Are You Ready For Some...Soccer?

The Astros are horrible. I don't live close enough to Atlanta to watch Braves games on regional TV. College football hasn't started yet, and I refuse to watch preseason NFL football. And to top it all off, American Ninja Warrior is done for this year (curse the Japanese and their penchant for constructing impossible obstacle courses!). All told, there has definitely been a lull in my sports viewing the past couple weeks. My schedule was wide open. The spirit was willing to watch sports, but the TV Guide schedule was weak.

Enter soccer (still not calling it football, you can't make me.). Now, a few years ago, after reading an article by espn.com's Sports Guy and grantland.com creator Bill Simmons, I tried to get into the English Premier League and pick my own team. In his article, Simmons lists all of the teams in the EPL and scores them against his own criteria. Now, I have only seen a few games and don't care to be as thorough as "Jabaal Abdul-Simmons", but for what it's worth in 2008 I picked Liverpool.

However, I'm willing to take a closer look and reconsider the recipient of my "footy" fandom. So I figure that I'll watch with an open mind for as much of the season as is necessary, and then when I finally do pick a team, seal my decision by buying a jersey. Or a scarf. Because those things are tight.

The things I'm taking into account for my decision: team style of play, having a star player (who's likable, or at least who I like), team talent (I don't want my team to be in danger of relegation...like my 'Stros [Boom goes the dynamite!]), and rivalry. I think those are all pretty self-explanatory.

So far, unfortunately the two teams that I have my eye on are Liverpool and...Everton, the 'Pool's bitter rivals. Since this is such a heated rivalry, especially as of late (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merseyside_derby), I figure that I can't ride the fence on this one. However, my mancrush on US Men's National Team goalie Tim Howard has the Blues (Everton) with the early lead.

Some other star players that I've liked so far: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), and Tim Howard/Tim Cahill (Everton). Some of the things that I've really enjoyed about watching soccer are the rabid fans (especially the cheers), the high vocabulary used by the English commentators (why John Madden, why?), team scarves (as previously discussed), the collars on the jerseys, and the disdain used to describe a flopping player.

Does my bro-mance with the EPL have the potential to be completely forgotten within hours of the beginning of NCAA football and the NFL? You bet. But I can honestly say I've been pleasantly surprised with what I've seen so far. And that, if all else fails, I am counting down the days to World Cup Brazil 2014!