M
mbmueller831
Guest
It's not an American thing in general. You don't see it in other sports, for instance.
You have to understand: there is no quality professional football in America. What are we going to follow, the MLS? It's garbage.
So if you're a footy fan in the U.S., you have to look elsewhere. There's international football, but CONCACAF leaves something to be desired (that's an understatement), and anyway how often does the national team play an actual meaningful game? Not often.
Some U.S. footy fans pick one of the financial big names and just watch them. My mate follows Arsenal, for no reason other than he picked them out when he was a lad. But many of us don't want to do that, just be a bandwagon fan for the "good" teams.
In the meantime, the only footballers we "know" are the ones we've watched on the national team. So we watch them, and hope they come good in the "real" professional ranks.
Is Jozy our super-duper-favorite footballer, EVER, and all that? Nah, not really. Not for most. He just happens to be the only decent American in the prem at the moment.
And by the way: UncleSam aside, what most Americans actually think of Jozy is that he MIGHT be DECENT. Not that he IS GREAT, mind, just that he MIGHT be OK. And we're hoping he is OK. We are well-aware that the window on our "might" is closing quickly, and that it's starting to look like he just doesn't have it.
And another "by the way": I started following Sunderland in August because of Jozy. Again, not that I'm some kind of huge Alt-adorer, just curious how he'd do. I've gradually become hooked. When Ki scored against Chelsea I was streaming the game on a computer, and I jumped out of my seat and shouted, pumping my fist. (Nearly broke the damn computer.)
I want Catts to find some discipline...he's got some ability, if he can just keep the ugly tackles out of his game. I want Colback to come good--I like the lad. I want Fletcher to shake off whatever's ailing him and find some form. I want Ki to be signed permanently. I want Giach to turn out to look like an Italian international mainstay. I want Wes to stay fit and young for 4 more years.
And, yes, I want Jozy to gain some confidence and look like a prem-level striker that one wouldn't be ashamed of.
Shut up, Hammie. You should watch MLS too.
Good post, but you did leave off that most Americans didn't want Jozy to come to Sunderland in the first place, which might be one of the reasons Americans are quick to blame Sunderland..