Sporting teams you follow

[whythelongface]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Apart from the Bulldogs I follow a few other teams:

English football: QPR (have a soft spot for Wolverhampton)
Eredivisie: Feyenoord Rotterdam (supported another team in the lower division, Veendam (lived there a bit as a kid) before they were booted out)
National: Oranje (the only team that comes close to my passion for the dogs)

I do have fleeting interest in other sport teams such as Cronulla and Newtown (NRL), Cincinnati (NFL), Sydney FC (hey I do live in Sydney and should go for one team up here) and Hertha Berlin.

[soupman]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Bulldogs are by far my main team, there certainly aren't any other sporting forums I've sunk this much time into.

I quite like soccer, like YHF I'm a big FM fan, and am a pretty big fan of the A-League. I'm Melbourne City, whic has been a struggle for so many reasons. Jumped on Heart as I felt I had missed the boat with Victory and might as well get on board with a club starting out, and didn't like Victory for the whole Muscat connection (plus being a Bulldogs supporter am naturally drawn to the underdog). City coming in and taking over really tested my support but by that stage i was pretty against Victory and did enjoy the A-League so kind of stayed interested long enough that I'm pretty rusted on, despite so many misgivings. If Western had've come in at the same time as the takeover I might have considered switching, but even then when I'm in Melbourne I'm an Eastern suburbs boy so that'd be a struggle.

Have wanted to find another club to support for ages, tried the EPL but hated it, tried being a neutral fan of the Bundesliga through Kayo but with so little consistency in the teams shown it was too hard to actually click. However when Metcalfe moved to St Pauli this season (and joined Irvine) I figured they seemed pretty interesting and unlike half the clubs weren't completely f*cked up so put a lot of effort into learning about their squad and have subscribed to their website which allows you to stream the matches with (terrible) English commentary so haven't missed a game yet and have really enjoyed it despite some pretty poor performances.

For both those soccer teams it's very different to the Bulldogs in that no one in my circle cares about either of them at all (or even really has a passing interest). It's bad because there's no real people to discuss them with, or even to go to games with in City's case, although atleast City have a good podcast so that sort of makes me feel like i get some kind of supporter interaction/discussion. On the plus side i very rarely watch any of the games live and can often go multiple days (and even weeks) without anyone spoiling me, which in City's case especially makes it easier to watch every painful minute as I do shift work and often can't watch the games live anyway.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Love how much this thread has taken off!

Soup - are you a member of City? Like you, none of my circle are interested in the A League or NBL so it's difficult to get involved to a degree. I'm trying to convince the wife to pick a side we can support for the long term but her interest in sport isn't exactly pulsating.

[soupman]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Love how much this thread has taken off!

Soup - are you a member of City? Like you, none of my circle are interested in the A League or NBL so it's difficult to get involved to a degree. I'm trying to convince the wife to pick a side we can support for the long term but her interest in sport isn't exactly pulsating.

Was a Heart member, and was an interstate member last year, but considering I basically never go to games I have decided to let it lapse, even after they managed to get our 5th choice CB to call me up.

Yeah my partner bizarrely decided to watch the game last Friday with me and really enjoyed it and has made plans to watch this Fridays game, which is a big unexpected step forward.

Picking a team is hard, and selling it to others even harder, and I've found it's super hard to get Australian to watch soccer and not go on one of their pre-written rants about diving/too low scoring/so slow/why doesn't the bigger team simply eat the smaller team. A-League is a pretty fun league to follow imo, certainly plenty of "content". I really recommend it, and most clubs have a good fan generated podcast which helps me big time (and is something the Bulldogs don't really have imo).

[azabob]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Next year I'm heading off to the south of America with one of my kids. On the way back I want to stop by Jamaica. I'm part Jamaican and I want to check it out. I'd love to see some cricket while I'm there

I really need to buy you a soda water or two to get the full TD experience. The layers just keep getting peeled back

[Twodogs]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

I really need to buy you a soda water or two to get the full TD experience. The layers just keep getting peeled back

Variety is the spice of life

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

So I went along and watched Western United v Sydney FC.

Few thoughts;

- Pretty appealing experience. The atmosphere was good, even considering a much smaller crowd given Western is still building. I was surprised.

- AAMI Park is a great venue to watch the game. I've been to Etihad and GMHBA and it goes without saying, but watching sports in their purpose built stadiums is massive.

- Enjoyable game to watch. The product is good; a lot better than I remember it being a few years ago. First half was good football; dipped a little in the second but overall some great strikes and play.

- Food was a LOT better than Etihad. I had a salmon salad (recently gluten free) and it was fantastic. I always struggle with Etihad so this was a big surprise. My wife's fish and chips were also a lot better/fresher.

- We purchased two 6 game memberships. The dialogue I've had with Western and their membership team has been excellent. Also provided some good tips on where to park today. Club seems to be doing the little things well.

All in all, today exceeded my expectations. Good family friendly atmosphere, very multicultural, close to the action.... If anyone is on the fence I'd definitely recommend giving it a proper chance.

[Twodogs]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Yep AAMI is a terrific place to watch soccer at.

[Eastdog]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Would be great one day to go to watch Man Utd at Old Trafford. The Stretford End would be fantastic to be in with the chanting and overall atmosphere. Big game for us at 12am against jeemak and Grantysghost Newcastle at Old Trafford.

[Eastdog]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

Bullies and Chelsea are my only real passionate follows of teams. Im at a stage where I'd rather watch soccer than AFL as I find neutral games of AFL really boring. It's so far from what the game was it's like a different one to the local stuff you can watch.

Due to family connections(my wife is a Georgia Peach) I follow the Braves, Atlanta United and Georgia Bulldogs and I've been lucky enough to go to a fair few games. But not with the same passion as the Dogs or Chels.

Me - Dogs and Man Utd
My brother - Pies and Chelsea

[soupman]

Re: Sporting teams you follow

- Food was a LOT better than Etihad. I had a salmon salad (recently gluten free) and it was fantastic. I always struggle with Etihad so this was a big surprise. My wife's fish and chips were also a lot better/fresher.

Really glad you enjoyed it. Please stick with it, it's a bit of a meme league at times but the A-League is a decent product with a lot of shit bits that make it easy for people to turn away. It's really a lot of fun once you embrace it though.

The food at games has often been very good. The chicken and chips at Aami is a bit of an institution amongst City fans.

However there used to be this Kransky stand out the front that did proper European sausages over a real flame BBQ pit that was the greatest thing of all time. You'd have one at the start then run out at halftime and grab another. Easily the best thing I have eaten at a sporting event, really hope they are doing it again.