Thanks for all the help and info.

Ten reasons to support Arsenal

1) One of the more historic teams in the EPL, been around a long time and won a lot of silverware
2) Our emblem is a freaking cannon
3) We're in the equivalent of the Fran-Sherman era of Aggie Football at the moment, so buy in low and wait for us to be good again in 1 or 5 or 10 seasons
4) We're one of the London clubs, so if you ever decide to fly over and take in a match, when you land at Heathrow you're already close
5) Our emblem isn't a chicken on a ball
6) You won't have to walk around in your kit with a Chevy logo on your stomach
7) We have some young talent it'll be fun to watch (hopefully) blossom over the next few seasons. Saka on England's national team competing in the Europa tournament right now is a bright youngster, as is Tierney, also competing on Scotland's team.
8) You could have a reason to someday get a freaking cannon inked on you instead of a chicken
9) As an Aggie you'll be accustomed to wondering why we play down to the level smaller clubs with less money and talent
10) You get to tell other Americans you're a "GOONA" and witness their look of confusion

heddleston said:

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No matter what people on this thread say, no one is ever going to give you a medal for deciding to make yourself watch ***ty soccer week on week out. If you end up rooting for a mid tier or bad team, it's still fun, but it doesn't make you any more a real or better soccer fan than if you hitch your wagon to whatever the new hotness is. I say this as an Everton fan and an absolute MLS homer.

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Especially since the only people that root for those teams IN England, do it because of where they live.

Leicester City is a good choice.

But you have to learn how to pronounce it.

I picked 'Pool a decade or two ago because I loved Stevie G... and it pissed my best friend who supported ManU off.

jeffk said:

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It's always hilarious that folks would willfully choose to follow a professional sports team because their history resembles the Aggies. I love the Aggies, but I'd never choose to invite MORE of that same sort of heartache into my life ON PURPOSE.

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There was an article by a student comparing A&M to Bayern Munich. LOL.

Bigtime German soccer is the closest to games at Kyle though.

Yeah, I remember that article. More about club/supporter culture than team success or history if I remember right.

When it comes down to it, Aggie fandom really does track well with Euro club fandom... regardless of club.

I support Liverpool because my wife's family are all reds, but to be perfectly honest I think I would be more comfortable if I had married into a Newcastle or Southampton or even Everton family. I struggle just a bit supporting kne of the biggest clubs in the world for the same reason I dislike Cowboys fans from Ohio or Lakers fans from Houston.

I picked a team based on my favorite color so I root for Chelsea

My sons and I all like different teams, but we have collectively decided that even if we like the style of football or really like a player on a club or even the kit combinations/colors, we will not support them if their jersey sponsor is a Chinese gambling website (or really any gambling website for that matter). I don't know why. That's just our rule.

I've always liked to cheer against Man U because I've always viewed them as the yankees of the premiership... but I actually do really like some of their players right now.

If you ever get a chance to travel to the UK and perhaps catch a match live or go to some pubs during a match, you're more likely to visit London than Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, or farther north like Newcastle or south like South Hampton or Brighton. There are a lot of big London clubs and many of them have great rivalries or derbies with each other:

Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, and Brentford are in the EPL for next year with Brentford just being promoted. Also in London, Fulham was just relegated, but they have a history in the EPL as well as a history of signing American players, great fans, and great environment. Queens Park Rangers is another big London Club but currently in the 2nd tier along with Millwall. Millwall is famous for its hooligans and rivalry with some of the other London clubs West Ham, Tottenham.

I'm not a Puritan but I don't gamble. I also have to respect the Jersey sponsor.

I refused to buy an FC Dallas jersey nor let my kids play for the FC Dallas club when they had Advocare on their kits. Like, if I have to buy a kit for them, why does it advertise an MLM?

I'm off track. I agree with choosing a team that is sponsored by something you can support.

Word of wisdom: Don't pick a Big 6 club. If you aren't familiar with that term those teams are: Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.

Those clubs run like a business, don't feel like a club for the fans and you don't get to experience the thrill of a relegation battle. Staying up endears you to a club you support.

KCup17 said:

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Word of wisdom: Don't pick a Big 6 club. If you aren't familiar with that term those teams are: Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.

Those clubs run like a business, don't feel like a club for the fans and you don't get to experience the thrill of a relegation battle. Staying up endears you to a club you support.

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It's probably worth acknowledging that *all* clubs are run like businesses regardless of their table position. The Big 6 just have a lot more money than the others. It's probably more fun to root for an underdog, but that's a different argument.

Fair point. I'm thinking more about how Tottenham purposely put their fans up in the nose bleeds and charged them an arm and leg for those seats. Big 6 clubs tend to make more decisions based on brand recognition and not necessarily their supporters in mind.

EDIT: But yes I acknowledge that all clubs *have* to be run like a business in order to make money. Just a bummer that often times supporters bear the brunt of some of those decisions.

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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I'm not a Puritan but I don't gamble. I also have to respect the Jersey sponsor.

I refused to buy an FC Dallas jersey nor let my kids play for the FC Dallas club when they had Advocare on their kits. Like, if I have to buy a kit for them, why does it advertise an MLM?

I'm off track. I agree with choosing a team that is sponsored by something you can support.

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I mean, I'm not against gambling.. I gamble some and I enjoy it. I just don't like my English team wearing Chinese characters on their shirts. Ugly. ...and even if it's not a Chinese gambling site, it's a European one and written in English - ok whatever, but if my kid is a fan and wants a jersey? Kids shouldn't wear a gambling site on their shirt, right?

KCup17 said:

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Those clubs run like a business, don't feel like a club for the fans and you don't get to experience the thrill of a relegation battle. Staying up endears you to a club you support.

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So you don't think fighting for a champion league spot or FA Cup or Champions league is not exciting?

You don't want to root for a team like Fulham that is up and down every other year.

Also, you can pick a team in another league.

Right now I'm rooting for Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.

But, with no city ties or previous loyalty, it's hard to just root for laundry. My teams will change.

The relegation comment was a joke. The team I support will be in a relegation battle every year until sold to a new owner. Highs are higher and lows are lower.

But yes fighting for a position in European competition is exciting.

My daughter and I went through this last year and went with West Ham for two reasons. We liked the kit and my daughter said "hold it, the owners made their money in porn? That's hilarious"

KCup17 said:

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The relegation comment was a joke. The team I support will be in a relegation battle every year until sold to a new owner. Highs are higher and lows are lower.

But yes fighting for a position in European competition is exciting.

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who?

Newcastle United

KCup17 said:

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Newcastle United

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I thought about rooting for them because it's both a beer and a soccer team.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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Only vaguely related but I love this story about Newcastle (the beer, not the club).

Back in 2013 an English guy who had been introduced to college football and A&M by JFF started posting on the Football board. He was a Portsmouth fan and as an aspiring writer had been inspired by a book where an American writer came over and spent a year in the life of supporting Portsmouth.

https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Confused-Clueless-American-Sportswriter/dp/0767928083

He decided to do the reverse and move to College Station for a season and absorb all things Aggie. I sent him a note and invited him to our tailgate. The following Saturday it was painfully obvious who the pale Englishman wearing capris was walking across the parking lot.

As I'm introducing him around he noticed that at the tailgate next to us they have a short bus that's been converted to a tailgating vehicle. They have beer taps coming out of the side and had a keg of Newcastle on tap. He was dumbfounded. His comment was something to the extent of "I can't even get Newcastle in the South of England and you have it in tap in a bus in a parking lot in Texas?!"

That's what Newcastle always reminds me of. Book was a short fun read.

Marooned in Aggieland: A Bumbling Brit Discovers College Football, Guns N' Waffles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1457532158/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1YFFR7P5XV5BPZBC09TD

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I've read that book. The funny part is he thought he could walk everywhere, not fully understand how hot it truly is.

Also, we get more EPL games on TV than they do.

KCup17 said:

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Word of wisdom: Don't pick a Big 6 club. If you aren't familiar with that term those teams are: Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.

Those clubs run like a business, don't feel like a club for the fans and you don't get to experience the thrill of a relegation battle. Staying up endears you to a club you support.

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It sounds like your meaning may be something else, but I certainly wouldn't really lump either Manchester City or Chelsea in with the other four in terms of being "run like a business"

JJxvi said:

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KCup17 said:

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Word of wisdom: Don't pick a Big 6 club. If you aren't familiar with that term those teams are: Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.

Those clubs run like a business, don't feel like a club for the fans and you don't get to experience the thrill of a relegation battle. Staying up endears you to a club you support.

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It sounds like your meaning may be something else, but I certainly wouldn't really lump either Manchester City or Chelsea in with the other four in terms of being "run like a business"

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More like an obscenely wealthy person's plaything.

As someone who has also followed QPR in the past, let me tell you that you can also get all of the relegation and struggling experience and none of the success with an "obscenely rich person's plaything" club

Go to all of their pitches and watch a game. THEN you will KNOW!!!

Don't pick a team whose stadium is smaller than a Texas High School stadium.

QPR

Pick a winner. You're an Aggie. We already experience way more losing than we should.

Also, we're Americans picking foreign clubs to support for enjoyment purposes. It's okay to have a couple different clubs that you root for. Long-standing rivals excluded.

jeffk said:

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Also, we're Americans picking foreign clubs to support for enjoyment purposes. It's okay to have a couple different clubs that you root for. Long-standing rivals excluded.

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This. You probably don't want to pick multiple teams in the same geographic territory, you could also consider following a big club and a smaller club.

For 2021

Far North:
Newcastle United (52k)

North/West
Leeds United (37k)
Burnley (21k)
Everton (39k)
Manchester City (55k)
Manchester United (74k)
Liverpool (53k)

Central:
Leicester City (32k)
Wolverhampton (32k)
Aston Villa (42k)

East Coast:
Norwich City (27k)

London area:
Tottenham (62k)
West Ham (60k)
Arsenal (60k)
Chelsea (40k)
Watford (22k)
Crystal Palace (25k)
Brentford (17k)

South Coast:
Brighton & Hove (30k)
Southampton (32k)

Another option would be to follow one of the newly promoted teams to come up from The Championship.

Norwich City
Watfford
Brentford, Brentford has never played in the Premier League. Their fans will be quite thrilled to play, unless they get destroyed every single game.