07-10-2006, 07:55 PM
Dear English Diaspora,
I'm an American who loves Football. And I mean Football, not the American thing played by wife-beaters and coke dealers that's sold on tv every Sunday in Autumn. Don't ask me why, but I fell for the beautiful game as a child, watching highlights of the World Cup on spanish language tv, and by going to see the Washington Diplomats play at RFK. I saw Pele in 1979, though I don't remember much.
I'm fascinated by the majority of my fellow countrymen, who have knee-jerk and vicious reactions to Football, even though the majority have never played the game. More puzzling still are the ones who played as children, as many millions of us do, and then turn on the game with a vitriol usually reserved for child molesters. I scratch my head and turn on Fox Sports World for a fix....
I watched the World Cup obsessively, and was proud of the American fans in Germany, and I wonder Where are they here? I live in Atlanta, and our A-League team, the Silverbacks, play in a sparkling new park to quarter-full crowds. Will it ever change? What do you all think?
Do any of you support any American clubs? I support DC United, as they are my home team, and the Silverbacks, because I live here. Does MLS even register to any of you out there, or is the Football culture something that you feel can never be translated transatlantically? I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks for letting an outsider in for a moment.
I'm an American who loves Football. And I mean Football, not the American thing played by wife-beaters and coke dealers that's sold on tv every Sunday in Autumn. Don't ask me why, but I fell for the beautiful game as a child, watching highlights of the World Cup on spanish language tv, and by going to see the Washington Diplomats play at RFK. I saw Pele in 1979, though I don't remember much.
I'm fascinated by the majority of my fellow countrymen, who have knee-jerk and vicious reactions to Football, even though the majority have never played the game. More puzzling still are the ones who played as children, as many millions of us do, and then turn on the game with a vitriol usually reserved for child molesters. I scratch my head and turn on Fox Sports World for a fix....
I watched the World Cup obsessively, and was proud of the American fans in Germany, and I wonder Where are they here? I live in Atlanta, and our A-League team, the Silverbacks, play in a sparkling new park to quarter-full crowds. Will it ever change? What do you all think?
Do any of you support any American clubs? I support DC United, as they are my home team, and the Silverbacks, because I live here. Does MLS even register to any of you out there, or is the Football culture something that you feel can never be translated transatlantically? I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks for letting an outsider in for a moment.