A Brit recently told me that the Americans’ super power is not our unshakable optimism, or ability to supersize everything, but rather in our ability to drive great distances without being fussed about it. He even went on to explain that British people measure travel distance colloquially in miles, while American’s measure it in time – in hours specifically, because most of our trips are measured in how many hours it will take, while Brit’s might not care to travel more than an hour by car if traveling.
The nearest MLS stadium to where I live here in New Orleans, is six hours west of me in Houston, Texas or six hours northeast of me in Atlanta, Georgia. If I want to see my home team, the Philadelphia Union, I have to take a four-hour flight to Pennsylvania. It’s almost as if anytime I want to see a game of professional footie live, it’s comparable to an English West Ham fan traveling on a European tour.
Seeking Football Valhalla
This is the agony and ecstasy of going to a West Ham match abroad or in the States. You’re not just timing the train or arranging a babysitter, we’re reordering several days, several hundreds of dollars and making many plans to make the event happen.
But happen it must if you want to taste the glory of being near your team, close to your tribe, and with most gathering at pubs with a patchwork fans in a downtown area, being amidst a throng of Hammers numbering in the thousands is a kind of football Valhalla for us. I will from this point on refer to ‘football’ as ‘soccer’ when referring to it in reference to being played in America, so as to save on confusion for “American football”.
The Summer Friendly Roulette
When the summer friendlies are announced, it’s like a roulette of increasing levels of pain, depending where the host city choice falls – how far will I have to travel if I want to go see the match? Last year with the summer friendlies in Jacksonville and Tampa Florida, the trip would’ve been up to 11 hours driving for me, or a three-hour flight, to the tune of $250 (£200).
But it wasn’t so much the distance and cost which were factors in deciding against the travel, but rather that it was held in Florida, which is a complete turnoff because of the obscene heat, and because I have no interest in Florida or friends and family there. Neither one of these stadiums were soccer stadiums. The American Hammers fans group started chatting immediately about who was going and how happy or unhappy we were with the location. Many of us haven’t seen each other in years as we live in different states but have met over the internet or at a West Ham Way Podcast conference.
Chicago, New Jersey, and the Road to Atlanta
This summer with the roulette wheel hitting Chicago, New Jersey and Atlanta, I’m much more primed for these locations as I have friends or family in each city, and I can time other events and excursions with them. I immediately checked the calendar – ‘ah there is that wedding the same week I could go to in Chicago and a friend’s aunt I could stay with’ or ‘oooh that’s close to my birthday, I could go see my family in Philadelphia and tack on some friends for a trip to New Jersey’, and even, ‘Hmmm Atlanta is only a six-hour drive, and there is that former love that still lives there – maybe we could watch some West Ham and reignite the flame…is she still seeing that bloke?’
The possibilities and scenarios pave the way. Could I possibly do a triple and see all three matches in a week? The stadiums are decent as well – Chicago’s Soldier field hosts both American football and American soccer team, Chicago Fire; Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz stadium is also for American football and the MLS team Atlanta United, which has the capacity to sit 74,000, but usually has around 42,000 fans for the soccer matches. New Jersey’s Metlife stadium doesn’t have a soccer team attached to it but they have hosted international soccer games.
The Growth of the American Fan Base
As for attendance, the largest following of Premier League fans in the US is Man United – with Man U putting estimates at 34 million fans. West Ham don’t have any numbers but the US is one of the top 10 countries to access the WHU website, and about three million that are registered with WHU or that have liked WHU’s facebook page. I would guess Everton would come after West Ham in fan bases as West Ham have had more media attention with Green St Hammers and various other east London films, shows and characters. I hadn’t heard of Bournemoth until I started following football so I feel they are very few and far between.
There will be a lot of neutrals in attendance at these matches as general soccer fans or people looking for an event might attend if the ticket price is good. For those American fans who don’t have the means to go to a match in England, this is the next best thing.
Flag-Waving for the US Hammers
I’m lucky enough to have had the pleasure of going to three home matches and two away matches in England, but for most American fans – they’ve never even heard ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ with the exception of their televisions. I will always defer to east Londoners, and the English West Ham family in terms of etiquette, football culture and history.
But I will also wave the flag for the American fan base who feel so passionately about something they didn’t grow up with to be able to travel to east London. Or with just as much distance, to a different part of the States to see the reserve side play the opposing reserve side in a consequence less friendly just to be near the club they support amongst a family that they hardly ever get to see or sing Bubbles with. Will I see you there?
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