College football begins again in earnest this weekend. Only the Premier League rivals its passion.
Neil W. Blackmon
With the debut of the SEC Network last week and the recent rash of comparisons between fan passion in soccer and college football’s preeminent conference, we at TYAC decided to do a two-part series on the way the SEC, MLS and the Barclay’s Premier League make strange bedfellows. Part I focused on the recent relationship between SEC member institutions and MLS, particularly as it relates to the SEC observing MLS front office models for increasing attendance and enhancing fan experience at games.
Part II will focus on the Barclay’s Premier League. First, we’ll publish an interview we did earlier this month with Sirius XM College Sports Nation host Chris Childers, a friend of The Yanks Are Coming and one of the defining voices of college football talk radio. Childers is also a huge soccer fan, and as a new father, is blessed to have a child providing his early morning soccer wake-up calls. (This positive spin worked for us at TYAC, Chris) You can listen to Chris on Siriux XM 91 all year, and we recommend doing so as college football season begins next weekend.
Here’s our interview with Chris discussing the relationship between the passion of the SEC and European club soccer.
1) Dan Mullen likened the passion of SEC fans to the passion of Premier League fans at SEC Media Days, and I think it’s a fantastic comparison. There are exceptions (Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma immediately come to mind)– but the SEC isn’t just the best total product in college football, it’s probably the best fan experience. In your experience- what uniquely makes the SEC fan experience special?
The people in the south are crazy, but in a good way! Dan Mullen nailed it! He really did. The passion in the SEC is almost a mirror image of what you see over in England. Maybe that’s why I am such a big fan of both leagues. Nothing like sitting at a game where the action in the crowd is just as exciting as what is on the field. The SEC is so unique because it just seems like EVERYONE in the south cares and I mean everyone. Maybe sometimes they even care a little too much. But at the end of the day, it’s all about passion and love for their school and their state.
Childers will doubtlessly be pleased about Angel Di Maria’s arrival at Old Trafford.
2) You are a big soccer fan. Was the passion of the fans in that sport an immediate draw to you, given your work in the college sports and football industry?
No doubt about it. I’m so drawn to special atmospheres and being around fans who are genuinely engaged in the game. I love fans that love their favorite teams so much that a win or lose can completely impact their moods the rest of the day. I’ve been to too many other sporting events where people sit and talk to friends the whole time and it’s more like a social event. I hate that! You don’t get that nonsense at a soccer match.
3) You went to Middle Tennessee State- an improving football program and a proud basketball program under Kermit Davis. But it’s still a mid-major. Did that experience influence who you support soccer wise? In other words– did you choose a “midmajor”/”midstandings” club team to cheer for or did you go the other route?
Not really! I am a Bayern Munich and Manchester United fan. Now how about that for being a front runner huh? I have a legit reason though. The first champions league match I ever went to was between those two squads and I just fell in love with both. Figured it was cool to have one favorite in England and one in Germany. I guess being a US Soccer supporter is sort of like supporting an international mid-major right. Even though I think our country’s future is so unbelievably bright!
4) College Football starts a playoff this year– and there’s actual talk that the SEC might be so balanced it doesn’t get a team in. Is that a reasonable argument?
Is it ok to say HELL NO? No way, no chance, no how the SEC gets left out. It’s bad for business and very unlikely. I think a more likely scenario is the SEC getting two in the playoff as opposed to getting none. Most every year it’s pretty safe to say the team who wins the SEC will easily be ranked in top four. The SEC is the strongest league in country and there is no doubt it’s champion should annually receive to shot to win the national title. Winning the SEC is one special accomplishment that deserves great reward.
5) I’ve heard you say the World Cup is one of, if not your overall, favorite sporting event? Do you think the passion of international soccer is an even better comparison for the SEC, given the regional and parochial allegiances people in the SEC have to their schools?
I do. Although, I think cheering for your country may be even a little more special than cheering for your favorite university. I mean, it’s your country and the World Cup features teams from countries around the world. There is nothing like that feeling of rooting for your country when they take on the best the world has to offer. There is something so different and magnificent about. Anytime the US hits the pitch, my passion level goes through the roof and I usually have zero voice left at end of match.
William Faulkner. Fall. Football. Oxford is a slice of heaven on a gameday.
6) Won’t ask you to say your favorite SEC venue- our whole website attended SEC institutions and we could make a compelling argument for all of them. But let’s say Sirius said “Chris, pick four SEC venues to visit in October and we’ll do shows on site.” Where are you going?
Wow! Tough question. Gotta start with LSU. That is the greatest experience in all of college football! Between the passion of the fans and the great Cajun food at the tailgates there is nothing like it. Besides that? Hmmm. I’d say a single man should always make sure to add Ole Miss to his bucket list. Ever hear of “The Grove” on a college football Saturday? It is like a single man’s dream come true. My other two would be Alabama and Auburn. Great venues and above all else it’s college football in the state of Alabama. Football is like a religion in that state.
So you’ve heard from a college football expert. We thought the next best thing to do would be to have TYAC soccer writers (Barclay’s Premier League fans all) explain the similarities between specific SEC member institutions and Premier League clubs. And with the BPL beginning just last week, if you’re a new soccer fan and a longtime SEC football fan looking for a club in England to support in the aftermath of a magnificent World Cup– perhaps this could be a guide.
One framing note: these comparisons are specific to the 2014-15 campaign. They are not historical comps. We’ve written those pieces before and the results, arguably, could be quite different.
Arsenal is LSU.
Great home environment and stadium. The coach is a fixture and a wildly unique individual, whether you’re talking Arsene Wenger or Les Miles. Talent is never an issue: LSU has sent more players early to the NFL in the past five seasons than any program in America; Arsenal reloads when players leave for “brighter” pastures, whether those players are Cesc Fabregas or Robin Van Persie or whoever. Led by Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil, Arsenal will again challenge for the league title; LSU will do the same behind a power running game that features the most-hyped freshmen running back since Adrian Peterson, Leonard Fournette. The clincher? Neither team wins trophies that often. For Arsenal, a FA Cup last spring broke a long drought, and it’s true that LSU was the SEC Champion in 2011. But beyond those titles, the trophies tend to go to another power, and these two clubs play the role of formidable bridesmaid.
Unique talents like Yaya Toure are found at Auburn, where Nick Marshall returns with a title on his mind.
Manchester City are Auburn.
There’s an argument this comparison works historically, although Everton is probably a slightly better comp. But this section being about the here and now– Manchester City are the defending champs and Auburn are the defending champs. Auburn isn’t the most popular team in Alabama. Manchester City aren’t the most popular team in Manchester (especially true if you look at the global popularity of Man City vis-a-vis Manchester United and equally the case with Auburn and Alabama). Both fan bases take that fact quite personally. Both teams are favorites to repeat, even as others point at other teams and suggest sustaining a championship will be difficult. Both are led by dynamic, hyper athletic superstars: Auburn by Nick Marshall and Manchester City by the incomparable Yaya Toure and Belgian defender Vincent Kompany. It’s a good marriage. Will they live up to the hype?
Chelsea are Alabama.
The historical comp for Chelsea is Florida (explained below). The historical comparison for Alabama is obviously Manchester United. But this is about the here and now. Jose Mourinho is the best manager in the world and Nick Saban is college football’s best coach. Both teams have massive talent, but pressing questions at key spots. Can Mourinho find a goalscorer he trusts? Will Nick Saban and Alabama suffer at quarterback after the departure of longtime starter AJ McCarron? This comparison was a no-brainer.
Liverpool are Georgia.
Historically, this comparison works as well, even with Everton’s historical comp probably being Auburn (Georgia vs. Auburn is the longest continuously running college football rivalry in the south). Both teams have a storied stadium and a history of winning. Neither have won a championship in a long while. UGA have more stability at coach, but the fan base runs hot and cold with Mark Richt, whereas after last year’s revival Brendan Rodgers has the heart of the Liverpool faithful (For now). The expectations are always high at both places, but both enter 2014-15 replacing their best player (Suarez, Georgia QB Aaron Murray). The talent is there– but both battle consistency and for Liverpool, the schedule (which includes the Champions League) poses an additional test: is there depth to compete at the highest level in both leagues?
Like Adam Lalanna, Johnny Football left to get paid big money. Can A & M and Southampton recover?
Southampton are Texas A & M.
Aggie fans won’t like this and there are differences to be sure: no one will confuse Southampton’s home environment (St. Mary’s Stadium, capacity 33k) with Kyle Field, the 100K beast of a building the Aggies call home. But the similarities for the coming season are too glaring: both were decimated by great players leaving. Southampton was just pretty good but got killed by seniors leaving, early exits, and/or transfers. Maybe Lalanna was the antithesis to Johnny Football, but his exit will have same effect. Mike Evans is irreplaceable at A & M– he removed a defender from the box, stretched the field and could make a catch in coverage. Ronald Koeman seems like a good hire, but the Saints will surely miss Pochettino as manager. So on, so forth.
Aston Villa are Tennessee.
Storied history, but no hardware in over a decade. New manager Paul Lambert was supposed to do good things, as was Randy Lerner, the new owner, but now he’s selling the team and Lambert is left to fend for himself. Results on the field aren’t there even if viscerally it feels like the club has improved. Sounds a lot like Butch Jones and the Volunteers, a program that’s been a dumpster fire since oddly firing legendary coach Phil Fulmer a few years ago. Meanwhile, even if you like the look of the Vols under Jones, or you think Villa must improve, the two have been joined at the hip for a while. Previous UT coach Derek Dooley stars as Gerard Houllier. Only difference there is that Dooley’s a loveable loser, meanwhile I’d like to pull a James Collins and punch Houllier in the face. Come to think of it, maybe Houllier’s Lane Kiffin.
Sunderland are Mississippi State.
Our resident Ole Miss fan, Garrett McInnis explains: “Mississippi State: total asshole of a coach, good defense but boring offensive squad, usually start out the season with a bad loss or two, and somehow manage to win a game they have no business winning at the end of the season(see Egg Bowl) to salvage it all and keep their rabid fanbase happy and ridiculously optimist about the next year. Can you sense my bias? “
There’s more to that too, even if the Stadium of Light looks like the Eighth Wonder of the World compared to Scott Field, easily the worst non-Vanderbilt venue in the SEC, and probably worse, because at least Vanderbilt is in Nashville.
On the field, optimism reigns in Starkville, where the team closed strong and the offense finally has formidable weapons. Ditto at Sunderland, where they think the team is closer to the one that closed strong under nice guy Gus Poyet (Di Canio is a much better comp for the abrasive Mullen) and not the one that seemed doomed before Poyet’s arrival.
Maty Mauk is one of the few holdover stars from a Missouri team that proved it belonged in the SEC last year. Swansea has proven its worth from the start.
Swansea are Missouri.
Slam dunk here. Both are geographic misfits. Both entered to questions: “Well, it’s nice that you run innovative offense/play attractive attacking soccer but is any of that sustainable in your new league?” Both struggled out of the gate. And both defied expectations dramatically thereafter. But both enter 2014-15 with more questions than answers. Mizzou lose QB James Franklin, the top three WR’s from the year prior, the starting RB, and key defensive starters, including SEC Defensive player of the year Michael Sam. It’s sexy in college football circles to like Mizzou anyway– Matt Mauk is a star in the making at QB– but teams don’t typically weather those sorts of personnel losses in the SEC.
Swansea will be sexy as well after winning at Old Trafford in Week One. But there are personnel issues there as well. They sent their best player, Michu, on loan to Napoli of all places. Ben Davies and Michael Vorm left for Tottenham. Jordi Amat is a star in the making like Mauk, and he fits masterfully into the general Swansea philosophy– but attacking and attractive soccer only take you so far. At some point, the Barclay’s Premier League, like the SEC, is about players.
Tottenham Hotspur are South Carolina.
As much progress as has been made and as great as the fan base is, they lack the trophies. Will this be the year? This analogy falls apart, really, once you recognize that Tottenham rarely defeat London rival Arsenal. Steve Spurrier’s Carolina teams have absolutely owned Clemson for the previous five seasons, and there’s no reason, with his most complete team in Columbia, they won’t continue to do so this season.
Hull City are Kentucky.
At Hull, the facts are they are better at rugby. At Kentucky, the beginning of football season means you are but a month and a half from Midnight Madness.
West Brom are Vanderbilt.
I have no idea how this works on a tradition scale. As far as I know, the smartest people in the Barclay’s Premier League don’t attend West Brom Albion matches. But purely about football, it’s a splendid comparison. West Brom were a Championship side for the most part until 2010– elevated their game and stayed in the top flight despite mid-grade talent. Now they’ve hired a guy who has never been a senior side manager to see if they can maintain current position and perhaps even improve. If that sounds like Vanderbilt, it should, especially with rising coaching star James Franklin departed for Penn State.
Manchester United are Arkansas, at least this season.
A couple of years ago, both are flying high behind coaches who are easily among the best in their respective leagues. Sir Alex Ferguson is a legend and no one, at this point, would argue Bobby Petrino’s credentials compared to his in a history book, but both were innovative coaches who got the most out of the players they coached. And yes, their departures couldn’t be any more different: Petrino banished after a sex scandal; Ferguson retiring as a knight. And yet here we are– both in the same spot. Arkansas just finished 0-8 in the SEC, and while there is talent in spots (RB Alex Collins is sensational), there isn’t yet enough of it. Manchester United may have brought in World Cup and Real Madrid sensation Angel Di Maria, but the midfield still gets overrun too often with graceless plodders. Both hope that the new coaches, who were both wildly successful elsewhere (Van Gaal’s credentials are well-known, Bret Bielema guided Wisconsin to multiple consecutive Rose Bowl berths), can replicate success at new places in tougher leagues. Time will tell if the hires were four nothing. (Sorry, United peeps, couldn’t resist.)
Roberto Martinez, like Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze, has expectations running riot at Goodison Park.
Everton are Ole Miss.
Again, this is probably a fair historical comparison as well, though Auburn works better if only because of Liverpool and the fact that Goodison Park is much more Jordan-Hare Stadium than Vaught-Hemingway. But both are charter members of their leagues, both have long winning traditions and both provide fans one of the best gameday experiences in their respective leagues. On the field this campaign, both are facing wildly high expectations under brilliant young coaches. Roberto Martinez replaced the beloved David Moyes a year ago and guided Everton to the Europa League in his first try. Now he’s signed Lukaku, Eto’o and brought in help on loan to bolster an already strong core squad. Many around Goodison, including the owner, who opened the checkbook, are expecting Champions League qualification. Meanwhile, Hugh Freeze has done wonders building the talent base at Ole Miss. He took over a bit of a dumpster fire personnel-wise and had the Rebels back to bowl game respectability quickly. But this is the year fans expect the breakthrough, with the core of great recruiting classes finally ready to play prominent roles. Insiders are optimistic about both. Outsiders will believe it when they see it.
West Ham United are Florida.
Another longtime member of the SEC, Florida has a rich history but the reality is most of its successful history is of recent ilk. The better historical comp is Chelsea, the “new money” side before Man City made “new money” globally cool. No one outside of Chelsea likes Chelsea. Hardly anyone who didn’t go to Florida likes Florida. But the Gators have no Jose Mourinho figure with Urban Meyer in Columbus, Ohio and Steve Spurrier, the “Bobby Moore” of UF coaching South Carolina. So the Gators enter the season looking for heroes. They are tremendous defensively, but questions abound on offense and the personnel is lacking there. And Florida became Chelsea, in a sense, by scoring points at will. Offense is what defines Florida football.
Enter West Ham. Last year, they finished second in the Barclay’s Premier League in clean sheets, but couldn’t threaten for a Europa place because they couldn’t score goals. You could argue their midtable finish was better than Florida’s 4-8, and you’d be right- but here’s the rub: West Ham has a rich, storied history. They are the only club team to win the World Cup. They have the best supporters in England. And they’ve always, good or bad, attacked the goal and played to win. Manager Sam Allardyce, like Florida’s Will Muschamp, is a likeable guy, but the heat is on both to produce goals and attractive football. Winning is nearly secondary.
Enjoy the start of college football.
Neil W. Blackmon is Co-Founder of The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at nwblackmon@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @nwb_usmnt. Chris Childers can be heard on Sirius XM channel 91 all through college football season. You can follow him on Twitter @ChildersRadio.