It's football, not soccer!
TOMORROW, I am off to the land of soccer, where football mainly involves the use of the hands, and a game of glorified rounders can take all day.
While two weeks in the US will mean switching off from work, it will not, of course, mean switching off from Aston Villa.
We planned our trip to minimise disruption to any home game attendance - the only match we will miss is QPR in the Carling Cup.
There's one problem. It's all very well trying to keep up with Villa's away fortunes from the Midlands. There's Sky, Setanta or a special screening in The Holte to rely on. As a last resort, there's even Jack Woodward's commentary on the OS.
But try keeping track over the pond. Working out what time a game is supposed to be on is one thing, attempting to negotiate the vagaries of the American television schedules is quite another.
It might be on live. It might be highlights. It be "as live" at a later time or even date. One thing's for sure - there'll be at least 10 ad breaks over the course of 90 minutes.
Then there's the commentary. Hilarious doesn't do it justice. It's certainly quite off-putting when you're trying to will the Villa on to victory.
None of this is to say I have anything against Americans. My brother has lived over there for more than a decade and of his four boys, all born here, only one speaks with an English accent.
There's one thing you can't take away from them though - their devotion to the claret and blue cause. They may struggle to come up with a handful of games witnessed in the flesh, but they are unwavering in their support.
Which is interesting when thinking about foreign fans and the global game. I'll quite happily complain about glory-hunting Manchester United fans, but am more than pleased to welcome overseas visitors to Villa Park.
Hypocritical, or merely certain that Villa really is the only way to go for the rest of the world? You decide!
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Actually, I used to always refer to football as soccer, to differentiate from Gaelic Football! I've managed to cease this inappropriateness now, of course!
It's definitely option be, the only way to go for the rest of the world, otherwise I'd be hypocritcal singing "support your local team" to the Man U fans, being Irish and all!
cheers from the big thicket.
i'm in the boondocks of southeast texas (think hurricanes). i'm able to get roughly 75% of all villa matches live on fox soccer channel (i didn't name it) & setanta...with nothing any more esoteric than a satellite dish. and i've never seen them interrupted by commercials or with anything but english commentary.
spurs, albion & sunderland matches are all live on setanta over the next two weeks. if your hosts don't subscribe, try this link to find an establishment that does.
enjoy your trip & utv!
You can also check http://www.livesoccertv.com for schedules. I often rely on that to catch Villa matches.
Hey,
Yank Villa fan here. If you happen to be travelig through Memphis, TN (just a stab in the dark) then I can show you where to get a pint and watch the match.
Have a great holiday mate! Whenever I go away, or in fact if I can't make a game because I'm at work, I have a fabulous bunch of mates who send me text messages! While I was on holiday in Malta recently, I missed the Man City came but my phone was going mad for two hours. In the end there were five Villa fans in a bar, sitting around a table staring at a mobile phone! I received a total of 55 texts during the game including two MMS messages showing two of Gabby's goals!
Just a thought if you get desperate! :)
I'm a Villa fan living in Maryland and have missed one game in the last year (Leicester City- and if I had to miss one that would have been it!). Sometomes it's a p2p connection over the internet in a different language through livesoccertv.com, however. I don't see the game next Thursday as being on-does anyone know how to catch it over here?
UTV!
Derek, things seem to have improved since my last trip.
My brother tells me the commentary is now mostly Andy Gray (some kind of Sky tie-in?)
So I guess apologies are in order!
Mike F, I'm in Maryland! Small world!