Sports At what point do you actually support a sports team?

[WCErevival]

I'm suspect of anybody who says "EPL". Premier League is its name and has been for a long time.

Not sure why referring to it as the EPL would cause suspicion.

 

[ioppolo]

I grew up with the EPL. it's only been Premier League for a few years

 

[EFL Boy]

Yes. 3-5am every Monday

Best time of the week.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I grew up with the EPL. it's only been Premier League for a few years

10 years.

And before that they only put "English Premier League" branding on the international telecasts. That was never its name in England.

 

[Scotland]

Yeah, there are no other competitions named 'premier league' around.

 

[FootyJunkie]

The only thing I missed out on was the St Kilda coaching circus, when I left Australia Tim Watson had just been announced as St Kilda coach and by the time I returned home Timmy had gone, Malcolm Blight had come and gone and Grant Thomas was coach.

Cornflakes

 

[Demosthenes]

I like saying EPL because when someone corrects me I find out that they are a tool.

 

[perthblue]

10 years.

And before that they only put "English Premier League" branding on the international telecasts. That was never its name in England.

well we aren't in England, mary poppins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Yeah, there are no other competitions named 'premier league' around.

None Australians follow.

 

[Silent Alarm]

They changed the name from the First Division to Premier League in '93/94 or something, or maybe a season before. In the early 2000s they started calling it the Premiership when Barclaycard first sponsored them. I remember having a 2006/07 Arsenal shirt and the front Emirates logo started to peel, and I had Fabregas on the back. Arsenal FC offered to give you a new shirt if you returned it so I did and the number font and logo changed, and for 2007/08 it reverted to Premier League and they just used 'Barclays.'

It isn't that insane to call it the EPL at all. It's never been called the English Premier League but uh, you know... it is the English Premier League. EPL has become a common shortening of the name in the last few years and there's nought really wrong with that.

 

[Scotland]

Fox Sports - the network that broadcast it since god knows when - still refers to it as EPL. Only natural that's what people are going to call it.

FWIW it's had 6 official names since 92/93.

 

[perthblue]

Bomberboyokay just wants to feel smug and superior, no logical reason why anyone would have a problem with it being called the EPL

 

[iluvparis]

Bomberboyokay just wants to feel smug and superior, no logical reason why anyone would have a problem with it being called the EPL

Except people in England who will think you are absolute **** if you call it that.

 

[Gough]

Except people in England who will think you are absolute **** if you call it that.

It was always just the Premiership when I was there, same way the only people I've heard ever calling Man U The Red Devils are Australia newsreaders.

 

[perthblue]

Except people in England who will think you are absolute **** if you call it that.

oh those English people who love this stuff?

yeah why would I give a rats tosser what those floggos think

 

[perthblue]

It was always just the Premiership when I was there, same way the only people I've heard ever calling Man U The Red Devils are Australia newsreaders.

United fans in the Balkans also call them the red devils, or Crveni Djavoli

 

[Gough]

United fans in the Balkans also call them the red devils, or Crveni Djavoli

Cool, I did not know this. I was generally used to them being called the scum.

 

[Aussie_boy]

Pretty much everyone I know calls it EPL or Premier league, what else can you call it? English and Welsh Premier League?

 

[perthblue]

the folks on /r/soccer always abbreviated it to BPL when it was the Barclay's Premier League which I think is 10x worse than EPL.

Then again I never really call these leagues by their names, serie A, la liga, bundesliga, are always just the Italian league, Spanish league, German league etc etc

 

[M Malice]

i was a fanatical follower of Valleys, a team in the BRL (brisbane rugby league) from around 8 years of age (1967). the only reason i started following them was because they wore blue, i was a very serious follower and can remember crying when i was very young if they lost and getting quite pissed off and depressed when i was a teen. luckily for me they were in 6 GFs in a row and won 4 between 1969-74.

i was playing soccer from a young age and started following chelsea because they wore blue as well, not as fanatical with my support of chelsea but would rather see them win than spurs or gunners. it was a long wait until Romans money came along for any sustained success. great memories though of the 1970 FA cup final and replay.

love the lions but no longer cry/get cranky/depressed if we lose, we're too used to it by now, 2001-03 seems like a lifetime ago now. i look at it as a form of entertainment albeit an extremely enjoyable one, would rather watch a great game of aussie rules than a movie or concert at this stage in my life.

 

[NorthernLights]

Except people in England who will think you are absolute **** if you call it that.

Then you wouldn't call it that whilst in England or to an English person. *en hell it's not rocket surgery.

 

[Sinjin Smith]

Bomberboyokay just wants to feel smug and superior, no logical reason why anyone would have a problem with it being called the EPL

He doesn't like the word "English".

 

[Billy ray]

Aside from nrl and super rugby, i watch all sports. US pro stuff in nfl, mlb, nba, nhl, mls , plus love college basketball. I watch euro soccer leagues and south american leagues too
Here in oz i watch a-league, twenty 20, and of course the AFL.
Only team i have in the world is the suns.

But i can watch all these leagues and not follow a team at all. even in a single game i do not pick a team. I just love a contest.

I never gamble or go into supercoach or fantasy league stuff as I prefer to have no loyalty or investment.

I think i am pretty unique in this approach.

 

[The City Boyz]

All the time on Bigfooty, I see these people with 'Raiders, Rockets, Canucks, Swansea City' and about four other teams listed on their little profiles. After a while I've started actually considering at what level of support do you really have for these teams?

These days people casually follow players or whatever in the NBA, and I get that's been a longer culturally thing in the US. Kids like shitty soulless franchise like the Oklahoma City Thunder and people don't cringe about rallying around Golden State or Real Madrid because they're kick arse teams. The other thing is how invested can an Aussie really get in, say, the ice hockey or gridiron? These sports aren't as 'easy' to watch or pick up as basketball, and they don't have the ubiquity and cultural link soccer does. I don't get it.

I mean are you really getting up early to watch every single one of your baseball teams games?

You have the Melbourne Stars written there... if they lose the Twenty20 final, are you going to sulk all weekend?

I get having your old WAFL or SANFL club in there, and Fitzroy fans are included there. Can also sort of understand someone who may live on the Gold Coast or in Canberra keeping up to date with the Suns and Giants and listing them, even though they actually you know... support a team in the AFL.

And the A-League... I'll go to any team's game, catch up with some mates and see the Glory play over there or here, and support the Glory at the game. I'd prefer them to win but they're also so shite and empty I really don't expect it, nor care when it doesn't happen. I don't even support them, I more so keep and eye out on them. Even then, it's not like I google their results every Monday.

I can barely get the motivation to watch 10 Arsenal games per season these days. It's too hard when you're not 15 and actually have things to do on a Saturday night. They're also stale and not worth it. I am an Arsenal fan and always will be, and used to live and breathe it, but at a stage surely someone realises that like... it's too hard to keep up to date with more than one or two sports?

Sometimes it's hard to even get to watch all 22 of your team's games. s**t comes up. Invites for parties or your own sports during the day, work, commitments, events... investing the passion and interest into a s**t footy club you have to support is probably more than enough for most functioning people with A Normal Life.

So, 23-year old who owns a Russell Westbrook jersey suspiciously bought from a high-quality Asian vendor... why do you support Hawthorn but also every North American sports team from Colorado?

I stay up to watch most of Swansea's games, go to every Melbourne City game and go to most Doggies games, so I say I support all of these teams.

 

[Silent Alarm]

the folks on /r/soccer always abbreviated it to BPL when it was the Barclay's Premier League which I think is 10x worse than EPL.

Then again I never really call these leagues by their names, serie A, la liga, bundesliga, are always just the Italian league, Spanish league, German league etc etc

I thought they called it the BPL, as in B for Britain, because of Swansea and for a little while Cardiff City FC being in the comp.


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