Submitted by Olivia-Jane Haslam on the 2017 winter session program in London, England sponsored by the Department of History…
London doesn’t seem like a city that would be so different from American ones. While they drive on the opposite side of the road and speak a different dialect of English, their culture and cities are relatively similar to ours. However, the main difference between London and say Philadelphia would be the football culture. Football as in soccer, not the strange sport played in the States.
No matter what kind of day it is, dry or rainy, cold or hot, there are always people at a football stadium. TVs in pubs will show the latest news related to the various teams and leagues that inhabit England. Football dominates the sports page of newspapers regardless of whether there was a game that day or not. It is a large force in England. Teams play weekly, sometimes twice or three times a week and the games are followed avidly by fans. Rivalries run hot and tension lives in the stadiums during game day. It is a joy to see for someone who adores the sport and can never find many people who also enjoy it in the States.
If you ask someone who they support, you will always get an answer. Everyone usually has a team they follow, a team that means more than the world to them. Losses are hated, ties are only just ok and wins are celebrated as if it had been the final of a trophy game. Pubs play games, any game, whenever they are on. However, some pubs and places will only play the games of the team they support. Rivalry, it fuels the footballing world sometimes.
Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham Hotspurs, Arsenal and various others, color the London landscape with their crests and colors. The love for the sport can be seen in young, old, man, woman, anyone and everyone can love the beautiful game. It contrasts the States, where American football shares the limelight with basketball, baseball, hockey and various other sports. Football reigns supreme here in England, overshadowing golf and rugby. The teams are not only followed by the English, but also by foreigners who watch from afar as their teams try to win the Premier League, the FA cup, the Champions League, and other trophies throughout the season. It is an international game that brings people together every match day.
I love it. There is so much culture here that revolves around football, regardless of whether it be English football or other European leagues. People are happy to talk about their teams, happy to discuss the latest news, and always have an answer for favorite team. They know all the terminology associated with every move in football and they know when referees are not doing their job. This always annoys fans, referees who don’t seem to know when to call a penalty or not to. Dismay mixes with joy at each game as the fate of teams change throughout the 90 minutes of the game. When it’s all over, life goes on until the next game, where the pubs fill once again to the sounds of football matches.
