This is my first year of Spurs love, and I’ll pause a moment as those amongst you shake heads and mumble about bandwagon fandom. Done? Good; it’s a fair point but allow me to counter. I’m an American and began this most recent Premier League season declaring that I was going to watch all 38 […]
Choosing Tottenham
This is my first year of Spurs love, and I’ll pause a moment as those amongst you shake heads and mumble about bandwagon fandom. Done? Good; it’s a fair point but allow me to counter.
I’m an American and began this most recent Premier League season declaring that I was going to watch all 38 games, something I had never managed before. Catching games is especially convenient for me for a few reasons. First, living in America and having roughly 457 television channels, I get to watch lots of football (I’m doing my best not to slip into saying soccer). Second, I’m a married man with an 8 year old daughter which means that weekend afternoons and evenings are often taken up with sundry activities while mornings are free. That’s good because most European soccer is screened before lunchtime. Finally, there’s a full-on assault by the Premier League to attract American viewers such is the potential revenue to tapped here. So getting involved required little more than will, and a rather passive will at that.
I started as most of us do with adolescent love: a vague idea of what I wanted. Here then is what I didn’t want: Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal. Too easy. If someone emigrated to the US, decided to watch baseball and immediately declared himself a Yankee fan, I’d consider that person an a***hole.
I also couldn’t go too far down the table. While there is arguably more football on television in the US than in England, there’s still nobody clamouring to watch Wolves or QPR and so they rarely make it to TV. I couldn’t risk supporting a relegation target. Also out were Everton and Fulham. Too many Americans begin watching the EPL and going instantly for the teams with American representation (I hear you saying “Friedel!” but I’ll get to that). I have lots of love for Timmy Howard and Deuce, but I refused to be trite.
[linequote] If I wanted to watch sports to associate myself with glory then I’ve been f**king it up for years.[/linequote]
What did I want? I didn’t know exactly but my notions were informed by my sports teams growing up – teams from Cleveland, where I’m from. They’ve traditionally enjoyed the fervent support of their biggest fans – fans who get almost defensive in their support of their teams. They’ve also been perennial also-rans. This should also help tamp down misgivings that I’m hoping to ride a hot ticket. No Cleveland team in a major American sport (basketball, baseball, American football) has won anything since 1964. As old as I am, that’s still before I was born. If I wanted to watch sports to associate myself with glory then I’ve been f**king it up for years.
I actually started the season thinking, ‘I’ll be a Liverpool fan’. Why? Mostly because they were on often and a friend was a Liverpool fan. This quickly became untenable. The Suarez debacle was too much to bear. There was Luis himself, followed closely by King Kenny going out of his way to paint Suarez as some sort of victim (of what I’m still not certain) and then an army of misguided scousers (perhaps the minority, but a vocal one) agreeing that somehow that buck-toothed racist had been jobbed by the whole affair. I lost my stomach for it and decided just to watch football and save a rooting interest for later.
And then I saw them…all of them: Bale, VDV, BAE, Modric, Ledley King, the kung-foo fighting Sandro, Scott Parker and his mid-1940’s haircut. Excitement! Adventure! And, let’s face it, a nagging feeling that it could implode at any moment. Oh, and what of Friedel? I grew up less than an hour away from Brad (and we’re roughly the same age). I live closer to that area of Cleveland than I did as a kid, and at this point Brad only seems some rough approximation of an American. He’s really a man without a country. I can tell you nobody else around here has that accent and since he doesn’t play for the national team he’s almost an afterthought as a representative of the states in the Premier League.
The clincher for me supporting Spurs was, paradoxically, the Champions League final. Had Chelsea lost and Tottenham made it into next year’s tournament, I’m not sure I would have a team. Now? I have a team with the street cred of the scrappy fighter. That’s right, winning isn’t easy! We will have to claw, and fight, and scrap our way through next season. The very players I loved this year may move on as a result. I could be stuck watching ‘Arry make ‘orrible decisions again (Bale plays on the LEFT!), but nobody’s mettle was ever tested in a parade. Now, I’m invested!
I’ve accepted now that what I root for, what I watch for, what I LOVE, is THE SHIRT.
[author name=”Chris Baird” avatar=”http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2219303073/Photo_on_12-17-11_at_8.44_PM.jpg” twitter=”90percentrayon” tag=”chrisbaird[/linequote]
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19 Comments
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08/06/2012 @ 8:42 pm
Wow! I can relate to this story in so many ways. I too am from the NE Ohio region and my interest in Spurs came about the same way yours did the year Harry took charge. I couldn’t see myself rooting for the big clubs when I started to watch the PL so I searched for a team. I loved the way spurs played the game. And I loved the club atmosphere. I am now a loyal Spurs supporter. COYS!
08/06/2012 @ 8:47 pm
Chris,
I loved your article, like you, I just finished my first year as a Spurs fan…I’m also an American and like you and went through some what similar issues when finding a team….Mine dealt more with Arsenal, a Honey Moon, then a crazed Man United Neighbor, but the long and winding road led me to our lads!
Glad to be a Spurs fan, glad to see another American Spurs fan on the Fighting Cock site!
Just imagine, when Spurs win a title or Cup it will be sweet!
Great article, COYS!
-S
08/06/2012 @ 8:48 pm
Great story, and hey, you don’t have to have a reason.
Just never wear a red shirt ever again !
You chose an amzing season to join.
Welcome to the roller coaster.
08/06/2012 @ 8:49 pm
Should of chose Man Utd…..its a lot less painful than supporting spurs…..I have for 43 years…..it had cost me money, tears and a lot of abuse….mind the gap!
08/06/2012 @ 9:03 pm
Chris i applaud you for not joining the bandwagon and support one of those other teams. As an ex-pat living in South Florida I see a lot of Chelsea and United shirts on people who couldn’t name more than 5 team players.
As 70nto911 said “welcome to the roller coater”, but i do feel for the first time in many, many years that we are on the brink of greatness. That said we are talking Spurs and you may soon realise the it could also be the brink of the Grand Canyon.
As a Clevelander you have been baptised by the Browns, Indians and the Cav’s to the pain you will endure as a Spurs fan, but there is no greater club. COYS.
08/06/2012 @ 9:43 pm
As an English Spurs fan it fills me with joy seeing guys from across the pond not only taking an interest but supporting Spurs, calling the manager ‘Arry, commenting on Parker’s outrageously outdated hair etc. If only there were more like u guys instead of the REAL bandwagon jumpers who kno little to nothing about the teams they claim to support. As other have eluded too, being a spurs fan aint easy, but its the most fulfilling thing you’ll ever do. Enjoy.
08/06/2012 @ 9:56 pm
Nice shout by the Yankee Yids.
i grew up whithin walking distance of WHL and am now residing in Toronto. still get to a couple of games a year, and never miss any thanks to the www & cable.
keep spreading the word that if its Pure Football, Pure Joy or Pure heartache then keep watching the world famous Tottenham Hotpur.
Welcome to the family……COYS.
08/06/2012 @ 11:51 pm
Another expat here !
living in Atlantic Canada
so true, that it is easy to choose to follow a winning team
But we are Tottenham
And we follow The Lillywhites for a reason
I started back in the 60’s as a kid watching great players like Greaves,Blanchflower,Mackay
then Chivers, Gilzean,Peters, Jennings
Then Perryman, Hoddle Mabbut , Clemance
Then Gascoign, Klinsman , Ginola
Feeeeel the class oozing out
Tottenham have always played with swashbuckling style
I wouldn’t have it any other way
I pay my money to be entertained, to see that flash of brilliance,
to see Hoddle trapped facing the corner flag,with the ball and two defenders behind him, nowhere to go !Then, he puts the ball from one knee to the other and then flicks the ball overhead getting past the two amazed defenders …. Outstanding, …I can still remember that as if it was yesterday
These are the reasons I and many other fans follow the Spurs
We play Entertaining Football (most of the time !)
Football like it used to be
when it was sport and not just business etc
Anyway there you go, thanks for sending back in time :)
I feel we are on the cusp of something great
we have solidified ourselves in the top group of teams
now we just need a few players to take us to the top
and build a new larger White Hart Lane
Onwards and upwards my fellow Spurs
Coys
08/06/2012 @ 11:55 pm
kids ain’t aproblem…. it’s the wife…
still glad you’re onboard….& even though the season’s ended … transfer date will soon begin so sit back… relax… & let’s share the pain… it never ends!!
COYS!!!!
09/06/2012 @ 12:00 am
Being a Spurs fan is not easy,everything we do seems to be jinxed,but you know what,i love it.
My sons asked me why i brought them up as Spurs fans,answer = to prepare you for married life.
You may not realise how huge a fan base we have, we always outnumber any team we play
against at Wembley (including chelski) who did not sell their allocation of tickets.So much for their
billions spent. We are a very big club playing in a small capacity stadium,and when we build the new
56,000 seater ,you will see what i mean.COYS
09/06/2012 @ 12:04 am
I like that getting used to disapointment….. married life… yep that relates…
11/06/2012 @ 8:36 pm
Umm John are the Spurs supporters the same that left en masse at the 80′ minute of the semi final ? Tottenham shit club shit support enjoy Thursday nights on channel 5.
09/06/2012 @ 12:53 am
“Whatever happens you are my THFC, my team, my hopes, my dreams, my passion for football…………….”
“My first love is THFC, my second is watching the scum lose. Always has been, always will be.
And there is nothing wrong with that, and I am sure I am not alone with this philosophy.”
“Ledders – He is far more than a player, captain, and leader of men.
He is an inspiration…………………….. ”
These say it all for me !
09/06/2012 @ 2:18 am
Welcome to a lifetime of nearlyness punctuated by the occasional actuality :)
09/06/2012 @ 5:27 pm
Singaporean, 12 hours away. 32 years Spurs fan.
Lots of heartache, not a single regret.
Love & commitment, much like a marriage.
From Hoodle to Modric and beyond. One Club forever. COYS!
12/06/2012 @ 1:59 am
Chris…love the article…I’m an American as well, and I too was casting about last August for a team to follow, be passionate about, be disappointed by, and follow thru thick and thin. (I had discovered a love for soccer (football) during the World Cup, and tried MLS, but it just couldn’t excite me, despite haveing DC United as a home team. ) At the start of the season, I looked at following Chelsea, but upon discovering that EVERYONE follows Chelsea, (or United), I quickly lost my appetite for the Blues…but then I saw the Spurs playing (I think it was Wolves) early in the season, and I quickly became enamored of their style of play, and their lack of drama….they seemed put their heads down, play football, and play it well. Fluid, entertaining football. I was hooked! A Spurs fan from then on! I hope to see them play the scousers in July in Baltimore…someday, maybe White Hart Lane. COYS
12/06/2012 @ 7:43 pm
Really good story there.
From Singapore here, haven’t been a supporter of Spurs (Or watched football regularly for any matter) for very long. About 4 years +, & still loving this club (despite the occasional “wtf” and disappointments.)
Welcome aboard! COYS
14/06/2012 @ 1:50 am
This is awesome. I’m from northern VA and always played with Spurs on FIFA, since like FIFA 08. I loved that they were four stars, I loved playing to beat the giants. My sophomore year of high school, I got trained by a Tottenham goalkeeper coach over in the states to scout. Since then, I’ve followed them in real life.
My other friends are Man City/United/Chelsea fans and it pisses me off, but I get by, we’re scrappers, just like you said!
Great post. COYS
15/06/2012 @ 6:40 pm
Is this the Chris Baird from TBN? I basically went through the exact same transformation as you.