Local Club Love

By: David Wegner

Okay, first caveat, this article is not an endorsement of a specific local team or some apology piece for a To-Be-Named-At-A-Later-Date club and their recent year's form.  This is about why you should support your local club. Most of us have a team overseas that we become compulsive insomniacs for. We wake up pre-dawn to cheer them on over coffee and pints at the local pub. The Premier League, La Liga, etc. are a routine display of the game played at its top level. Hey, I get it. I support a little English club myself with a devout passion. Here's the rub: it's not real. It's not tangible. The passion is, but the connection isn't what you have right here in your own zip code.

 I often speak in analogy, so let's start with the first one now.  The Premier League (or whatever league you support) are magazine cover supermodels that are never going to return your call if you were even able to get their number in the first place.  They love the fact that you buy their merchandise, watch them on the TV and such, but you don't really exist to them. You are no more than a face in the crowd, a blur, a nothing.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to watch.  I'm still going to yell at the tv and I'm still going to buy the new kit every year, but I watch with that understanding.

Your local club is that cute, likable person next door. There are some imperfections, but they will gladly give you their number and will eagerly await your text and desire your company. They'll be there to enjoy time with you, stick with you during thick and thin and hope you will return the favor when they are having a tough time too. It's really a chance to root for a club that is truly yours.  They exist in your community, shop in the same neighborhood, and visit the same parks.  They aren't some distant entity that’s thousands of miles away and is only attainable by watching through 32 inches of metal, plastic and glass.  Also, they won’t clear out your savings and paid time off at work so you can visit them for a brief minute in their part of the world.

Wayne Rooney isn't ever coming to your party.  Jose Mourinho won't speak at your function, and Sheik So and So isn't going to call you because they haven't seen you at the stadium recently or because you have concerns over the team.  This is part and parcel of what you get with your local club.  Sure, the leagues here, whether pro or amateur, aren't as sexy as those overseas, but does your significant other look like Kate Upton or David Beckham? No, but we love them as if they do.  Plus, they are willing to put up with our own issues because they actually know who we are.

Secondly, Man United, Real Madrid or whatever team, glamorous or not, that you support is never going to play your local club.  So, there is plenty of room in your personal trophy room to cheer for them both.  There is no conflict at all, so why not attach yourself to something that actually exists in your reality?  Something that is sitting in your own back yard begging for your attention. I mean, seriously, you love the game, so is having more soccer in your life such a terrible idea? No, no, please don't put more ice cream on my cone... How dare you give me more of what I love? It is seriously just sitting there for your taking.

The other aspect is this: watching your local club can actually give you some perspective at how hard this game is to play. As my good friend Paul described it: “Honestly it has always helped me enjoy both sides of the coin more: the local product and my EPL heroes. Because when Christian Eriksen takes that 45 yard over-the-shoulder diagonal perfectly down on his right foot and straight out into his path my mind is blown because I've seen the Badji's and Eloundou's of the world try to make that same play in real time and I know how impossible it is.”

I’ve lived in Colorado for over 30 years, Denver specifically now, so my team is the Colorado Rapids through and through.  If ever there was a time for me to question that allegiance it would be after the last two seasons as they have been the worst years I've suffered through as a supporter.  Likely the case for any Rapids fan reading this. The thing is, I can't abandon my club. Ever. I may question the actions of the club, I may protest in my own way. Hell, I already have.  Abandon them though? Never. It's my local and that's that.  It’s like dumping your significant other the minute they catch the flu or get a bad haircut. Who does that? Sometimes you simply have to hold their hair when their head is in the toilet. It’s just what you do. 

I don't judge others who actually love this or any club for their anxiety, concern or protest for that club's failures. This is the beauty of tying yourself to a local club, all of that can actually matter due to the closeness of that relationship. There is an actual, tangible connection. I hated when my English team was sent down a few years back, but the total times that the team's players or staff sat down with me over a beer to console me are equal to the number of times Pamela Anderson or Liz Hurley called me in the 90's. For those wondering, that number is zero. Also, what would you think of someone that would cut and run only to show back up when the team recovers (God, I hope they actually do recover)?

A little secret, there are piles of local teams in the region that would love to enjoy your company.  The Rapids and Switchbacks if you want a local pro club. If you want to go a little deeper, DU men's and women's soccer, CU club men's team and Div. I women's team, School of Mines down in Golden, Harpos FC up in Boulder are just some of the many. Oh, and here's a nice surprise. Much like your Euro club is never going to play your local that applies to these teams pretty much across the board.  So, grab a couple and just spread the love.  That being said, come out to Dick’s and enjoy a day once if you haven’t tried it.

So, take a risk. Put yourself out there and maybe get your heart broken. Warning, your club, whomever they may be is going to break your heart all the time. It's the nature of sport. It's a constant Greek tragedy, but once in a while you'll be rewarded for your suffering. It's so much sweeter with a real connection. Ask anyone who supports the local burgundy club who got to kiss and raise the MLS cup in 2010 with the players. There's a lot of us that got that chance. Now, find me anyone who's even been able to breathe air near a Premier League trophy or the hardware from the Champions League when their team raised those. Probably about the same as that number of calls I got from Pam and Liz in the 90’s I'm guessing.