One more post on fandom

by Robert Lintott on Jul 13, 2010 3:28 PM BST

I promise, after this, I'm done with posts that are deep and soul-searching. After this, it'll be vuvuzela photoshops I find around the Internet. But I've got one more left in me. I came out for the US Men's National Team earlier, and now I'm coming out for Aston Villa. But I'm going to need your (a general your directed at the 7500 community) help.

I tried to get into EPL soccer in middle school (12+ years ago) where my best friend at the time was actually British. He was a Man U. fan and I tried following them. Luckily, I never got too into it since I didn't have the wherewithal to watch games. Thank god for that, because now I pretty much abhor Man U. More recently, I decided last year to give the EPL another chance. I really do want to like soccer and I don't care about any of the other leagues. "If I do this," I thought, "it's going to be an English side."

So I went in an Off-Topic post on Lookout Landing and was advised by a frequenter of these parts (English Mariner) to choose Man City. It made sense for me: lash out at the team that I had grown to hate from my youth, and pick a building team that has some real promise. And then I did my reading, and my following: Man City had become the New York Yankees of soccer. Their owner was attempting to buy a championship in anything. Now, I certainly can't hold a grudge against old City fans, but I want nothing to do with a team like that. I also had another problem: it was nearly impossible to keep up with the team I had chosen. There weren't any blogs that I really liked for it, and in lieu of being able to watch every game, I need a great source of commentary.

That brings me to this summer. I'm still searching for an EPL team, and the soccer bug has bitten me hard. So what are my requirements? Well, a team with hope, but not a team that has hope solely based on money. But even more than that, I want to be a part of a good community. When I saw Aaron and Kirsten had started a Villa blog, I started leaning towards this. I knew there'd be people here I "knew" from Lookout Landing, and I knew that the quality of writing would be high. And then, through Kirsten and Aaron's twitter feeds, I found Aston Villa Central. There, I had it. Two great blogs. One with a good community built up and a perspective that matches mine (I know Aaron and Kirsten did what I am doing now in the not-so-distant past). And one that's been at it for a while and seems (I might be wrong) to be a Villa lifer.

So, I'm choosing Villa. I'm not going back. I love the community, and I've gotten one of my best friends to choose Villa too. It'll give me someone to talk to outside of here. It's perfect. Now, here's where I need your help. What do I need to know? I'm sure I'll figure out some traditions as I go, but I want to avoid being that annoying guy; a bandwagon rider. Can I rush right out and get a kit? Is it a faux-pas to have a nameless kit? Is there an mlb.tv equivalent for the EPL? What's the best way to keep up with matches if I can't get to a pub to watch them? Are there traditions I need to know about right away, or are they all things I can learn. So please, use this thread as a way to not only educate me, but to talk about Villa fandom in general. What is it that you love about Villa? For those of you who came to the club later in life, what drew you? I'm excited to hear the stories, and I can't wait for the season to start. Through thick and thin, I'm now Villa 'til I die!

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Comments

IT IS WORKING

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 13, 2010 5:49 PM BST reply actions

To actually answer your qeustions though:

1) I’d hold off on getting a shirt, but mainly because the new ones are coming out soon and if you end up buying one with a player name and he gets transferred it will be annoying. Do but a scarf though. Nothing wrong with a nameless shirt,

2) FoxSoccer.tv is as close as you’ll get. It’s nice to be able to watch the games without having to go to the pub, but you’ll still miss some. I usually watch live text updates on BBC Sport and follow on Twitter.

3) You now hate Birmingham City. Other than that, you’ll pick it up as you go along.

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 13, 2010 5:55 PM BST reply actions

FUCK BIRMINGHAM CITY!! BURN 'EM TO THE GROUND!

I can do this! And yeah, I meant to put that I’d wait on the new shirts, although I really don’t like the FxPro logo.

And how much is FoxSoccer.tv? All I can find a price for is the one-day trial pass.

by Robert Lintott on Jul 13, 2010 6:00 PM BST up reply actions

We watch a bunch of them illegally because of the fact that there is no mlb.tv thing.

Take note, EPL: GIVE US LEGAL WAYS TO WATCH.

Anyway.
If you want an Acorns shirt buy one now if you can find one that fits, but yeah, go nameless.

We’re going to be doing team previews of every EPL team for this season, and much of it will include a Villa bias—why we hate certain players, what the historical rivalry is, etc. That should help a bit but otherwise you’ll learn quickly.

BCFC are the scum.

7500 to Holte--A Football Blog with an Aston Villa Bias

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Jul 13, 2010 6:04 PM BST reply actions

I completely forgot to say thanks for bumping this up

I can’t wait for the previews. I was really hoping something like that would happen.

by Robert Lintott on Jul 14, 2010 3:16 PM BST up reply actions

Yeah, illegal French streams are no fun

And BCFC can suck it

SB Nation clearly needs a Scunthorpe United blog

by MattF15 on Jul 13, 2010 6:07 PM BST reply actions

I'm still getting used to moving stuff around but I think that this should be on the front page now.

7500 to Holte--A Football Blog with an Aston Villa Bias

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Jul 13, 2010 6:10 PM BST reply actions

The Brum (that's City) are scum

And lets face it there isn’t much love for other Midlands rivals, Wolves (those two draws really hurt us) and West Bromwich Albion (at least we beat them all the time). Although its better for the Villains if they stay in the league.
Abhorring Manchester United is really good because Aston Villa’s win at Old Trafford last season was is first at that ground since 1982 and its first in the league since 1995. Liverpool is hateable but much less so since Rafael Benitez is gone.
Wenger has critcized both Martin O’Neill and our style of play so screw him and the Gooners (though I’d rather they win the League than Liverpool or the ManU).
Aston Villa have been a thorn in Chelsea side, but they also beat us 7-1 at Stamford Bridge last year. And then John Terry made comments about Aston Villa running out of a gas. Because of Terry alone, Chelsea are loathesome (but still not as much as ManU).
Other things to know:

1. Aston Villa won the European Cup in 1982. They beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in Rotterdam. Peter Withe scored the winner (“It must be! It’s Peter Withe!”). It is the only time a team has changed manager in the middle of the season and won that trophy (Tony Barton replaced Ron Saunders who resigned). Here is a good video of that

2. Aston Villa’ last major honor was the 1996 Carling Cup. They beat Leeds 3-0 in the final and it included this very memorable goal!

3. Aston Villa has a great history to be proud of. It helped found the Football League and has won a ton of major honours. Aston Villa is a great club. As my scarf says, proud history and bright future.

4. Aston Villa has beaten the scum 6 consecutive times in the Premier League and will do so twice more this season!

"I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!" --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Jul 13, 2010 6:41 PM BST reply actions

Thanks!

That Carling Cup goal is a beauty to watch, and I’m really glad you added the European Cup video too.

God, this is making me excited….

by Robert Lintott on Jul 13, 2010 8:35 PM BST up reply actions

I've always heard that the rivalry with Wolves is far more friendly

that they’re almost like a little brother club to Villa.

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 13, 2010 9:37 PM BST up reply actions

Yeah, I don't have my dislike for them

Other than when they play us….obviously

SB Nation clearly needs a Scunthorpe United blog

by MattF15 on Jul 13, 2010 10:00 PM BST up reply actions

It's difficult for me to hate a team with that crest

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 13, 2010 10:35 PM BST up reply actions

And their kit sponsor was once Doritos

Who can hate that

SB Nation clearly needs a Scunthorpe United blog

by MattF15 on Jul 14, 2010 3:37 AM BST up reply actions

One more thing

If you want to listen to every Aston Villa match and follow them as much as possible then you can go to Aston Villa’s offical website and subscribe to AVTV right <a href="https://secure-avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/secure/loginOrBuy/0,,10265,00.html?schemeAndHost=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avfc.co.uk" >here

"I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now!" --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Jul 13, 2010 6:46 PM BST reply actions

Also, this:

http://www.fanchants.com/football-team/aston_villa/

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 13, 2010 7:11 PM BST reply actions

Fan-freaking-tastic

I can never understand the chants, so having lyrics and sound-bites is a huge help.

by Robert Lintott on Jul 13, 2010 8:35 PM BST up reply actions

My love about Villa

started after the 2006 World Cup. went onto espnsoccernet of all places and started looking around the site, learned about the Prem that way, and as soon as I saw the words Aston Villa…I was hooked. Seeing that beautiful evenly distributed name (5 letters in each part of the name) it was love at first sight. And when I started doing my research on the history of Aston Villa it just fueled my obsession even more and now I love the Villa more then any other sports team/club.

MY OLD MAN SAID BE A CITY FAN, AND I SAID BALLCOCKS YOU’RE A C***!

by get_A_name on Jul 14, 2010 1:12 AM BST reply actions

In case you're looking for another funny reason that someone supports an EPL club (not Villa)

Check out Jeremiah from Sounder at Heart’s new blog

7500 to Holte--A Football Blog with an Aston Villa Bias

by Kirsten Schlewitz on Jul 14, 2010 6:23 AM BST reply actions

Well that's certainly one way to get a team

I didn’t realize there were EPL squads with attendance problems. I mean, it makes sense, but for some reason it never crossed my mind.

by Robert Lintott on Jul 14, 2010 3:20 PM BST up reply actions

Well, let's keep it in perspective

They averaged 17k a game. That would be better than all but four MLS teams and is good even by most Euro league standards.

Because if it's not Love | Then it's the bomb ... | That will bring us together

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 14, 2010 6:50 PM BST up reply actions

Hey!

I’m in the same boat as you. This will be my first season as a Villan and I don’t plan on ever wavering. They’re my team now, end of story. And I don’t feel the least bit ashamed to have bought an Acorns shirt with no. 14 on the back. Even got a pair of shorts to lounge around in.

Can’t wait for the season to start. Gonna hit up Small Bar in Chicago to watch the televised games.

Twitter

by Andrew Cieslak on Jul 15, 2010 2:22 AM BST reply actions

Villa Villa Villaaaa

I like the colors and the fact that Villa aren’t a top 4 club and are trying to move in. I also enjoy MON and our style of football. Having been a fan of Villa for the past 5 or 6 years so feel free to ask any questions if you have any since I or someone else will be able to answer them for sure.

I watch most of the games illegally online, they’re not that hard to find if you look around.

by BJohnston on Jul 15, 2010 5:27 AM BST reply actions