You'll never get it because it'll cut into the revenues of the large teams. The dominant teams use the others as farm teams currently. All the talent is concentrated into a few teams in the league and they'll only play each other a handful of times during the season, so the sport itself suffers, but they have a choice to keep winning with bad competition or lose with a better league.
What's the point in cheering for a mid level European soccer team?
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MehsterChief
Member
You can't choose where you're born and what your parents support. This will forever be part of your life. Go WERDER BREMEN! (Old school soccer fans even remember them playing in the Champions League... those were the days.....)
Indoctrination and irrational loyalty. Supporting a Swedish team in the top league (ranked 23rd in Europe) can be a huge mental burden but it's often worth it once you get to beat your rivals, maybe eventually perhaps have a chance on the title, get a chance to play against other European teams in Europa League qualification.
Not sure if it has been posted yet:
You can change your wife, your politics, your religion, but never, never can you change your favourite football team.
Eric Cantona.
Its all about loyalty, I lambaste Arsenal, call them a disgrace every time they lose, watch as they fail again and again. But god damn it, I'll never stop following them.
You can change your wife, your politics, your religion, but never, never can you change your favourite football team.
Eric Cantona.
Its all about loyalty, I lambaste Arsenal, call them a disgrace every time they lose, watch as they fail again and again. But god damn it, I'll never stop following them.
Beating barca 2-1 last year is the best fooball moment since Holland beat Brazil in 2010.
Its all about these moments
Yeah it really sucks imho.
Being the richest in Holland still makes us pretty poor in Europe.
There seems to be no place for a club like Ajax.
Maybe if the dutch league would merge with Belgium and Denmark we could get some more money flowing :/
Its all about these moments
Yeah it really sucks imho.
Being the richest in Holland still makes us pretty poor in Europe.
There seems to be no place for a club like Ajax.
Maybe if the dutch league would merge with Belgium and Denmark we could get some more money flowing :/
Don't complain, you'll stay in the Bundesliga (I think) and Bremen has a lot of potential.
I support VfL Bochum and I would looooove to celebrate the promotion to the Bundesliga (As you said, those were the days
)sixteen-bit
Member
Rep your home team
I don't blame the individual players. Obviously they're going to want to be paid as much as possible, just like we do. The problem is the executives of the clubs and the governing bodies.
Despite Croatia have great national team, our local teams are pure sadness. But we love them and cheer for them from the day we're born to the day we die.
We have only one team that can even remotely play to low-tier EU level, but we hate its owner, its policies, its approach to sport and true followers, its way of represeting values and pretty much everything aboit it for last 20 years - but is our home-team and we simply can't go against it deep within. Not even when they can't quailify shit for anything in Championship Leaugue for decades now.
You would never understand it.
Sviatoslav
Member
If your local team sucks you could always just support both Real Madrid and Juventus.
NekoFever
Member
Sounds an awful lot like socialism.
It is kind of funny how hardcore capitalist USA has a socialist sporting structure while mildly socialist Europe has the most cutthroat sports where the rich get richer and the minnows have to pick themselves up by their bootstraps to compete.
Indrid Cold1
Member
You picked a horrible example in Everton for your OP. They have won the First Division a number of times, while in I think 1994 they avoided relegation on the very last day of the season, finished 4th and got in the CL a couple of years ago and in all likelihood might do the same again this season, won and reached the finals of a good few domestic cups also. All very exciting, even for a Liverpool fan like me. You obviously know fuck all about English football to pick them as your example of a team it would be boring to support.
Poor compared to the very rich clubs, but still top 25. Simply looking at income, there's no real reason why Ajax can't duplicate Atletico's success:
Ajax seems to be hoarding money these last few years though. They aren't spending it on big transfers. Atletico got Villa, Ajax got Bojan.
We really need to merge with Belgium at least. Never mind the money, it's in Ajax' best interest to have solid competition. Right now teams like Roda and NEC are a complete joke
now watch Twente lose points against them
Aquamarine
Member
What's the point in caring about sports at all?
It's fun.
QuicheFontaine
Member
Yep. I support Preston North End (even though they're pretty shit, and lose every play-off they're in).
Founder member of the football league though: proper history. We'll be in the Premiership someday.
This.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Owen Coyle is a charlatan.
terrisus
Member
Estocolmo
Member
You dont understand passion and loyalty. If everyone was cheering for a Champions League team, there would be no other teams beside the really big ones because no one would care about the smaller ones just because they are smaller.
My team has won the football championship in Sweden once, and our club was founded in 1897. I dont care if we dont win the championship for the next 100 years, giving up on my team since I was a child is never going to happen!
WorriedCitizen
Member
I support my local team which plays five tiers below Bundesliga. I don't care that we will never play in the top tier. It's still fun to watch the games and emotions go wild. Couple years ago we won a regional cup and celebrated like we won the Champions League.
In Europe laegues are structured in a way that there is always drama. Teams can relegate up and down. It never gets boring. Ther's always something to hope for.
In Europe laegues are structured in a way that there is always drama. Teams can relegate up and down. It never gets boring. Ther's always something to hope for.
beato_angelico
Member
damn he looks 70 years old.
Broder Salsa
Banned
We made a succession of poor appointments after Alladyce left - Sammy Lee, Gary Megsln and then Coyle. I'm not convinced by Freedman either but we'll see.
I don't see why it serves Bolton right. Coyle chose to leave and we paid Burnley compensation. And Wigan had nothing to do with it.
terrisus
Member
Looks to be getting older with each passing second in there too.
That's a class banner as well.
I support Saints and in 8 years we went from European football to league 1 and almost going out of business. Now were back to mid table mediocrity in the premier league and it's great. Supporting your rubbish team through the highs and lows is what it's all about
Lambda Pie
Banned
Just adding that the factor the OP mentioned makes the Brazilian national champioship the best in the world. I mean, just look at that:
Club Won Runner-up
Santos 8 6
Palmeiras 8 3
São Paulo 6 5
Corinthians 5 3
Flamengo 5 1
V. da Gama 4 4
Fluminense 4 0
Internacional 3 6
Cruzeiro 3 5
Botafogo 2 3
Grêmio 2 3
Bahia 2 2
Atl. Mineiro 1 4
Guarani 1 2
Atl. Paran. 1 1
Coritiba 1 0
Sport 1 0 1987 —
Every year there are at least 12 out of 20 teams that have a shot at winning the championship. Comparing even to the Premier League, that's insane.
Club Won Runner-up
Santos 8 6
Palmeiras 8 3
São Paulo 6 5
Corinthians 5 3
Flamengo 5 1
V. da Gama 4 4
Fluminense 4 0
Internacional 3 6
Cruzeiro 3 5
Botafogo 2 3
Grêmio 2 3
Bahia 2 2
Atl. Mineiro 1 4
Guarani 1 2
Atl. Paran. 1 1
Coritiba 1 0
Sport 1 0 1987 —
Every year there are at least 12 out of 20 teams that have a shot at winning the championship. Comparing even to the Premier League, that's insane.
And Sporting KC
Stick with your team through thick and thin, this might happen.
yeahhhh bitch
I know that Google now lets you search directly from an image, but these "mysterious" posts are seriously getting annoying.
Glorified G
Member
Even more than that, there is no draft either. Every year the worst teams in all four major NA sports gets to choose the top prospects. With smart management and a some luck any team despite being a small market/cheap owner can be good. An example is the San Antonio Spurs. They probably have the best winning percentage in any of the four major sports the last 15 years. One of the reasons was getting the 1st overall pick in '97 and selecting the best power forward in NBA history and a top ten all time player.
Who was this?
Glorified G
Member
Tim Duncan. One of the best players this generation. Sometimes it doesn't always work out. (See Cleveland & Lebron James)
Would it kill you to post that under the original image? How the hell would I know...
Shalashaska
Member
The only thing I don't like (cheering for Blackburn in the English Championship) is that it's virtually impossible to follow the team, given I don't live in England, now that they're not in the Premier League.
Allforce
Member
This is dead-on, I can't even fathom that the best teams in the Euro football leagues just get to hand-pick the best players and basically outbid anyone else.
It just seems like a cultural thing though, and if Europeans are ok with it then so be it. Personally I can't imagine just rooting for a team for 30 years that bounces between "too shitty for the big time, but not that great for the small time". It's like the deck is stacked against you right from the beginning and there's no happy ending in sight.
Even the worst teams in all our sports make a decent run here and there because of the salary cap and the draft.
travisbickle
Member
Is this honestly "why would you not be a glory hunter?" thread?
That talk would get your face cut around certain parts of the UK.
That talk would get your face cut around certain parts of the UK.
The big teams are boring, especially in uncompetitive leagues. I'm from Scotland and I bet Celtic fans have been bored all season. Knocked out of both cups and ran away with the league. It doesn't matter if they win or lose really because they already know they are better than everyone else before the season started.
Other teams have a lot to play for with Europa League for 2nd and 3rd (possibly 4th) plus 2 relegation spots mean that the league is exciting for practically everyone else.
American sports are not the same, no relegation and a playoff system that renders a lot of games meaningless. Boston have won 15 games more than the Red Wings but that means nothing in the NHL where a hot playoff streak has seen many bad teams be crowned champions. What was the point in playing all those games if you get no appreciable benefit from winning them.
Also OP can you clarify what you mean by mid level. Speaking in terms of English football do you mean a club like Aston Villa (perennially mid table, win nothing) or a club like Preston North End (Stuck in the 2nd and 3rd tiers)
Other teams have a lot to play for with Europa League for 2nd and 3rd (possibly 4th) plus 2 relegation spots mean that the league is exciting for practically everyone else.
American sports are not the same, no relegation and a playoff system that renders a lot of games meaningless. Boston have won 15 games more than the Red Wings but that means nothing in the NHL where a hot playoff streak has seen many bad teams be crowned champions. What was the point in playing all those games if you get no appreciable benefit from winning them.
Also OP can you clarify what you mean by mid level. Speaking in terms of English football do you mean a club like Aston Villa (perennially mid table, win nothing) or a club like Preston North End (Stuck in the 2nd and 3rd tiers)
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