As a holiday break from my normally hard-hitting news and analysis of social issues, I will be discussing the greatness and watchability of the Barclay’s Premier League. Britain’s top flight of soccer. In the United States, soccer -- or, to everyone else in the world, football -- is not the top sports priority, to put it kindly, even though so many kids around the country play. Realistically, Major League Soccer, the top league in the United States, falls behind American football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, along with some college sports as well. Although MLS is a wonderful league that is growing and continuing to get better on a global stage, the Premier League is a religion to the Brits. Think of it at the level of the NFL in the U.S.
The Barclay’s Premier League features 20 teams each year from all over England and Wales. Unlike the MLS, there is no playoff system. The league functions as a table, and the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the league. The three teams with the lowest number of points are relegated to the English League Championship, the second-tier league in the U.K. The league is considered one of the best in the world with world-class talent and plenty of exciting action and rivalries. It rivals La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and the Bundesliga in Germany as the top league in the world. Games are played on a weekly basis from mid-August until May, with small breaks throughout the year for international fixtures.
As soon as the coverage begins, and you hear the sliver-tongued commentators begin the play-by-play, you are in for quite the match -- well, hopefully; sometimes they end in 0-0 draws, such is life. The passion exerted not only by the players but the commentators, and of course, the fans, thousands of them, packing the stadiums making sure their voices are heard in support of their favorite club, is exhilarating. For 90 minutes, commercial-free, except for halftime of course, passes are strung together, shots taken, great saves made, maybe by United States Men National Team keeper Tim Howard -- yes, the Secretary of Defense plays in England -- and goals are scored, creating an atmosphere of noise and joy that is not replicated in the territory.
If you feel like you’d be alone in your support of this great league from the U.S. perspective, you are mistaken. There are millions of EPL fans stateside. Full fan clubs for specific clubs, mostly the larger and richer clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United, exist, but pick your favorite club and support them thick and thin. If you need a place to support you favorite club and watch the coverage that is shown stateside and you are a Miami University student, then I have a solution for you. The Miami University Soccer Viewing Club (the name is tentative) watches the coverage every Saturday morning at 10. England is at least five hours ahead of us, and if I can wake up and watch, so can you. We watch some Sunday fixtures, depending on the match-ups. We also watch fixtures from other leagues like La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga as well. We'll watch whatever everyone is interested in and is readily available. Experience the world’s most popular sport with the league that represents it well: the Barclay’s Premier League.
