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jimmycooper · 07-17-2011, 07:17 PM

I've always been a fan of American football, and still am, but I've become less and less interested over the years and have evolved to largely prefer soccer. Here's a step by step of how I became I soccer fan.

Summer of 1997

Studied in France.

Summer of 1998

Watched a lot of the World Cup. It was in France, reminded me of the badass time I had during the previous summer, and that particular team had a lot of personality. It was pretty exciting to see them win and to watch footage of the celebration on Champs-Elysees. By the end of the Cup,though, it would have been a stretch to say that I was even a casual fan of the game.

Summer 2002

Because the WC was in Korea/Japan, a lot of NYC bars were granted special permits to stay open all night which made for some pretty fun times. England-Argentina and Ireland-Germany were great matches, but the best night was watching England-Brazil at a Brazilian bar (even though I was rooting for England, I knew a lot of Brazilians) and then going to a pub to watch US-Germany. It was just an all around fun experience even though both the US and England lost. Those were the only four matches I remember seeing. I know that I was out watching some of the others, but it's all a bit hazy. At the end of the tournament, I appreciated the game more and I do feel as if it was a 'step' in my evolution as a fan of the game, but I think it was more about going out and having fun.

Summer 2006

Before the WC, I wanted to do a bracket and be more proactive in watching the matches, but because a bunch of my friends either worked in investment banking or just somehow had a lot of money, my only option was to pay $1000 to join a pool of around 50 people. Even though I made good money relative to the rest of the world, it didn't seem like it because I spent a lot on rent to live in the West Village, went out a lot, and hung out with people that had way more money than I did. Not only that, but I didn't even know much about any of the teams before writing the check. So I felt obligated to do a bunch of research and learn a lot about all the teams and players. After all that research, though, I just said fuck it and picked France to win despite the fact that probably 5 or 6 teams had better odds. I watched as much of the group stage as possible and think a big step in my evolution as a fan happened when I instinctively made fun of a friend of mine and questioned his heterosexuality after he mentioned that he was a big fan of C. Ronaldo.lol

Anyway, by that time, and completely unrelated to soccer, I had decided that most of the Brazilians that hung out with my group of friends were loud and obnoxious and that I didn't really like them. Not only the ones in the city, but there was also a big group of Brazilian girls who worked as au pairs in Princeton and they would come up to the city almost every weekend. Even though most of them were pretty hot, they still annoyed the fuck out of me and I did not like having them around. Sure enough, though, when France and Brazil played in the quarterfinals,I found myself at a Brazilian bar with a bunch of irritating Brazilians. The C. Ronaldo fan friend of mine was there too and he actually thought it was badass when Rooney got sent off in the earlier game. That really pissed me off. Not just because I thought Ronaldo was a stupid cunt, but also because I had picked Netherlands to play in the semifinals against France and the the majority of the people in my $1000 pool had picked Brazil to reach the final by beating Portugal in the semis.

I was pretty much pissed at the world up until the match started. During the match, the Brazilian contingent was just as loud, annoying, and overconfident as I thought they'd be, but I was honestly so focused on the game itself that I barely even noticed. France played such a beautiful, masterful game and Zidane put on a surreal, truly unbelievable performance. It was was like watching art in motion.

From that point on I've been a fan, but I don't think I became a really big fan until watching a lot of the Champions League matches during the year that Man U beat Chelsea. There was also a tight race for premiership title that year and it was great to see Clint Dempsey and Fulham fight of relegation.

So, if anyone has ever been curious as to how an American can become a soccer fan, there you have it.

07-17-2011, 07:17 PM
jimmycooper Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2010 Location: Manhattan Posts: 4,016	I've always been a fan of American football, and still am, but I've become less and less interested over the years and have evolved to largely prefer soccer. Here's a step by step of how I became I soccer fan. Summer of 1997 Studied in France. Summer of 1998 Watched a lot of the World Cup. It was in France, reminded me of the badass time I had during the previous summer, and that particular team had a lot of personality. It was pretty exciting to see them win and to watch footage of the celebration on Champs-Elysees. By the end of the Cup,though, it would have been a stretch to say that I was even a casual fan of the game. Summer 2002 Because the WC was in Korea/Japan, a lot of NYC bars were granted special permits to stay open all night which made for some pretty fun times. England-Argentina and Ireland-Germany were great matches, but the best night was watching England-Brazil at a Brazilian bar (even though I was rooting for England, I knew a lot of Brazilians) and then going to a pub to watch US-Germany. It was just an all around fun experience even though both the US and England lost. Those were the only four matches I remember seeing. I know that I was out watching some of the others, but it's all a bit hazy. At the end of the tournament, I appreciated the game more and I do feel as if it was a 'step' in my evolution as a fan of the game, but I think it was more about going out and having fun. Summer 2006 Before the WC, I wanted to do a bracket and be more proactive in watching the matches, but because a bunch of my friends either worked in investment banking or just somehow had a lot of money, my only option was to pay $1000 to join a pool of around 50 people. Even though I made good money relative to the rest of the world, it didn't seem like it because I spent a lot on rent to live in the West Village, went out a lot, and hung out with people that had way more money than I did. Not only that, but I didn't even know much about any of the teams before writing the check. So I felt obligated to do a bunch of research and learn a lot about all the teams and players. After all that research, though, I just said fuck it and picked France to win despite the fact that probably 5 or 6 teams had better odds. I watched as much of the group stage as possible and think a big step in my evolution as a fan happened when I instinctively made fun of a friend of mine and questioned his heterosexuality after he mentioned that he was a big fan of C. Ronaldo.lol Anyway, by that time, and completely unrelated to soccer, I had decided that most of the Brazilians that hung out with my group of friends were loud and obnoxious and that I didn't really like them. Not only the ones in the city, but there was also a big group of Brazilian girls who worked as au pairs in Princeton and they would come up to the city almost every weekend. Even though most of them were pretty hot, they still annoyed the fuck out of me and I did not like having them around. Sure enough, though, when France and Brazil played in the quarterfinals,I found myself at a Brazilian bar with a bunch of irritating Brazilians. The C. Ronaldo fan friend of mine was there too and he actually thought it was badass when Rooney got sent off in the earlier game. That really pissed me off. Not just because I thought Ronaldo was a stupid cunt, but also because I had picked Netherlands to play in the semifinals against France and the the majority of the people in my $1000 pool had picked Brazil to reach the final by beating Portugal in the semis. I was pretty much pissed at the world up until the match started. During the match, the Brazilian contingent was just as loud, annoying, and overconfident as I thought they'd be, but I was honestly so focused on the game itself that I barely even noticed. France played such a beautiful, masterful game and Zidane put on a surreal, truly unbelievable performance. It was was like watching art in motion. From that point on I've been a fan, but I don't think I became a really big fan until watching a lot of the Champions League matches during the year that Man U beat Chelsea. There was also a tight race for premiership title that year and it was great to see Clint Dempsey and Fulham fight of relegation. So, if anyone has ever been curious as to how an American can become a soccer fan, there you have it. __________________ Last edited by jimmycooper; 07-17-2011 at 07:28 PM..