Ranting Penguin Needs A Club

As already mentioned, I’m a Liverpool supporter. I began my soccer education watching the English Premier League, and otherwise have remained extremely loyal to that club and league. However, as I started to interact more with my fellow USL League One and Union Omaha supporters, I found that not everyone likes the EPL. Many of the people I talk to about soccer believe the German Bundesliga is a superior league, or that The Netherlands’ Eredivisie is more entertaining. Liga MX is big here as well, and occasionally we talk about Ligue 1 or Serie A. Occasionally.

I went looking for more information on the leagues, and ran across an ESPN article that talked about how to pick a team to follow based on each teams’ play style. That idea intrigued me, but it only talked about on-the-pitch play. So much more goes into choosing a club. What are the supporters like? How accessible are they? Does their ugly red and yellow clash with my fashion sensibilities? Everything from who the owners are (and what they stand for) to how likable the backup keeper is can have an effect on not just supporting a club, but enjoying that support even in the low times.

So I’ve decided to check it out for myself.

The Ranting Penguin Needs A Club series will take one league at a time and try to dig down to the point where I can figure out not only why someone should invest their time in watching a league, but who to support when watching that league. Each season will start with a conversation with a supporter of the league to give an overview and talk about why it’s worth watching that league (and some supporter philosophy as well). In the following episodes, I’ll be reaching out to the supporters of each team in the league to find out what makes their club special and tell us why we should support their club. In the finale episode, I’ll narrow down the top 3 finalists and reveal who I’ve decided to support in that league.

I welcome you all to join me on this journey on the YouTube channel or by listening in podcast form. I’ll be posting companion articles here for more insight into my reflections on each episode. With any luck, you’ll find a club to support as well…even if it’s not the one I choose.