Dear Internet,
What do you know about football (soccer)?
I never really gave much thought to it until I met TheEx back in 2006 and turned out he was a huge fan of West Ham United FC. Being the dutiful girlfriend, I took an interest in them. We got to see them play Columbus Crew (MLS) in the summer of 2008 when West Ham came to the US for an exphibition game. I do believe they won!
Football supporters are an amazingly fun crew. TheEx wasn’t that interested in hanging out with the supporters (which, why?) but I was enthralled. They seem to be having so much fun! And the community! Priceless.
(Reminds me when we saw F1 in Indy a few years prior. The Brazilians know how to party and again, he demurred from joining. Like, what the hell man, have fun! (This was also the same guy who used to match his socks to his pants until I got ahold of him. Always wear snazzy socks, I say.))
We fast forward a few years and I have been thinking about community a lot. Whether cultural, religious, or something else, humans thrive on community. I don’t really have one other than a close friends and the obvious acquaintances and that is not a bad thing, but I wanted more. It’s also difficult when you and your partner don’t really share any interest in much (but we do swap on and off on supporting each other in those interests so there is that).
I hang out in a few groups on Reddit but nothing really speaks to me to be a more active participant. I’m interested, yes, but not so much invested to really pay super close attention.
Sports though seemed like a good suggestion for community.
Carolina Kate is a huge sports ball fan. Baseball and soccer are her passions (and soon hockey). But it’s not just that, when she gets really into something, she really gets into something, and she always has this community within that group that she belongs to. It was burning my brain how she did she do it, so I asked her the other day how did she do it? How did she get into something and find that community?
It was obvious, of course, she finds what she likes, and she just starts talking to people. That’s pretty much it.
Also, simple.
Now, is that something I can do?
I like hockey and now football (soccer). These are sports I can get behind. Finding the right team, of course, is difficult because most people weigh players, outcomes, standings, history, and etc on their support.
What did I do?
I went for the underdog.
For football (soccer) I swapped West Ham for two teams:
Why Notthingham Forest?
First, as goofy as this may seem, Robin Hood. Two, they are on the chopping block for relegation (currently 20 out of 20); I like a good underdog. Three, they desperately need supporters. Four, I needed to find a team that was my own and not West Ham.
Why Everton?
My chum Whitni saw my post about finding a team and really sold why Everton would be a good fit. One, they are the second Liverpool team and not gonna lie, Liverpool was up on my list. Two, they are the people’s team. As evident by the below:
Three, they are mid-range on the fixture. They are, in fact, one point below West Ham (14 and 13 respectively). Four, their nickname is “The Toffees” based on that the original stadium in ye olden days was near a few toffee shops in Liverpool. Five, they have huge support in the US. I found site after site and social media account after social media account supporting Toffees. There is even one in Louisville!
(NHFC has a mess web and social media presence for their supporters but their “official” supporter website has a membership option for North America, so I signed up for that membership).
Whitni says if I stay following Everton after a season or two, she wants to go Liverpool and see a game live. I’m all about hanging with the hooligans.
I should also mention Carolina Kate suggested I should support Charlotte FC, an American MLS team, by joining Mint City Collective, Charlotte’s support club. She knows people so if schedule allows, I’ll add in Charlotte to the rotation next year.
Hockey season started this week!
I love hockey. I love how fast pace it is. I love the violence. I love the teams. I love the whole culture.
For my hockey team, I stuck with my trusty Toronto Maple Leafs. Why? Easy: hometown girl has got to represent. Leaf fans were voted the “most annoying and most delusional.” Because of course we are.
Leafs played the Habs for their first season game this week and lost 3-4. But! They went on to beat the Capitals (3-2) and Senators (3-2). Delusional my ass. #leafsforever
We even got ESPN+ so I can watch more hockey!
To keep up to date on all my teams, I not only have their calendars in my Google calendar, downloaded their respective apps, added the games and where they are playing to my Reminders app.
Obsessed? NO, ORGANIZED!
Things I Recently Wrote
If you read #97.5, you’ll recall I’ve ditched the We’ll Read Anything Once (Twice If We Like it) book review blog for a newsletter of the same name.
What I’m Reading
FINISH A FUCKING BOOK LISA BEFORE STARTING A NEW ONE.
Glenarvon Byron’s ex-lover was so distraught about their breakup; she wrote a roman à clef about their relationship
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem The story of a legendary designer who pioneered high-end streetwear
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) If Jane Austen wrote fantasy
Crime and Poetry (A Magical Bookshop Mystery #1) Cozy mystery with bookshop as the background
The Battle of Villa FIorita Two English children travel to Italy to save their family
White Trash Warlock (Adam Binder #1) Adam has powers he’d like to forget but can he save his family without them?
Firekeeper’s Daughter Danuis discovers her town is keeping a lot of secrets
Lords and Ladies (Discworld #14 / Witches #4) The elves are back and this time they don’t want just your teeth
Pride and Prejudice Read this a zillion times but doing a read-a-long for Austen Mondays
Want to see what I’m reading or watching? Check out my list for 2022!
Wonderful Thing
This should be no surprise: Welcome to Wrexham.
Carolina Kate and I were gossiping the other day and she had not seen Ted Lasso (for shame!) and I haven’t seen Welcome to Wrexham so I decided to rectify that. J and I were looking for something to watch and viola.
We watched the first 15 episodes (!) in one sitting before going to bed. There is still more to go (!).
If you don’t know the story, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Rob Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) buy a struggling football team, Wrexham FC, one of the world’s oldest football teams. Located in the working-class town of Wrexham, Wales, the club has had its up and downs and at the beginning of the documentary, are in the lowest British professional football club fixtures.
Talk about underdogs.
Wrexham is interesting because its fan owned with Ryan and Rob bringing up the rear. They needed 75% approval for their plans and the fan owners supported it by over 90%. And the fans are obsessive and super supportive! (Always a good thing.)
Season one starts from the beginning of the idea, the process of buying the team, to their first season with the new owners. No idea where the season is going to end BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE EPISODES I HAVEN’T SEEN YET! Season two has been green lit.
If you’re in the US, Welcome to Wrexham is on FX and Hulu.
(Of course, I want to support Wrexham but they are sold out of their merch that I’m interested in.)
lisa x