this year.
ANy way, up the boro, you lot stick to playing netball, rounders and invading third world countries, while your at it, get Mugabe out of Zimbabwe, there must be summat in his country you want.
ttfn.
Middlesbrough are a REAL football team, full of local passion and English pride. A team with more England Internationals than any other team, as well as the highest percentage of local lads, and the 2nd lowest average age in the premier league. Add to that a local chairman who is seen as a hero by many on teeside and you have a great, unique team to support.
Follow the Boro mate, We will destroy teams this season.
Up the Boro!
Come on Boro,
As our Chief Exec has recently said, since 1995 we have been in 5 major cup finals more than any other team outside the ‘Big four’ and are the only team outside the ‘Big four’ to have played in a European Final.
To see how passionate we are check out Jeff Stellings rant on Middlesbrough on You tube.