A Man without a team

I love football.

When I say football I mean the game you actually play with your feet. Soccer. Fútbol. Football.

I love the game and follow many leagues around the world. Here at home I am a Galaxy supporter through and through. In Australia’s A-League I follow the Brisbane (formerly Queensland – how I knew them) Roar on account of I lived and studied in Brisbane and fell in love with the city. From there it gets a bit murky. I tend to support teams with American players on them. I look for them to see how they are doing in their respective leagues in hopes that their success will translate onto the national team. Other than that I don’t have a strong inkling towards any team other than the two I already mentioned. I need a team.

I’m not a huge fan of La Liga because it’s dominated by Barcelona and Real Madird. Messi is a brilliant player but the league is a two-team race and I am not interested in supporting either team.

Ligue 1 is enjoyable, when I can watch it, but I am not sure who to support. Lyon? St. Etienne? PSG? Sochaux? Marseille? I know very little about their domestic football league that it’s hard to pick a team to support.

The Bundesliga is extremely competitive but it, like Ligue 1, is a league I know little about but enjoy watching. I’d like to know more about this league but I have no vested interest in any of the teams. With the recent departures of Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones to the EPL on loan, my interest in the league dips but there is still interest.

The EPL is the league I follow most closely because it features most of the best players in the world and because it is full of American players. From Dempsey to Howard to Friedel to Holden, the Stars and Stripes are well represented in the EPL but I don’t have a team to fully get behind. I’m not interested in Man U or Arsneal or Chelsea based on personal preference and the players they bring to the pitch. I enjoy watching Liverpool play and the way they’ve overcome their sloppy start this season has made for some great matches. Hmmm…

I like Everton and their setup with Arteta in midfield and Saha and Cahill up front. Then I ask if I only like the team because Tim Howard is their keeper and because Landon Donovan was on loan there last year. It certainly doesn’t hurt.

Stuart Holden has been in top form at Bolton and he works well with Elmander and Lee but this might truly be the case for liking the player more than the team even though the entire team is playing well.

This trouble continues with Fulham (Dempsey), Aston Villa (Friedel, Lichaj, Bradley) and hell, even Wolves at times gets my support (Damn you Marcus Hahnemann!). I am a man without a team. It’s enjoyable to watch a match just for the pure joy of watching football but at the same time I wish I had a team to get behind so I could get emotional about a game. I’m asking my readers, friends, and whoever came across the page by accident to help me find a team to support. EPL, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Scottish Premier League, Eredivisie, pretty much any league, find me a team that I can get behind and support like the ones I already do.

- Skillet.