The soccer community is leaving a positive early impression
As I try to decide on a Premier League to root for, the soccer community has been engaging, if not welcoming
I have already noted this several times in the early days of this Substack, but part of the point of embarking on Premier League fandom is that I need your help in selecting a team to root for.
With that in mind, something very cool has happened this week.
People who I do not know, who I do not follow on Twitter, and who do not follow me on Twitter have jumped into my direct messages.
The short version is, these people have apparently discovered this Substack, which has just 20 subscribers at the moment, then sought me out on Twitter.
They’re not so much politicking to root for this club or that club, but rather offer advice on how to go about picking.
”You’re not going to pick the team, the team is going to pick you.”
“Don’t want you accidentally supporting a club whose fans are all Neo-Nazis lol.”
”You first need to find what club represents your values, while also having room for growth.”
”You’ll do all your research, and ultimately, it will seem obvious which club you should choose.”
As a complete soccer novice, I’m sure it’s not always like this, but the whole thing strikes me as a strong sense of camaraderie and community.
It’s almost like, hey, I’m dumb, they know it, and they’re trying to make me less dumb, which is something I could certainly use in my life.
Seriously, can you imagine something like that taking place in the United States? A Brit decides he wants to dive into the NFL, but needs to pick a team to root for. He starts a Substack, tries to be active with the process on social media.
That person would get made fun of and roasted forever on Twitter for even daring to infiltrate what is, let’s be clear, this country’s national pastime.
I am happy to say, I have experienced nothing like that in the four days I have been doing this. All I have experienced is a welcoming feeling, which has compelled me even more to dive into this thing.
The plan at this point is to narrow down my options to four or five, which I am close to doing. At that point, I am going to post a little something about each option, then put it to a vote, both here and on Twitter.
I will take the results into account before making a decision, which is probably coming around the end of the month.
If you’re wanting to find me on Twitter, I’m here.
Bsky too!