July 17, 2006
Sports Guy Embraces The EPL
Bill Simmons is ready to jump into the deep end of EPL fandom:
Thanks to everyone who e-mailed suggestions for my new English Premier League soccer team that I haven't picked yet. Out of any challenge that I've ever thrown out to the readers, I can't remember getting a more passionate, entertaining and informative batch of e-mails. If anything, I'm even more dedicated to making the leap now. And this isn't going to be a half-assed thing, either. I'll be buying the merchandise, TiVo-ing the games, traveling to see a couple home games, throwing myself into the team ... I'm going all out. Obviously I'm not a huge soccer fan, but I'm a huge sports fan and it's becoming clearer and clearer that I missed the boat with the English Premier League and UEFA. Better late than never.
Anyway, I narrowed it down to three teams (don't worry, none of them is Manchester United) and will be making my official pick in next Wednesday's column. So stay tuned. In the meantime, we're long overdue for a mailbag. As always, these are actual e-mails from actual readers.
How's this for validation, American soccer fans? My next question is who Simmons is going to sign on with. I'm guess he wouldn't dare support any of the biggies like Chelsea, Liverpool, or Arsenal -- a long-suffering Red Sox fan couldn't live with himself if he rooted for any of them.
And while I could see him rooting for Newcastle, Everton or Charlton, I'm betting on newly-promoted Reading. They've got plenty of history, and two Americans in key positions (Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey).
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/6332
Nah, it's going to be the Little Team that Could, Wigan.
Posted by:
at July 17, 2006 07:21 PM
Hotspurs. How can you not like that name? Well, apart from the obvious.
Posted by:
at July 17, 2006 09:44 PM
He's not going to follow some team that doesn't have a hope in hell (90% of the EPl), so my vote goes to Liverpool.
You heard it here first
Posted by:
at July 17, 2006 11:05 PM
West Ham is the only place for an American Football fan.. WHY? Who was the first English club to sign an American?
I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air..
Posted by:
at July 18, 2006 12:06 PM
Ninja was correct. (The next 5 on his list, in order: Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea)
Posted by:
at July 19, 2006 12:45 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
05:27 PM
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/nav-commenters.gif)