EPL Talk - Latest Comments in What if the Premier League was American?

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

united28 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:51:10 -0000

United would be more like.....hmmmm.....I don't know...Boston-size city....recovered industrial city....unique accents. You wanna say Boston...as much as I hate that idea...or perhaps Pittsburgh (although the Sheffield clubs would go there).

Putting Everton and Liverpool in Boston...I think those clubs are more suited to Philly. Angst-laden, blue collar, in-the-nick-out-of-the-nick kinda fans.

The Pompey are a port city..a Navy city...San Diego isn't a bad spot...neither is Virginia or Tampa or Miami.

Hull are Baltimore...port city in the middle of nothing really.

Man City are the Mets or the Islanders...out on Long Island.

I'd put Chelsea in LA...they're like the Dodgers and Spurs in the Bronx....maybe....West Ham the Cockney equivalent...the hardcore Irish and Italian New Yorkers with heavy borough accents...so Queens or Brooklyn.

Fulham...there's really no place for them in NY....I would say they would be a NJ team...like the Devils...with next to no following.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

patrick — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:04:39 -0000

What's funny is that they built the 'New York' stadium in New Jersey... and NYC has a huge population of expats Europeans, south/ central American etc footie fans to support 3 MLS teams, but they keep the Red Bull in Jersey to draw soccer moms.

I always thought that the Maspath US Soccer stadium was a joke in Queens/Brooklyn. and that a place like Red Hook would be a great place for a MLS team. But I hear they may start one on Randell's Island. Its a pity really.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Marc — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:04:19 -0000

I agree with the Portsmouth -> Norfolk, VA idea. Portsmouth and San Diego? Those two cities couldn't be any further apart if you tried.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Rick — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:52:19 -0000

upper west side team? in chelsea? upper east side? sorry i mean manhattan is tiny. there's no way it could fit 3 stadia. i'd say arsenal and brooklyn is a good fit. and if you put spurs in staten island you have the proximity thing again too.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Live4City — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:25:24 -0000

I'd put Liverpool in another city associated with passionate fans and the color red: St. Louis. It's a major city in the history of American soccer and known for its diehard fans. The Cards have won the National League more than any other team; LFC has the most trophies in England. Carlsberg - Budweiser.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

James Harris — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:20:17 -0000

Personally I appreciate the call-out to the northwest but I've been to Manchester and I live just outside of Seattle. From downtwon Seattle you can View snow-capped mountains across the Pugent Sound to the west, Mount Ranier to the South, and the Cascades to the east. Not to mention more rivers, forests, and lakes than you can count and it hardly ever rains in the summer. Manchester...not quite so much maybe, but United have 17 titles, and Seattle...well never mind! Seattle sports right now is comparable to the Championship at best.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Stevie G — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:57:19 -0000

Make that 1-1/2 wins. That Carling Cup game was against a rehabbing Torres and a bunch of clowns, I was not impressed with that win. Also, by your theory of form, Liverpool dominated the Premier League game, just hit the post/crossbar too many times and could not put them away. They were the better team that day, or any day for that matter (unless the reserves are out there.)

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

andrew Stobie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:53:29 -0000

I think liverpool as philly and manchester united as pittsburgh.

or

United as Seattle?

Seattle is rainy and has a strong music scene, much like manchester.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

thegaffer — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:45:32 -0000

Now Sports Illustrated is catching on to the Premier League in America theme and have created a Google Map as well as a healthy debate among its readers. Check it out at http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_recor...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

thegaffer — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:47:24 -0000

A fellow blogger did something I couldn't do, and has created a great map which shows all 20 Premier League teams dotted across the United States here: http://www.los-toros.com/2008/11/14/let-the-deb...

Yes, there's a definite hotbed of teams in the northeastern United States, but it's the same way in the Premier League with many of the teams coming from London.

Enjoy the map.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Weston — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:51:57 -0000

Well, no. Form = results = points, this has nothing to do with rankings, its a simple points system. Arsenal didnt have the most points, so they werent the best team.

Anyways, you missed my point completely. Over the past 3 weeks or so, Spurs have had the best run of any team in the league - unbeaten in 6 matches, including TWO wins over Liverpool and managing to bang in 4 goals against Arsenal.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Jeffrey — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:51:36 -0000

Amazing. If the EPL was 'American' there doesn't end up being a team placed in Canada, something mirrored in ALL sports in the states, MLB, MLS, NHL, NBA, NFL (Bills in Toronto).

If this placement was done in accordance with actual attributes, rather than lip-service to certain cities, and keeping other teams together just for 'contextual proximity', Newcastle, the coldest place in England, ends up in 'stereotypically' cold Canada.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Ryan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:27:07 -0000

Nice read. It's always a zero-sum game when trying to find the right fit, but you made some great comparisons.

ESPN writer Bill Simmons wrote an article awhile back about choosing an EPL team to support and he compared many of the teams to cities and sports teams. Interestingly, he compared Liverpool to Boston as well:

"On paper, this seemed like the most appealing team -- a perennial contender with a ton of history, great fans, snazzy uniforms, the best player in the league (midfielder Steven Gerrard, described by multiple readers as the "Big Papi of the EPL") and even their own show on channel 613 ("Liverpool Classics"), as well as an English city that everyone compares to Boston (port city, tons of Irish immigrants and blue-collar people, rivalry with London that mirrors Boston/New York, sports means a little TOO much, etc.). Reading the e-mails about Liverpool almost made me feel like I was reading about a Boston team, actually -- and that's even before finding out that Bob Kraft tried to buy an ownership stake last year. I liked them the most out of anyone.

(Note: Continuing with the Red Sox parallel, they staged the most famous comeback in recent soccer history last year, rallying back from a 3-0 deficit in the second half to win the Champions League. It's hard to say whether this was more or less incredible than the Red Sox rallying back from three games to zero against the Yankees. And if you thought this was a thinly-veiled excuse to mention the 2004 ALCS again, well, you know me too well.)"

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page...

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

SFGooner — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:23:57 -0000

Sorry, but you started off all wrong. Arsenal supporters are a more culturally diverse, sophisticated breed who appreciate their football played with style, pace, and panache, and because they are in North London, a vibrant part of the metropolis that includes up-and-coming urban areas alongside upscale shops and dining, and a vibrant nightlight/music scene...the only choice is San Francisco!

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

martin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:09:40 -0000

To be fair, Spurs are the best team in the EPL... is you used idiotic power rankings.

If run of form was used, You could certaily say, arsenal was the best team last year.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

martin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:06:50 -0000

Wow,which boston is that? I assure you when americans think of boston residents, they think of idiots with obnoxiously sport-centric civic pride. that and racism.

you must only be thinking of harvard and MIT or you may identify with Good Will Hunting and his plight with "wealthy, elitist, snobs."

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

kev mac — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:55:51 -0000

Hey
I am from liverpool and i would never stoop to assume that all americans are as thick as pig sh*&. but obviously you are fascist and ignorant if you would like to meet some of the friendliest and most decent neighbourly and moral people on the planet visit my home town before you needlesly pull apart its residents!!!!!!
PS
we have two of the biggest universities in the country and I believe that crack cocaine was invented in your universities along with LSD, PCP and too many others to mention

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

hand-j of god — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:54:08 -0000

Liverpool = Buffalo. If those fans are as bad as you says--watch HBO Real Sports special on the Bills fans. There may be worse...but not many. Western NY home of Kodak and Xerox, run down, outdated.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Ryan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:46:29 -0000

Liverpool = Bronx

Defo don't match up with Boston, other than the port town part. Spurs/Yankees is a big mismatch.

Liverpool have the most cups and the Yankees have the most titles.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

RRMM — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:46:36 -0000

Chelsea could also do well in South Florida...that's where all of the American pensioners seem to drift off to!

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

50 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:05:12 -0000

ks- id dint even see that you had suggested liverpool-philly earlier.
i guess im not the only one to see the resemblance.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Nick — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:23:28 -0000

LA-Boston rivalry more than a strech..... WHAT!?!?!?! I guess the Celtics-Lakers is chopped liver compared to Celtics-Knicks.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

andersen — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:39:36 -0000

I would have kept liverpool in boston, but put man united in new york to continue the rivalry of these teams. Man city in new york as well would have made a great "yankees - mets" dynamic. It would even have blackburn up the road!

While I admire what you were trying to do with making New York into London, to have LA have a deep rivalry with boston is more than a stretch.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

Juliet — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:06:50 -0000

I'm going to have to agree with the other commenters here -- I don't think you've taken into account the rich regional variation available in the U.S. For instance, crime-ridden Baltimore is far more suitable match for Everton or Liverpool.

The reason there are no MLS teams southeast of DC is that there is no land, other than Norfolk, southeast of DC. FC Bahama Mama, anyone?

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

ks — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:21:30 -0000

in other news, the phillies just won the world series

anyway, great site, i check it out often