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Do the Americans understand the rivalry and the tribalism of supporting a team?

the reason I ask is that on a family holiday to Florida a couple of years ago I got chatting to an American who supported Woolwich, he engaged with me as my boy had a Spurs shirt on....and his opening line was ' hey another London football supporter..........I was polite and he knew his football but I could not bear to call him a fucking gooner cunt and kick him in the shins as he was a nice guy!!!

Funny thing is a few days later, we are at a queue in disney and there are a couple of scousers in front of us, the scouse dad turns round, looks at my boy ( who was 7 at the time) and says ' Spurs fan eh la'

My boys turns round and says ' Yeah and your a bin dipper.........................'

I was trying not to piss myself laughing as my ex tried to calm the scousers down........jesus did i get some ear ache for that one.....the usual questioning about where here learned that........
 
B-0-Sspurs said:
Do the Americans understand the rivalry and the tribalism of supporting a team?

the reason I ask is that on a family holiday to Florida a couple of years ago I got chatting to an American who supported Woolwich, he engaged with me as my boy had a Spurs shirt on....and his opening line was ' hey another London football supporter..........I was polite and he knew his football but I could not bear to call him a fucking gooner cunt and kick him in the shins as he was a nice guy!!!

Funny thing is a few days later, we are at a queue in disney and there are a couple of scousers in front of us, the scouse dad turns round, looks at my boy ( who was 7 at the time) and says ' Spurs fan eh la'

My boys turns round and says ' Yeah and your a bin dipper.........................'

I was trying not to piss myself laughing as my ex tried to calm the scousers down........jesus did i get some ear ache for that one.....the usual questioning about where here learned that........
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no most haven't a fucking clue, its just a "cool" thing to be into because no one else is
 
I think we have quite a few supporters in brooklyn and new york because if i remember, and dont quote me on this because i could be being really stupid, but isnt brooklyn and new york quite a big jewish community? so alot of yanks might pick up the whole 'yid' thing and go with it
 
Claud601 said:
no most haven't a fucking clue, its just a "cool" thing to be into because no one else is
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Some do, some don't. Either way it'll still be different than being IN North London and dealing with Woolwich Goobers on a daily. I've certainly had my run ins with scum out here, but honestly I've usually found the American Chelsea fans to be the most intolerable.

Clearly supporting from afar is different than being able to go to the stadium regularly or away days. I support my local team and have season tickets and have made a few away trips but my first love will always be Tottenham, it's just the way it is.
 
Also, while there are for sure a bunch of Americans that will glom on to teams, seek validation from Brits, get bored when they don't and move on in a few years, there are also ones that wake up at 4:00am and drive to a bar to watch Spurs take on Fulham in a somewhat meaningless game in April and not care one bit what other's think of them.
 
Claud601 said:
no most haven't a fucking clue, its just a "cool" thing to be into because no one else is
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You're absolutely correct. However, there are a lot of Americans that aren't exposed to any sort of real rivalry in sports. They hear about it on TV, but don't really get it. I grew up in Rhode Island as a huge Red Sox fan, so I was always going to New York wearing baseball shit just to piss people off. Even that rivalry is tame nowadays. The one you don't really hear about (probably cause they want to keep it under wraps) is Oakland Raiders vs San Diego Chargers. People have gotten stabbed at the stadium in those games.

pdxspur said:
Some do, some don't. Either way it'll still be different than being IN North London and dealing with Woolwich Goobers on a daily. I've certainly had my run ins with scum out here, but honestly I've usually found the American Chelsea fans to be the most intolerable.
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I cannot STAND Chelsea based solely on their idiot supporters. Their super vocal but don't actually know what the hell they're talking about. Whereas I hate Man United "fans" because most of them don't even actually even pay attention to the league at all. They just know that historically they have a good team.
 
I have absolutely no justification for what I'm about to say, and I'm quite drunk at the minute. BUT.
I can imagine, that, at least in certain parts of america. Tottenham is about, the maximum level of team you can support, before you find proper cunts for fans.
For example, anyone that CHOOSES to support city or chelsea is most likely just suckered in by the money and success of recent times. Woolwich the justification is "Yeah they're one of the most successful premier league teams," etc etc, and... well, United? Only a proper glory hunter would choose united.
But us? What is there to make anyone choose us ? some American players? So we're Yank sympathisers. Thats about it. Therefore anyone picking us, is judging on gut instinct.
 
Couple of months ago at some party I was at I actually met a City supporter who claimed to have followed them since he was a kid.

He coaches women's soccer at the local community college.
 
I don't encounter a ton of City supporters surprisingly enough. Chelsea fans are pretty insufferable on the average. United supporters and Liverpool fans in my age range often times had parents who supported one or the other, but yeah they both have their share of glory hunters. Woolwich supporters out here are a mixed bag. A lot of people who wear the shirt and rarely watch games, some glory hunters who are just bad at glory hunting and a fair share of decent fans. There are just far too many of them in my age group. I feel like any time I meet a person who says they watch English football when I ask them if they support a team they say Woolwich. Sigh.
 
pdxspur said:
I don't encounter a ton of City supporters surprisingly enough. Chelsea fans are pretty insufferable on the average. United supporters and Liverpool fans in my age range often times had parents who supported one or the other, but yeah they both have their share of glory hunters. Woolwich supporters out here are a mixed bag. A lot of people who wear the shirt and rarely watch games, some glory hunters who are just bad at glory hunting and a fair share of decent fans. There are just far too many of them in my age group. I feel like any time I meet a person who says they watch English football when I ask them if they support a team they say Woolwich. Sigh.
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What's your age group?
 
Anthony Beale said:
I have absolutely no justification for what I'm about to say, and I'm quite drunk at the minute. BUT.
I can imagine, that, at least in certain parts of america. Tottenham is about, the maximum level of team you can support, before you find proper cunts for fans.
For example, anyone that CHOOSES to support city or chelsea is most likely just suckered in by the money and success of recent times. Woolwich the justification is "Yeah they're one of the most successful premier league teams," etc etc, and... well, United? Only a proper glory hunter would choose united.
But us? What is there to make anyone choose us ? some American players? So we're Yank sympathisers. Thats about it. Therefore anyone picking us, is judging on gut instinct.
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When I was first trying to get into watching I asked my cousins (from Northwich) who they watched growing up. It turns out they didn't watch football at all and didn't have a team (they're girls). However, one of my cousins husband watches West Ham. Because of the family in the States watching the Patriots he follows them, so I thought I would return the favor and follow the Hammers. Well, that ended quick as fuck (maybe two weeks at the max) when I realized that their fans are a bunch of pieces of shit and that they have absolutely no worthwhile history. One of my best friends suggested that I start watching Everton. The guy that suggested Everton to me is actually a Yid, so I did some sleuthing and realized that Spurs has a lot in common with the pre-2004 Red Sox and really appealed to me. He was pretty happy that I wound up choosing Tottenham without anyone even suggesting them.
 
Claud601 said:
no most haven't a fucking clue, its just a "cool" thing to be into because no one else is
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I can't see the problem with people supporting or liking a British team and not having an in-depth knowledge of the club. The PL makes its money promoting a world wide brand, football is out there. All clubs have benefited big time and long may it continue into the future. Any one who supports Spurs is fine by me, whatever their knowledge or commitment. I guess there could be a few on here that have got involved in Spurs because of the trendy status of PL football. Who really cares of an American supporting THFC and doesn't know the name of the ground? It all sounds a bit pompous from us criticising joey foreigner.

For the record, Ive travelled to away games (80's) midweek when there have only been a few hundred of us. But I will not mention that.
 
"The point about football in Britain is that it is not just a sport people take to, like cricket or tennis or running long distances. It is inherent in the people. It is built into the urban psyche. It is not a phenomenon; it is an everyday matter. There is more eccentricity in deliberately disregarding it than in devoting a life to it. Its sudden withdrawal from the people would bring deeper disconsolation than to deprive them of television. The way we play the game, organise it and reward it reflects the kind of community we are."

Arthur Hopcraft - 1968
 
B-0-Sspurs said:
Do the Americans understand the rivalry and the tribalism of supporting a team?

the reason I ask is that on a family holiday to Florida a couple of years ago I got chatting to an American who supported Woolwich, he engaged with me as my boy had a Spurs shirt on....and his opening line was ' hey another London football supporter..........I was polite and he knew his football but I could not bear to call him a fucking gooner cunt and kick him in the shins as he was a nice guy!!!
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Trust me, I would NEVER EVER say shit like that to anyone wearing a football shirt of an opposing team (especially a gooner). And you can rest assured I understand the rivalry, tradition, and tribalism.

I'd been watching EPL for about 10 years and just enjoyed the game. I never really had a connection to any team. I happened into Spurs a few years back at the advice of an English friend (he supports York City...poor bastard) and quickly fell in love. I then joined a supporters club and quickly learned how fucking lucky I am to be Spurs as the Woolwich/Chelsea/Liverpool/United fans in the States are proper cunts.
 
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InTheCity said:
Trust me, I would NEVER EVER say shit like that to anyone wearing a football shirt of an opposing team (especially a gooner). And you can rest assured I understand the rivalry, tradition, and tribalism.

I'd been watching EPL for about 10 years and just enjoyed the game. I never really had a connection to any team. I happened into Spurs a few years back at the advice of an English friend (he supports York City...poor bastard) and quickly fell in love. I then joined a supporters club and quickly learned how fucking lucky I am to be Spurs as the Woolwich/Chelsea/Liverpool/United fans in the States are proper cunts.
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I think the American Spurs fans that would do such a thing wouldn't find their way onto this particular forum. The climate here is quite rough compared to other forums who such "supporters" would find more suitable for their needs.
 
InTheCity said:
Trust me, I would NEVER EVER say shit like that to anyone wearing a football shirt of an opposing team (especially a gooner). And you can rest assured I understand the rivalry, tradition, and tribalism.

I'd been watching EPL for about 10 years and just enjoyed the game. I never really had a connection to any team. I happened into Spurs a few years back at the advice of an English friend (he supports York City...poor bastard) and quickly fell in love. I then joined a supporters club and quickly learned how fucking lucky I am to be Spurs as the Woolwich/Chelsea/Liverpool/United fans in the States are proper cunts.
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How lucky you are...over equally disconnected, TV fans?
 
I worked for a short time in Manhattan in the mid eighties . I was aware how left field Americans /
New Yorkers were very interested in Brit sub culture . I would see occasional Mods, Punks, Goths,
Smiths fans , even Skinheads in South Carolina . Monty Python seemed to be worshipped
They had the opinion that we were sought
of cutting edge . In reality they had no understanding of our deep in bedded class
structure angst that fuelled our creativity.
I wonder if this under lying "Cool Britannia " fuelled interest in some of the interest
in the Premier or is totally irrelevant ..
 
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