If you don't follow Premier League, you're missing out

Photo creds to timbersarmy.org

For the first 16 years of my life, I didn't just "not like" football. I despised it.

I looked at "the beautiful game", and I saw ugliness. From the low scores to the diving, to the rioting, all I saw was ugliness. Not only did I dislike football, but I also had a problem with people who did like it. When World Cup fever hit in 2010 and 2014, I couldn't care less, and didn't know why there were people who did care.

Then a funny thing happened. Sometime around the end of February last year, I thought about how all my life, I'd been watching the same sports over and over, and decided that it might not be a bad idea to shake things up a little bit. After talking to my friend Colin, who is an avid fan and currently plays at St. Francis University, I decided to give the English Premier League a try.

The next step in my conversion was finding a team to get behind. I wanted to root for a team that was not quite at the top of the standings, but good enough to be interesting. Liverpool F.C. was in 5th place at that time, so I thought they would be a perfect fit. The next day, I watched my first game. It was between Chelsea, who was on top of the league and on their way to winning the title by a wide margin, and West Ham United, who was, as usual, mediocre.

It was an exciting game. Chelsea's Diego Costa scored the lone goal, and their goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, made several clutch saves to preserve a 1-0 win for the pride of London. From then on, I was hooked.

Years after his passing, '"Shanks'' is still a Liverpool Icon. Photo creds to www.telegraph.co.uk

It wouldn't be long before I began to fall in love with the history of my new club. I learned that Liverpool was arguably the most successful club in the history of English football. I found out about legendary managers, Bill Shankly, and Bob Paisley, as well as legendary players like Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, and Steven Gerrard, who was in his final season with the club to which he belonged for 27 years (counting his time with the youth team).

Photo creds to www.chroniclelive.co.uk

I also took an interest in the history of the game. To me, loving a sport while not understanding the history of it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. So I did my research and learned about the greats of the game such as Johan Cruyff, Bobby Charlton, and nearly the entire 1970 Brazil squad. I learned that Zinedine Zidane was about far more than that headbutt, as he is arguably the greatest midfielder of all time. I felt empathy for the English national team, as aside from their World Cup title in 1966, they have been incredibly snake-bitten. There was no greater example than that of 1990, and the image of England's Paul Gascoigne bursting into tears after receiving a yellow card that meant he would be suspended for the World Cup final should England qualify (they didn't).

I learned about the managing brilliance of Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough, who were able to become legendary with different personalities, as Clough was arrogant and outgoing while Ferguson was more reserved.

Last summer, I should have been 100% focused on my beloved Pirates and their pennant chance. But truthfully, I was almost equally as interested in Liverpool's pursuit of Aston Villa striker, Christian Benteke (the signing thus far has been a bust). I never envisioned by conversion would be this extreme, but I'm glad it is. That's my story of becoming a fan of real football, and here is why you should too.

Now, I also follow, to a lesser extent, other leagues in Europe as well as the UEFA Champions League, but the tradition and passion of the English Premier League is, in my opinion, second to none. Therefore, the EPL will be my focus in this article.

Also, please don't take this article as me bashing American sports. That is not what I am doing, just trying to promote the EPL.


The Passion
It's no secret that plenty of us Pittsburgh sports fans think that we are extremely devoted and passionate, and we have good reason to see things that way. However, if you want to see passion taken to a whole new level, get on your internet and do some research on the fans of Europe. Just go to the web and type in ''Liverpool F.C. chants''. You will get an incredible variety of chants created by the fans and the fans only. No cheerleaders with megaphones. No scoreboard messages. No signals commanding to ''get loud''. Just fans yelling with no script. That is just one example of the passion that English football fans have for their clubs and the game.

It is no secret even to non-football fans that the sport is pretty close to  religion. When you watch a game, very seldom in the 90-minute contest will you not hear fans singing. The word singing is important. In America, fans just yell ''ooooooooooooooooo'' over and over again and jump up and down. That's all well and good, but I prefer the creativity of coming up with songs to show the love of your favorite club any day of the week.

Some classic lyrics include:
"He scores a goal, and the Kop go wild, and I just can't seem to get enough of Suarez do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do Louis Suarez!- Liverpool

A song *to the tune of "Hey Jude."
"Na na na na na na na na na na na (Oliver) Giroud"- Arsenal F.C.

While Steeler fans are incredible, the most creative chant that we have ever came up with was extending Heath Millers first name. The video above is just an example of something that no American sport can quite capture.

Relegation 

The politics of world football are neat as hell. How the relegation process works is that the bottom three teams in the premier league are not permitted to return to the top flight the next season. Their spots are promptly filled by the top 3 teams from the second division, which is known as the Football League Championship. For example, in 2014-15, the bottom three teams in the top flight were Burnley, Hull City, and Queens Park Rangers while AFC Bournemouth and Watford finished 1st and 2nd in the Championship. Teams placed 3-6 in the championship compete in a short tournament for the 3rd spot in the Premiership, and that place was earned by Norwich when they defeated Middlesbrough to earn the final promotion.

But wait, it gets better. There are six divisions of English football, and the same process goes for every league. Two teams that have had the coolest stories, in my opinion, are Portsmouth and AFC Bournemouth. In 2010, Portsmouth was riding high in the Premier League. Now they are laying low in league 2, which is the fourth division.

In 2009, AFC Bournemouth was in league 2. Now, they are enjoying their first ever season in the Premiership.

Now picture a world where in baseball, a single A affiliate can work there way up to the big leagues and vice versa. I don't know about you, but I'd love to see the Erie Seawolves as a major league team.

No Playoffs/Fluke Champions 

Tom Coughlin's Giants would not have fared well in the English format. Photo creds to New York Daily News

Don't get me wrong, the postseasons in sports are awesome. However, they often lead to champions who aren't the best teams in their sport. In the Premier League, the title is decided by what you do in the regular season. It's a simple concept. A win gets you 3 points while a draw gets you 1. Whoever has the most points at the end of the regular season is that champion. In this case, championships are decided by what team is the best from August till May, and "getting hot at the right time" is not nearly as prevalent.

Teams like the 2007 and 2011 New York Giants would have never experienced glory if they played European Football, as they were far from the NFL's best team in both of those Super Bowl years. I'm not trying to say that other sports should change their playoff systems, but the idea of the team that was the best all year long being rewarded with the ultimate prize should be appealing.

Misconceptions
Here are some common misconceptions that my fellow Americans have about the beautiful game

It's boring 

Photo creds to turtleboysports.org

I'm not going to tell anybody that every football game is thrilling. Like all sports, football has contests of athletic skill that are snooze worthy. However, the generalization that the sport is boring is false

It's called the beautiful game for a reason. To appreciate the game, you need to think about the poetry of what is going on. Reflect on how beautiful an offensive possession can be even when the team that is holding the ball does not score. I love American football, but watching a possession where there is crisp pass after crisp pass that ends with a ball being shot wide is to me, much more entertaining than watching an off-tackle run for 5 yards.

Think of the game in terms of ballet. The way 11 people cooperate with their feet is not much different from a beautiful dance. Grace and Finesse are the name of the game, and there is no more graceful sport than football.

Players are soft

Brazilian sensation Neymar's broken back in a World Cup match against Columbia is an example of what can take place on the pitch

While the game is all about grace, there is also an element of physicality. Whenever there is a ball in the air, the sacrifice that the players who jump up in an attempt to head the ball needs to be appreciated. Plenty of outsiders are of the belief that footballers lack the masculineness of the men who play our football, and that is a misguided generalization.

Sure, finesse is a huge part of the game, but so are tackling and playing in the air. Any midfielder who is trying to make a run will have a hard time doing that without and opponent going for the takedown.

In the air is where the toughest of tough play, and heading the ball is the perfect combination of athletic ability and mental toughness. You have to a brave soul to try to hit a ball with your head at the risk of, oh I don't know, being knocked out by a flying cleat.

So football players have to deal with getting either tackled or kicked in the shin regularly, risk a severe head injury any time they jump for a ball, and for goalkeepers, having to stop shots that sometimes clock at 95 miles and hour. Yeah, sounds like a sissy sport to me.

Hooligans 

Photo creds to photoblog.nbcnews.com

Riots. Rowdiness. Putting players in harms way. Riots. Insanity. Riots.

Yes. These are all qualities that fans possess. But regardless of what you have read or seen, English football fans are not a whole lot different from the sports fans in the United States of America.

There was a time when the hooligans of English football were out of control. The 1980's were a time when the inexcusable actions in the stands often overshadowed the brilliance on the pitch, and everything climaxed on April 15th, 1989. On this day, a barricade collapsed due to an overflow of people trying to get in and see the FA Cup match between Liverpool F.C and Sheffield Wednesday. The result was the tragic deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters.

It was at this time that security began to crack down, and while nothing is perfect, the number of hooligans has decreased since then. While I have never been to an English football match and cannot attest first hand, I've read enough accounts to believe that things have cleaned up. As for places like Egypt and Turkey, the reputation is far more warrented

You can tell me that English football games are more dangerous to attend than NFL games, but knowing what I know about the amount of alcohol consumption in the stands in my county as well as the alcohol regulations in England compared to in America, I am positive that it is far fewer in London than it is in Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

So, if you are reading this and can never imagine loving, argggg.... soccer, I assure you that I know what your thought process is, and I urge you to give the sport a chance. The reasons I have given you to watch this sport only scratch the surface of things to love about this game and the only way you can find that out is by putting your pride aside, picking a team to follow for no real reason at all, and letting the game take you in.

I mean, have I ever been wrong before?