Fans

For all we know, Will Kirwaan was just another optimistic fan betting on his favorite team when he staked £5 on Leicester City. He didn’t see anything wrong with the 1000/1 odds on the Foxes being in 1st place come Christmas. And why not shoot for the moon? Isn’t that the point of all of this? Who cares if the Foxes needed a miracle run at the end of last season just to avoid finishing in the bottom three. Every team has a chance at winning the title at the beginning of the season, or at least that’s what I'm guessing Will thought that day.

West Ham have discovered their newest celebrity fan, and it's a doozy. WWE wrestler Triple H (the h's stand for "Hunter Hearst Helmsley") recently declared his loyalty to the Hammers in an interview with ITV.

"West Ham is probably the closest to what we do [with] the passion of their fanbase and their loyalty," Triple H said.

Growing up in the United States, I used to hear about the intense atmosphere at European football matches. I heard horror stories of young children going to their first live match and leaving drenched in tears, sweat, and spilled beer. These matches were attended only by the craziest fans in the world, or at least that’s how they were made to seem. Only later, when I started watching live matches regularly, did I realize how blown out of proportion those stories were. 

There was beer. There was pie. But mostly, there was soccer. This past Friday & Saturday, soccer fans from across the United States descended on Brooklyn for the first (but hopefully not last) BlazerCon, hosted by Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett and Michael Davies. Your humble correspondent made the trek from Washington DC up to New York to witness the festivities and bask in the greatness.

Got a hankering for international football? You’re in luck. This weekend marks the first international break since early October and features a multitude of unique matchups that will pit European powerhouse nations against one another. All of these games could be previews for the upcoming Euro 2016 tournament that will be played next June in France, with nine of the 10 featured teams having already qualified.

Spain vs. England

Friday, November 13

It’s a coaching nightmare. It’s the 89th minute and it’s 1-1. You’ve been working on passing drills all week, keeping possession and building your attack carefully to launch that final killer ball, but it just hasn’t quite been happening for you today.

And then Mr. Flash ignores everything you’ve been practising and sets off on a mazy dribble, beats half the opposition single-handedly and scores. How can you tell him that he’s ruining your system when he’s probably just won you the game? 

While its self-entitled billing as “the greatest league in the world” is certainly open to debate, there’s no doubting the Premier League’s popularity and appeal throughout the world. Our Premier League guide will get you up to speed with regards to the league's history, format, clubs and players.

With a global fan following of 1.46 billion, or 70 percent of the world’s estimated 2.08 billion football fans, the Premier League is enjoyed around the planet.

Escaping the police is a fantasy that a lot of people have. They want to feel the adrenaline rush of being chased, of running as hard as they can, of not knowing if they’ll be able to stop, and getting away with it. Eventually, most people grow out of such a fantasy, but I have a feeling this young fan escaping security isn’t one of those people. 

He was an attendee at a recent Lokomotiv Moscow vs Besiktas match in the Russian top flight, and he pulled off one of the more resourceful escapes we’ve ever seen caught on camera.

Rumors of Scottish football’s demise have NOT been greatly exaggerated. Founded in 1873, Scotland’s Football Association (SFA) is the second oldest in the world (behind England’s), but it is currently at a crossroads. Known worldwide for the “Old Firm” rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, by far the two biggest clubs in Scotland, the top-flight Scottish Premiership has lost a lot of lustre since financial shenanigans led to Rangers’ relegation in 2012.