Premier League

I'm a Wolves fan. Probably going to get relegated, so Wolves don't fit your criteria. I also enjoy Spurs, a very enjoyable style to watch, so they might be a good team for you to follow.

Sunderland has also been very entertaining since their coaching change, and Stoke always gives you their best. Fulham has Clint Dempsey, the top US player in the BPL.

 

Fulham's not a terrible choice - they've certainly had an extensive track record of American players, if that's important. The downside is that I can't see them having "an outside chance of winning the championship at some point" as you requested - they'll go through an annual swoon because the schedule breaks weird and they are terrible on the road, but then rally to finish around sixth through ninth. Then again, contending for a championship eliminates all but about five teams from your list, and you've already dismissed two of them. I might just root for Newcastle and hope.

 

Leeds United ... wait ... (sighs with resignation) ... fuck.

 

If you don't want an English team, you could go with Swansea from Wales. They're plucky and have knocked off a few of the big boys this season.

 

I started following Spurs years ago as a kid. I can remember watching the old Fox Sports World.

There are plenty of ways to pick a team to follow, my suggestion would just be to find a team you like watching and go with it.

 

This.

Plus, they play the way the game's supposed to be played: passing, movement, creativity. It doesn't always work for them -- as recent history has born out -- and the Gunners will frustrate you by spitting up ridiculous goals that a decent Bronze-level club team would prevent.

But when Arsenal is on, it's great, great soccer to watch.

Still, as Webster (one of my go-to soccer gurus here) pointed out, there are some great players -- including Americans like the aforementioned -- to root for. As an Arsenal fan and a fan of American soccer in total, I hated it when Friedel went from Aston Villa to Spurs and I do have a soft spot for Everton because of its affinity for Americans (see Howard, Tim and Donovan, Landon) and as a former soccer coach, its excellent manager -- David Moyes.

All of this said, just don't pick Chelsea, Corky. Unless you have an affinity for nouveau-riche teams full of self-absorbed douchenozzles (yes, more than most) owned by Russian billionaires with ADD and rooted on by one of the most racist, xenophobic fan bases in Europe.

 

Man, that sounds right up my alley!

 

Tottenham has a great history and a classic stadium, but this club is a bit of a joke these days. First off, the manager Harry Redknapp might not be able to read or write. Seriously. He testified as much in his tax evasion trial. The North London rivalry with Arsenal gets Spurs fans going, but their reaction to positive results is quite laughable and makes you question their collective sanity. Take this DVD of a draw they released in the official club shop for example:

http://shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/product/arsenal-4-4-spurs-dvd/36631/

(yes, it's real)

Man City are new money and quite detestable. The following is an image of a Man City fan crying with his team down 1-0 with 7 minutes left in regulation:



Chelsea are old and Roman might be getting bored. More importantly John Terry is a racist. And chavs. Yuck.

Liverpool would be all right if the fans weren't delusional and did not have a massive persecution complex. They're never won the Prem, BTW. It will not be happening anytime soon either.

Arsenal are perhaps the worst of them all. Read the history. They're very proud to tell you that they have never been relegated, but they used dubious methods to get into the top flight in the first place. Hornby's book is a great account of what it's like to be a fan until you realize he's bitching and moaning about an 18-year gap between first division championships. Oh how you've suffered! Highbury was a library at the end and the Emirates is a lovely place where Piers Morgan can eat his prawn sandwiches in relative peace. Wenger is a serial moaner who will call into question any tactics used against him which produces an unexpected defeat (i.e. his multi-season campaign against Stoke's Rory Delap).

You might as well go with ManU. Yeah, they have millions of fans who live no where near Manchester, but they have more or less built their empire in a respectable manner. The club's history is filled with colorful characters (George Best and Eric Cantona come to mind) and the story of how they rose out of the ashes of the Munich disaster is quite amazing. I don't like 'em, but you can do a lot worse.

 

NOLU, I'm a Gooner and I can't argue with any of what you wrote.

 

Also, as a Red Sox fan, while, sure, it's great that they've now won the World Series, I do sometimes miss the misery.

I can get that fix as a Spurs fan.

 

NOLU's hilarious take on 'Arry being illiterate (and I MUST steal that for use on my Spurs-loving buddy) and Liverpool's delusional fans (see Cubs, Chicago for reference) aside, he does let Chelsea off way, waaaay too easy.

He also conveniently ignores the fact that as great a manager as Sir Alex Ferguson is, like his knighthood, he has no peer when it comes to whining or head games. Watch him whenever a call goes against him and you'll see the patented "Sir Alex Hand Flip" (hands extended, palms raised to the sky), followed by an endless bevy of berating the fourth official and venting to the gods.

This typically goes on for days, as the poor, poor, mistreated Red Devils are owed a makeup for the inexcusable fate that befell them the previous week.

And I haven't mentioned "Fergie Time" yet either. Can someone please cue the "Until We Score" placard?

Besides, Corky. NOLU's other salient points aside about how Man Yoo has done things generally the right way (and so, for that matter, has Arsenal), do you really want to be viewed as the American version of the Brit who decides to root for the Yankees?

 

Keep chewing that gum and acting like the world is out to get you, you wanker.