Football

It's that time of year again:  six football teams across the country will either be relegated or promoted.  For me, however, this is the first year I have been invested and surrounded by such tradition.  In the big scheme of things, football relegations and promotions in the premier league are predominantly trivial.  But in England, to undermine someone's faith in a team, it seems a sin.  Football is their religion, their life.

Sacredly watching once or twice every week for their team to win, or at least draw, fans follow rituals in order to bring their team luck.  While pub-watching, I notice the quiet, encouraging types who can actually sit through an entire game subtly sipping a few pints without uttering a single word.  Then there's the swearing machines who flood the air with their vulgarity, which soon turns into an almost inaudible hum when the brain unconsciously blocks it out.  And lastly, there's the Lee, and everyone else like him.

Lees are fans who have child-like belief that until the 90th minute, their team can win--whether the team is up, down, or tied.  In our specific situation, Lee is a fan of the Blackburn Rovers and they are in the bottom three of the premier league, which means that they will most likely be relegated down to the championship league (which is similar to AA baseball).  The teams who are promoted are the top three teams in the championship.  Their promotion or relegation depends on how many points they acquired throughout the season--3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss.  Imagine if every year the Cleveland Indians ended up in the bottom of the league they were 'punished' by being driven down to AA ball.  Outrage would ensue because not only do they just move to a new league, any highly talented players who are left on the team will be traded to stay in the premiership or just stop playing altogether.  With these consequences, the brand of Rovers, or Indians, would have a very slim chance of ever working their way back up to the premiership and it would never hold the same acclaim as it once did.

Not only do the team members suffer career-wise, but the manager (coach) is highly scrutinised for his performance and oftentimes ridiculed harshly for the failure of the team to maintain premiership status.  Fans all look for someone to blame:  the owners, the manager, the team, or specific players.  The manager does have a tricky job because he has a budget for each season.  All of the players get paid a different amount and paid additional amounts if they make an 'appearance' in a game.  When I first heard this term, I thought that if they appeared anywhere--for a charity event or otherwise--then they were paid their thousands of pounds, but it only applies in match situations.  So the manager needs to carefully plan who he wants to play and for poorer teams, like Blackburn, his choices are limited by the talent-level of the players and also who he can 'buy' for his team.  Trades and loans are made between teams a lot (with people, not money).  These limitations put the manager in a tough spot and when his team loses, the fans are brutal.

Loss after loss can be difficult to watch for the Lees because they have been life-long fans and when their team is headed toward relegation, all the rest of us can do is just pat them on the back and point out the positives in their team.  I can see the relegation coming just as clear as Lee can, but I haven't followed this team my whole life.  Although, the sympathy comes easily since I am an Indians fan after all.

The relentless following of a team--no matter which end of the league tables they stand--isn't anything new and definitely isn't a characteristic of only English culture.  The extra risks involved, for instance the haunting relegations waiting in the wings, put the fan support on another level.  I may not understand much about the football leagues here, but I can see the emotion that the fans carry with them to each game.  This may not be Blackburn's year to stay in the premiership, but hopefully they can climb back up from the championship next year.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.