Why do you support Chelsea?

[Rmpr 8,977]

i fully understand and i often think the same..but im being a hypocrite talkin like this.. i jst dnt knw the answer.

good thread though.

What? How do you mean you dont know the answer?

Chelsea is a big club playing in a big league. Therefore, there are Chelsea games being transmitted into all 5 continents every now and then (fuck, maybe even in 6 if counting the scientists in Antartica). With that in mind, it is only normal for people from all around the world to fall in love with the club. Rooting for a team isnt something planned, it simply happens!

The same reasons a fan in UK decides to follow Chelsea applies to the International fans. They basically watch a game and like it or feel some sort of connection. Then they start searching and learning more about the club until they feel like a they've become a real fan. After that, they keep watching the games and supporting the club (with merchandise, etc) like any other regular person. The only difference is they dont ultimately go to Stamford Bridge!

It is so crystal clear that it doesnt even need explanation to be quite honest!

[Beirut_Blues 306]

thats what i meant

[BloodIsBlue 291]

How I got to would probably give you a good ideIt was Mourinho's first year ten years ago and at the time I was a kid. I played football with my friends but until then I had not really been someone who enjoyed watching it professionally. I'm 14 at the time Most if not all of my football influence was due to my dad and he is very passionate about it, watched it all day every weekend and even to this day (at over 50 years old) he plays in a league every single week here in Toronto. It was pretty much all Benfica when it came to him I went to games when we were on vaca in Portugal and sometimes I'd watch them with my paps. But I'm not sure I was old enough to really have done anything consciously, I always liked playing football but it was a game to me back then not a sport. I was playing to have fun and knew nothing about professional football. Had I given club football more attention maybe I would have not liked Mourinho back in 04' (coming from a Benfica house). I didn't really give much attention to club football until about high school. The upcoming Euro cup was likely the driving factor that eventually had me more aware of club football. There was nothing here, TorontoFC was around until 2007, so all signs pointed to the premier league.

Honestly (and embarrassingly) one of the first things that turned me on to Chelsea was a video about the headhunters I watched, I was young and I thought they were badass. I think it was after that week that I was more deliberate in watching football and I was watching Chelsea matches, it may have been 3 or 4 games and the season was up. Its been so easy to be a fan since then as I doubt any club had been as entertaining (in the last 10 years) in a holistic way not just the football itself.

[AKchelsea 10]

got into football when Hiddink achieved 3rd with Russia on Euros, got into Chelsea not that long after, reasons:

1. Russian owner
2. Gus Hiddink (Was Russian team coach when he came to Chelsea, loved in Russia)

3. Zhirkov

4. Ivanovich (Serb but still slav)

5. Live in London

Kinda had Russian aura around it

[cosmicway 1,333]

Chelsea appears to have always had a strong contingent of foreign supporters. I don't know why. In my case it was because Chelsea's system always combined the elements of speed and stamina - well nearly always that is. The typical English teams used to compete who will kick the ball higher into the air (and only the historic Liverpool imho was doing that to effect). At the same the typical Latin teams used to compete in slow motion football. Also Chelsea happened to be the stars when live broadcasting was first introduced in my country. Of course I 've been to the bridge several times.

Most people support the same team as their dad did. So in GR I support my dad's team AEK of Athens, I think but I 'm not sure we played a friendly once. There was certainly a friendly between CFC and Panathinaikos and the cl clash CFC - Olympiakos Piraeus 5 years ago (0-0 in Piraeus, 3-0 in London). Ah and Chelsea - Aris Salonika in 1970.

[Atlas Lion 1,223]

A better question would of been, "would you still have supported Chelsea if we ended up like Portsmouth if Roman never arrived?". My how things would be incredibly different.

[francozola 2,040]

Up until the last few years, if you were overseas you'd get about 3-5 live games a week. It's only a recent thing that more matches are being shown live (we get all 10 Prem matches live here in singapore now). This obviously assumes that you pay for the ridiculously expensive sports television packages that are specifically catered to providing the Premier League to viewers.

So for people who were just starting out to follow football, it would be difficult to get "hooked" to a club like Charlton, who'd be lucky to have one live match broadcasted a month. Also, the broadcast media in these countries mainly just focus on the 2-3 big teams (in those days generally Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool) so practically 90% of stories you read or hear would be about the bigger teams. When you're just starting to learn about teams and the league, this plays a huge role imo. Again, it's only a recent thing that you get a fairer representation of the smaller teams as well, since there are more dedicated football channels and more types of discussion shows. Previously there'd be like one review show a week so most of the discussion would be centred around the big boys

Personally I started supporting Chelsea because of Zola, and also because my dad is a Liverpool fan and I desperately didn't want to become one as well

[Rmpr 8,977]

Up until the last few years, if you were overseas you'd get about 3-5 live games a week. It's only a recent thing that more matches are being shown live (we get all 10 Prem matches live here in singapore now). This obviously assumes that you pay for the ridiculously expensive sports television packages that are specifically catered to providing the Premier League to viewers.

So for people who were just starting out to follow football, it would be difficult to get "hooked" to a club like Charlton, who'd be lucky to have one live match broadcasted a month. Also, the broadcast media in these countries mainly just focus on the 2-3 big teams (in those days generally Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool) so practically 90% of stories you read or hear would be about the bigger teams. When you're just starting to learn about teams and the league, this plays a huge role imo. Again, it's only a recent thing that you get a fairer representation of the smaller teams as well, since there are more dedicated football channels and more types of discussion shows. Previously there'd be like one review show a week so most of the discussion would be centred around the big boys

Personally I started supporting Chelsea because of Zola, and also because my dad is a Liverpool fan and I desperately didn't want to become one as well

This is very true as well!

For instance, Brazil has official supporters groups for 14 or 15 EPL clubs (plus some Championship ones) and the bigger clubs are, by far, the oldest among them (Liverpool, Arsenal and United). They were basically the only games we could watch live back in the early-mid 90s (when ESPN first arrived in Brazil), so those who followed English football back then would naturally end up cheering for one of them. Only after a while that we got the full list of live matches groups from all sorts of clubs started appearing...

It is obvious that the bigger title contenders get the most attention and are the most attractive to the public. However, this is not exclusive to the International fans because the English public is also influenced by the success of the clubs. Media and TV coverage are heavily focused on the big 4-5 anywhere in the world (England included). The chance of a young English kid falling in love and start supporting a team like Chelsea is immensely higher than him choosing Barnsley United, for instance. The rules that apply to local fans when choosing a club to root for are essentially the same ones that apply to fans from other continents. However, Benches Not The Shed (horrible name by the way) just cant seem to understand that!

Currently, Chelsea holds a gigantic number of Brazilian fans. Most arent REAL fans and they watch the games mainly to see our Brazilian stars or Mourinho (he is incredibly popular here), but there are also the ones who truly love the Blues and share the exact same passion as any other fan from London. Chelsea Brasil (http://chelseabrasil.com/) is rather old and is always present at the club's events and matches. They organize barbecues and pub gatherings, they write extensive articles and tactical analyses, they post news on social networks, etc. I bet they do more for the club than he does. And they are 3 thousand miles away from Chelsea!

Now, it's is not just supporters from the successful teams that have official supporters group. There is an immense amount of different groups and associations related to the smaller clubs too. So you guys have an idea, some of them even organize trips from Brazil to UK to watch a couple of games live. Here is the 3 year old Fulham FC Brasil (I'll repeat, Fulham): http://fulhamfcbrasil.blogspot.com.br/search/label/Especiais?&max-results=7. They have 217 registered fans and they went to London last season with a small group of people to see 2 EPL matches (if I am not mistaken). It is not the so-called "glory hunters". Not at all!!!!

I gave examples of Brazil in specific because it is where I live, but like you posted yourself, there are many similar things around the world!

[Strike 7,474]

I'm just trying to understand it , as I don't see all these people from other countries following Charlton or Millwall( apart from the odd Dutch fella down at the Den), we were in similar positions to these two clubs 30 years ago and I didn't see any about then... So I am trying to be proved wrong that they are not just here for the silverware..

still no coverage of Charlton/Millwall in Asia and many other parts of the world. few years ago, only the big 4 games were shown heavily, so there are mostly fans of the big 4 here

[BlueLion. 21,491]

So now we have to prove we're all Chelsea fans?

How does "fuck off" sound? :lol:

You certainly have something on your shoulder.

[Benches not the shed 77]

So now we have to prove we're all Chelsea fans?

How does "fuck off" sound? :lol:

You certainly have something on your shoulder.

Fuck off sounds great, in fact it nearly sounds as great as your cringeworthy post match thread titles..... Yawn

Quite like the idea of being a football reporter don't you... Think again son.

[bushman 2,043]

I was called a glory hunter, a plastic fan, just because I support Chelsea.

I have seen many football games prior to my support of Chelsea.

Am I a glory hunter just because Roman came in June of 2003 & brought millions & this club became a force to deal with?

Am I less of a fan just because I do not live in London & have no chance to attend many games?

Those fans who live in UK are attending games, get to see the real deal & I am envious of them.

We all should thank Roman for his generosity, his love for this club...on & on.

To me, without his money this club would still be hovering around the middle of the table, if that.

[Strike 7,474]

this has a cringe-worthy thread title tbh

[ZanSnake 1,211]

Fuck off sounds great, in fact it nearly sounds as great as your cringeworthy post match thread titles..... Yawn

Quite like the idea of being a football reporter don't you... Think again son.

[edetarod 2,155]

i like the colour blue

i like English football

i like the name Chelsea, reminds me of a hot girl