Support

I like a LOT of soccer teams. I'm not kidding, a LOT. I probably have at least one favorite team per country. It's a result of coming later in life (22...) to the game. I became a fan of the game and not a team. As an American I baaaarely have a "home team" so to speak. The closest pro team is New England Revolution and the closest amateur team is the newly formed Maine Sting.

I've developed a support for a lot of these teams through Football Manager, which served as my soccer education. So here's a list of the teams I support and why.

LIVERPOOL FC


Liverpool, the team that started it all (for me). The winners of the 2005 Champions League in a brilliant final against AC Milan. I've been a fan and supporter ever since. My favorite team and the one I have the most merchandise.






CELTIC GLASGOW


Celtic, in the Scottish Premier League, appeal to me on multiple levels. It's a combination of being a New Englander and Boston sports fan, the color green featuring prominently, and the slick jerseys. The hoops, the green hoops no less, are brilliant. Throw in Shunsuke Nakamura from Japan and it's all the more reason to love this team.





Fenerbahçe


By far my favorite Turkish team, which really doesn't say much because I don't like any other Turkish teams. I think it's the name and the uniform that drew my eye to this team. Very appealing in every asthetic sense. I always cheer them on in European competitions as underdogs with the ability to win.





GREMIO


Grêmio first caught my eye for a very peculiar reason. One of the characters from Suikoden I had the same name. I noticed them while playing Football Manager and damned if I didn't like them right away for that odd reason. The team is now my favorite Brazilian team, and probably the only thing I like about Brazilian soccer. Once again the colors and uniforms of this team are visually appealing. Doesn't hurt that they're one of Brazil's top teams.



PALERMO

This one comes entirely from Football Manager. My first long term game was as manager of Palermo. I won 5 scudettos in a row and 3 Champions League titles. In reality they are a mid-table Italian team that achieves little and will, sadly, almost certainly never win the Serie A. They're a brave team that has had some of Italy's current top players come through at some point. And they wear pink! That takes some nutsack! So I root them on even if they fall into obscurity.



SHIMIZU S-PULSE

In all honesty it's the ridiculous name. S-Pulse, what the hell does that even mean?! I don't know, I don't care. All I know is I like this team. Snazzy colors, ridiculous name, and contenders that have yet to reach glory. I'm pulling for this team in my land of dreams, Japan.