I created an account just now after enjoying the goings on at GOT largely since the end of the last campaign and opening of transfer season. Truly a remarkable lot you all are and this place is one of the best and most interesting internet fan forums for any club/team in sport I have encountered. Kudos to the creators, moderators and participants at GOT.
A bit about me and how I became a Blue... I did not grow up playing much football. I played baseball, basketball and American football all through high school but only a couple of years of "soccer" as a 10 and 11 year old. It just was not as popular as the other sports at that time, not played very competitively and no one in my family grew up with the game so I put it aside.
Fast forward 30 years and I move to a new city in Central Texas. I fall into a lot of new pals who all play in an old, fat guy football league and we became fast friends. One of their joys is watching English Premier League football and they have all become ardent followers of mostly different teams. Each lobbied me to become a fan of their respective team but given they root for the likes of Man U, City, Arsenal and the Red [Poor language removed]... I just could not.
See, I grew up in Houston when it was still largely a working class city that got no respect from the likes of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. So constitutionally I am opposed to rooting for American professional teams with big, bandwagon fan bases and more money than the Pope. There's no soul in such "support" and thus I remain a supporter of the Astros, Oilers/Texans and Rockets - a lifer.
So my search for a club in England to follow began and, making the long tale of that search short, the song is apt... "if you know your history, it's enough to make your heart go 'wooooo'". I have been touched by everything I have learned about Everton over the last 5 years in a way that has truly shocked me. The club, its fans, EiTC (which is simply one of the most fantastic things I know of in sport anywhere in the world), Liverpool... my heart is given over and, once so, a permanent thing. I am very proud to be a follower of Everton FC. In fact, during a recent trip to a brewery in Houston I was approached by a man who noticed my Everton jersey (#17 - Gana). Turns out he is from England (retired from Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and his best mate is an Evertonian. We had a grand time talking football and took a bunch of photos to share with his mate as he was gobsmacked some guy in Texas was an Everton supporter and needed evidence for proof.
Thankfully, my wife, who is decidedly NOT much of an ardent follower of any sport, has also shown keen interest in Everton. So much so she is insistent we make a trip to Goodison before the club move to Bramley Moore and then, of course, afterward another trip to the new park. It is an adventure we look forward to taking and a big part of it we hope to be the opportunity to become one of the Everton family rather than just another ugly American tourist.
That is my introductory story. My posts at GOT will likely be few and far between at first as I have much to learn from you all and, honestly, am a bit worried about exposing my ignorance among such long-time Evertonians. Just know that I am lurking, learning and appreciative of the community at GOT and Everton FC.
Thank you all.
NSNO
A bit about me and how I became a Blue... I did not grow up playing much football. I played baseball, basketball and American football all through high school but only a couple of years of "soccer" as a 10 and 11 year old. It just was not as popular as the other sports at that time, not played very competitively and no one in my family grew up with the game so I put it aside.
Fast forward 30 years and I move to a new city in Central Texas. I fall into a lot of new pals who all play in an old, fat guy football league and we became fast friends. One of their joys is watching English Premier League football and they have all become ardent followers of mostly different teams. Each lobbied me to become a fan of their respective team but given they root for the likes of Man U, City, Arsenal and the Red [Poor language removed]... I just could not.
See, I grew up in Houston when it was still largely a working class city that got no respect from the likes of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. So constitutionally I am opposed to rooting for American professional teams with big, bandwagon fan bases and more money than the Pope. There's no soul in such "support" and thus I remain a supporter of the Astros, Oilers/Texans and Rockets - a lifer.
So my search for a club in England to follow began and, making the long tale of that search short, the song is apt... "if you know your history, it's enough to make your heart go 'wooooo'". I have been touched by everything I have learned about Everton over the last 5 years in a way that has truly shocked me. The club, its fans, EiTC (which is simply one of the most fantastic things I know of in sport anywhere in the world), Liverpool... my heart is given over and, once so, a permanent thing. I am very proud to be a follower of Everton FC. In fact, during a recent trip to a brewery in Houston I was approached by a man who noticed my Everton jersey (#17 - Gana). Turns out he is from England (retired from Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and his best mate is an Evertonian. We had a grand time talking football and took a bunch of photos to share with his mate as he was gobsmacked some guy in Texas was an Everton supporter and needed evidence for proof.
Thankfully, my wife, who is decidedly NOT much of an ardent follower of any sport, has also shown keen interest in Everton. So much so she is insistent we make a trip to Goodison before the club move to Bramley Moore and then, of course, afterward another trip to the new park. It is an adventure we look forward to taking and a big part of it we hope to be the opportunity to become one of the Everton family rather than just another ugly American tourist.
That is my introductory story. My posts at GOT will likely be few and far between at first as I have much to learn from you all and, honestly, am a bit worried about exposing my ignorance among such long-time Evertonians. Just know that I am lurking, learning and appreciative of the community at GOT and Everton FC.
Thank you all.
NSNO
