Who is Your Team?

Yet again, we have a post about the great sport of football!  Well, it's not about the game itself, but the role it plays in British culture, compared to sport in the United States, and who the fans are.


Here in the US, it seems that there is some kind of obligation for adults to follow a "major league" team, be it baseball, football, basketball, or hockey.  Of course, there will also be support for minor league clubs, but that is often in addition to the major league team.  In Britain, it is very different.

I am often asked what Premier League team I support; I always respond with, "I don't".  That doesn't mean I don't follow football, but I just don't follow a Premier League team.  Most Americans are exposed to only a few top PL teams, and as a result, they end up claiming to "support" Manchester Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal etc.

The reason it is so different over there is because of the geography.  Let's take baseball, for example.  I lived in St. Louis, so it was natural to be a Cardinals fan.  The next closest teams to St. Louis are Kansas City and Indianapolis, both some 250 miles distant.  In England, I lived in Carshalton, which is on the south side of London.  Within a 20 mile radius of home, I had some 40 teams to choose from!

The first thing to remember is that the Premier League is only the very tip of the football setup, and unlike the
way major leagues are setup here (where you have expansion teams applying for a place in the league), we have what is called the "football pyramid".  Like baseball, we have divisions, but unlike here, they are not based on geography, but on achievement.  If you do well in a lower division, you automatically gain promotion to the next league, and if you don't, you are relegated.

The Football League consists of 92 clubs, and is separated into four divisions; Premier, Championship, League One, and League Two.  However, it does not stop there.  Outside the Football League, there are numerous other divisions (479, I believe!), but these - quite confusingly to non-Britons - are classified as "non-league".  Yes, they are still league teams, but just not in the Football League itself.  To fans of these all these clubs outside the PL, their team is every bit as important as the top teams.

As I said, I had a number of teams from which to choose (in a 20 mile radius), including :
Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham Utd, Chelsea, Fulham, Queen's Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Charlton, and Brentford.  That is just the Football League teams!

In addition, there are : Wimbledon (MY TEAM), Carshalton Athletic (my local team), Sutton Utd, Tooting & Mitcham, Epsom & Ewell, Banstead Athletic, Croydon Athletic, Kingstonian, Staines Town, Chessington and Hook Utd, Leatherhead, Dulwich Hamlet, Whyteleafe, Harrow Borough, Hillingdon Borough, Walton & Hersham, Southall, Greenford Utd, Woking, Metropolitan Police, Corinthian Casuals, Welling Utd, Godalming, Molesey, Ashford Town, Colliers Wood Utd, Raynes Park Vale, Worcester Park, Staines Lammas, Epsom Athletic, Chipstead, Merstham, Cobham, Walton Casuals etc.

That is a total of 45 teams, and I'm sure I have missed a few!  I chose Wimbledon because my dad was a lifelong fan, and my grandfather was the groundsman there.  The thing is, while family does have a role to play in who you support, it certainly isn't a given.  It's not unusual for a family of six (two parents and four kids) to all support different teams!  Once you have adopted a team, whether it's Arsenal or Ashford Town, that's it, and nothing can change that affinity.  Because of this, football clubs play a huge part in the local community, particularly those that have been around for 100 years or so.

Americans would be shocked by some of the "celebrity" fans of non-PL teams. Sky TV presenters Helen Chamberlain and Jeff Stelling are fans of Torquay Utd and Hartlepool Utd respectively.  Sixteen-times World Darts Champ Phil Taylor is a devoted follower of Port Vale, as is singer Robbie Williams.

Other famous fans include :
Brentford - Phil Collins (singer)
Doncaster Rovers - Jeremy Clarkson (TV presenter - Top Gear)
Huddersfield Town - Patrick Stewart (actor)
Tranmere Rovers - Glenda Jackson (actress and politician)