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SHSYID23, USA

3 min read
by The Fighting Cock
Our story begins in August 2002, (queue flashback music)… My wife and I honeymooned in London and each night did a little pub crawl of our own, going to different parts of London, hanging out and drinking pints. A couple of nights while we were there, soccer was on TV, there was this team with […]

Our story begins in August 2002, (queue flashback music)… My wife and I honeymooned in London and each night did a little pub crawl of our own, going to different parts of London, hanging out and drinking pints. A couple of nights while we were there, soccer was on TV, there was this team with a odd name, called Arsenal on the TV. We watched a couple of matches that week, had some pints and fun, finished the honeymoon flew back to the States and never thought twice about it…

Now flash-forward (queue music), Summer / Fall 2010… 8 years have passed since London and I have moved next door to a soccer nut. This guy has built a full working pub in his garage, waking at 430am to watch… Man U. Every weekend, this guy is going nuts, waking the entire neighborhood, being the curious sort, I go over to see what the hell is happening at 430am. Over the summer during the 2010 World Cup and fall as football season starts we strike up a friendship and begin hanging out watching matches. No matter how hard he tries, I realize very quickly, I hate United! I simply hate them…

I have fallen in love with the game of soccer, but I do not have a team that I root for. I think back to 2002, what about that team, Arsenal? Hmmm, ok, let’s try them on for size. I begin watching matches, trying their podcasts, basically trying hard to educate myself to learn about soccer. As I watch them something weird happens, the more I watch them and listen to their podcasts, the more I begin to hate them, I hate everything about them, especially their air of “superiority”…

As the 2011 season starts, weird things happen, leading to my soccer salvation, saving me from a fate of “Eating Babies” and watching scum in red.

First, my co-worker’s husband who is a HUGE soccer fan recommended this team called Spurs. As he said to me, “Dude, you are a Jew an MOT (Member of the Tribe) and Spurs are the Jewish Club, their fans are the Yid Army, these are your people!”. Hmmmm…

Then I read a book called “How Soccer Explains The World”, it has a great chapter on Spurs, Jews and the Yid Army… Hmmmm…

The final push, the biggest thing on the road to Spurs Fandom was when I went to iTunes, in September, looking for a decent Spurs Podcast, then I see it…THE FIGHTING COCK! Like Paul on the Road to Damascus, I’m blinded by the sheer genius of this podcast. It’s like sitting with your friends, BS-ing about soccer and having fun. It took me about 2 minutes of listening to realize, this is it! I’m home, I found my people, my team!

Lads, thank you for saving my soccer life and thanks for also for making the Friday night commute home here in the States so much fun, the highlight of each Friday is when I can listen to the Pod.

Now, me and my 5 year old daughter clear our schedule and make sure we watch (or listen live on my iPhone) to Spurs, no matter what time the match is on here in California, 430am does suck, but it’s also awesome to care for a team that much. She knows that her daddy loves TFC Podcast, every morning on the way to school, we get in the car, fire up the iPhone and play The Fighting Cock Theme song, it’s our tradition and now Spurs are OUR TEAM!

Thank You Boys, keep it up! Love The Pod, Love The Shirt! COYS!

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.