What a treat it was for me, to watch the Chelsea Blues demolish Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. It’s not as though I was expecting Chelsea to lose, but to produce a 7-0 score for the second time this season, is really a remarkable achievement for any team at any time, in the Premiership. I enjoy cheering for the Blues, and have since the 2007-2008 season,as it is particularly enjoyable for me, with the large number of soccer fans in Canada who are followers of Manchester United. I have only seen 4 or 5 people in the Toronto area, who also have any clothing with Chelsea colors and logos on them. It is always a lot more fun to cheer for a team which very few others support. The Blues do have a global following, with megastores serving North America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and of course the U.K. It just seems that they don’t have a large following in southern Ontario, where the Manchester United allegiance is quite dominant. In fact, they even have specific bars where their followers congregate to watch their games, whatever time of day or night it might be.
The difficulty in cheering for a team that has a limited following, is that you know you’re always going to be teased when they lose, by more than a few people. However, when they win, and your wearing the team colors, you might occasionally get a tip of the hat, from a fan who follows another club,or perhaps, a bit of a dirty look. Just to be somewhat defiant towards the Red Devils following, I also support both Liverpool, the main rivals for United, and another team, which has no following outside of their own stadium, that being Portsmouth, who are going to be relegated from the Premiership next season, on top of going through administration. I like them, because the former Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, is doing the same with the Sky Blues or Pompey, as they are primarily known. Grant did an outstanding job under tough circumstances, with Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich’s team, taking them to a Champions League showdown against Manchester United, only to lose on penalty kicks, when captain John Terry slipped on the wet turf in Moscow. It would have been the very first Champions League title for Chelsea, had Terry been successful. Grant has also managed marvelously at Fratton Park, under brutal circumstances as described above, and has been able to guide Portsmouth to an FA Cup final against his former Chelsea team,at Wembley Stadium in May. Grant isn’t anybody’s popular choice for manager of the year,but he is most definitely mine ! Nobody in soccer has done more with less, than has Avram Grant.
I can’t wait until the FA Cup final, so I can watch the Blues take on the Sky Blues, and enjoy the outcome , no matter what it may be, with a passion for both teams. It doesn’t get any better than that. My advice to other sports fans: Adopt a team, or a few of them, that nobody else cheers for. You will love it !It’s guaranteed, that no one will call you a front runner !!!