Arsenal fans
Why we are fans
It’s easy being a sports fan in the USA. There are a multitude of leagues and seeing your team is as easy as turning on the TV. Growing up, I had very few friends who could actually agree on who their favorite team was in any given sport. Why were they fans of that particular team? Outside of geographic loyalty, rarely did anyone have an answer.
But soccer is a different game, isn’t it? Virtually every time I ask a fan in the USA how they came to follow Arsenal, they have a story to tell. For some, it was a friend or family member who introduced them to the Club. For others, it came down to the style of play or a specific player. And some fans simply liked the name. But no matter how the passion for Arsenal started, one thing rings true: we are all Gooners.
Let’s take a look at the stories of some of our fellow Gooners:
C.O. Jones, Kokomo, Ind.:
"I am 83 and saw my first Arsenal game in November 1936 (on my 10th birthday) and have been a supporter ever since. As a teenager, I used to go to White Hart Lane to watch them in the early 1940's as Highbury was being used during the war by the "ARP" (Air Raid Precautions - a World War II British civil defense organization). In early 1947, I was in the British Army stationed in Cairo Egypt, and I had a four week leave in Blighty and was lucky enough to see three Arsenal home games during that time. How lucky can a guy get? I have been a Gunners supporter for 53 years and thanks to satellite TV, I still get to see all of their games."
Fernando Macias:
"I've been a soccer fan for as long as i could remember. However, being from Mexican descent, I initially gravitated toward the Mexican League and the club Chivas de Guadalajara. When Arsenal signed a young Mexican, Carlos Vela, I started taking an interest in the Gunners. Right around that time, ESPN and Fox Soccer started showing more and more EPL games. Watching Arsenal play on a pretty regular basis would bring me to love this team. I love the beautiful style of attack engineered by Wenger's Gunners, and now I've seen enough EPL to realize that this brand of football is far superior to "soccer" played in the Americas. I no longer watch the Mexican League as I have been spoiled by watching my beloved Gunners play a beautiful and superior brand."
Ron Evans, Marin, Calif.:
"How did I become an Arsenal fan? Simple. I grew up in Highbury, playing football in Highbury Fields and being taken to Arsenal games by my grandfather when I was very young. All my uncles and cousins were Arsenal supporters except one - the black sheep of the family who supported Spurs. My son is also an Arsenal fan. He was born in San Francisco, grew up playing soccer, and we watched the Arsenal games together on television. We hope to keep the Arsenal support dynasty going, from my grandfather to my son and to his son."
Thomas Vogele, Seattle, Wash.:
"During college at Washington in 1990, I had the fortune to study spring quarter in London. During that time, some pals of mine and I had some knowledge of Arsenal, but weren't committed fans. It was only when we took our first trip to Highbury that spring we were baptised Gunner fans. In 2001, my wife and I were trapped in London after 9/11. It was a very difficult time to be abroad, but we were lucky to have a family friend playing keeper for Fulham, with whom we were able to also stay. It was sheer coincidence his team would be hosting Arsenal. Keeping my mouth shut sitting in his home seats at Craven Cottage I had the fortune to witness a Arsenal dismantle Fulham. Affirmation."
David Kilpatrick, President Arsenal America:
“Growing up, my best friend’s father (Jay Pittman) – who first saw a match at Highbury in ’71 – would talk about being a Gooner and show us match programs, etc. As a kid I thought the red and white for home and the yellow and blue for away were the greatest uniforms, but you were lucky to see a score in the paper once a week – no real way to follow from across the pond back then. As a grad student living in London late in ’94, I had to visit the Home of Football. My first match was a derby against QPR. When Johnny Jensen scored the place went mad and I fell in love with Arsenal Football Club. I started surfing the Web in ’95; suddenly supporting a north London football club was simple with the latest team news just a click away.”
Tim Bostelle, Blogger:
“By 1998 I was sick of basketball and by the luck of the gods I caught a game on a new channel
here in the states; Fox Soccer Channel. Over the next year I watched as many matches as I could, getting up at 7am every Saturday for the traditional 3pm kickoff. But I couldn't settle on a team, until I watched Arsenal play a home match at Highbury. The camera angles were better, the seats seemed closer, the stadium was beautiful, and the action was intense. But flying to London and climbing those stairs to see the fabled Highbury pitch and watch them win in person, really sealed the deal for me. I'll never love another sports team the way I love Arsenal.”
Christian Miles, Fox Soccer Channel Commentator:
“I was fortunate enough to play in young recreational or 'pub' leagues, so I always had an interest in the sport. However, it had waned by my mid-twenties until I rediscovered a zest for the game while traveling in Europe. I spent a lot of time in Italy and the passion for the game bit me and I was hooked. I became forever fond of the Arsenal about 12 years ago, watching Wenger's first generation team claim the league and cup double in 1997-1998. The style of football, and the sophisticated approach enamored me. My friend gave me an old JVC emblazoned Arsenal top from the mid 90's and it still hangs proudly in my home to this day. ”
Michael Griffin, Blogger:
“While I haven’t played much organized soccer, I have always been interested in the “beautiful game” since childhood, and can remember watching weekly highlights packages of the leagues from England and Germany on local TV when I was young, which sparked my interest in European soccer. When the World Cup was hosted by the United States in 1994, I followed the Dutch team’s run in that tournament and thus became a big fan of Dennis Bergkamp that summer. When he joined Arsenal a year later, the Gunners basically became the team I chose to follow in the Premiership. My passion for Arsenal began to grow in the following years, boosted by the club winning the “double” in 1998 and team members’ success with France in that year’s World Cup. By 2000, I was fully immersed in all things Arsenal thanks to access to Fox Soccer Channel and the other soccer networks, along with the emergence of Internet sites and communities dedicated to the Gunners.”
Keep the stories coming! Tell us who you are and how you became an Arsenal fan and perhaps your story will appear with the others on this page. Send it to us at: usa-interact@arsenal.co.uk
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