FOOTBALL!!!!! (or.. you know... soccer)

[TritioAFB]

In the past I used to enter into the stadium free, and have the chance to attend the players... ah good days

[dokool]

Are there any other huge soccer fans on the Org? More interested in other leagues (Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, J.League, etc.)? If you are a soccer fan, who do you support? And finally, who would be up for an Org fantasy premiere league (it's free)?

I've been going to games for about 7 years, work for Goal.com Japan as a writer/photographer, have appeared as a Knowledgable Soccer Person on Japanese TV a couple times, shot last year's Club World Cup, and recently shot the East Asian Cup, so I guess I know a little about Japanese soccer.

EPL isn't my forte so I'd rather not embarrass myself in a fantasy league, though.

I will freely admit, I jelly.

It's an awesome job with a more-than-fair amount of BS attached, but that really comes with the territory of anything journalism-related. Lots of long days/nights, conference calls, silly tasks that seem important and vice versa...

But for every few days I have to edit/translate a story or send 50 emails, I get to go out and take a photo like this:


(2012 Club World Cup final, Corinthians vs. Chelsea)

...or be on the field for this:


(East Asian Women's Cup, North Korea WNT celebrates championship by embracing South Korea WNT)


And if I want to go as a fan, there's always a few more remote locations:


(2012 Asian Champions League, Beijing Guoan vs. FC Tokyo at Worker's Stadium, Beijing)


Last October I needed an entire bottle of Vicodin for my Eurotrip but I went to a couple stadiums, like this one:



To watch this:


(Milan 0-1 Inter, and of course the one player I came to see got a red card)

Then I hopped a train over to Paris:


(France 0-1 Japan at Stade de France)

Still, nothing like being on the field to see my team win a championship on New Year's Day,


(2012 Emperor's Cup Final, FC Tokyo vs. Kyoto Sanga)

Or any team win something, really:



But damn does it get loud down there.

[Brad]

Those are amazing dude. I weep with envy.

[dokool]

If you think the pictures are amazing, you should hear the stories. Japan's got all sorts of crazy characters, on the field and in the stands.

Also Brad, you live in Chicago, go out to a Fire game sometime if you haven't already and stand w/ Section 8. Didn't Soldier Field host a couple Gold Cup or other USMNT matches recently?

I know a lot of Americans have a weird complex about the MLS compared to the EPL and other European leagues, but the atmosphere and level of play in the US domestic game have improved dramatically over the last decade or so. Not asking everyone to pretend the MLS is a better league, but supporting your local really does trickle up to improve the national game.

Hell, my English accent is pure East Coast US but whenever I meet Japanese supporters/journalists who ask me where I'm from, they're always shocked when I tell them I'm from the US because they don't believe that soccer is big there and therefore I must be British. And then I tell them that the MLS has a higher per-match attendance than the J-League and they go nuts.

That said, really looking forward to NBC's EPL coverage this season. 20 games free-to-air? Yes please.

[Brad]

I am definitely a Fire supporter. I haven't been IN Section 8 but I've sat near and yeah it's way fun. They're playing in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal tomorrow against DC United. Fingers crossed. And yes, they held the final match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Soldier Field. Did not go to that due to cost (cheap seats would've been up in the ass end of nowhere. Would rather just watch it at home in that case). But yes overall MLS is definitely picking up steam. The big story about Dempsey joining Seattle has made some waves. We might start to see more big name Designated Players come over, who knows. I've heard major/established soccer commentators talk about MLS as being one of the most exciting and competitive leagues in the world (competitive within the league, not necessarily great against outside clubs). I really hope it continues to grow and prosper.

[dokool]

Sounders have sold out CenturyLink or whatever it's called for Dempsey's US return. 67,000. Incredible.

I've heard major/established soccer commentators talk about MLS as being one of the most exciting and competitive leagues in the world (competitive within the league, not necessarily great against outside clubs). I really hope it continues to grow and prosper.

Lemme tell you, the J-League is basically like that except it's technically far more advanced than the MLS. Manchester United couldn't win here, and that was against very depleted J-League squads!

[TritioAFB]

Is that so? seems interesting

[meleechampion]

Alright I made a fantasy team, let's do this.

[Brad]

If anybody else is interested in joining, go to http://fantasy.premierleague.com and sign up, put a team together, and I'll set up the league tomorrow at some point and give out the invite code. The season starts this upcoming Saturday so you'll want to get set up by then.

[Brad]

Okay here is the code to join the BARDCLAY PREMIERE LEAGUE

740786-318077

After you have your team set up you should see an option on the page somewhere to join a league. Put in that code and you should be good to go.