With every great soccer clubs comes your handful of chants. Unlike American sports, British premier league soccer is able to become excited and involved in the game without a big screen to tell them what to do. It’s always bothered me that basketball, baseball, football and other sports stadiums have the “get loud” video’s and encouragement on the big screen. It’s almost insulting that they don’t think we know what’s going on, or we’re not loud enough as it is. But that whole tangent is for a different day.
Sheffield United, the storied club that it is, is no different than the major clubs when it comes to their chants. They very by the team, situation, players, and for Sheffield, even the manager.
Coming from a place where this never happens, it’s massively intriguing. Having such an intense and involved crowd is amazing. Before I really knew a lot about soccer, my friend always said how massive home field advantage was. Because I have played sports in the past and am still currently doing so, I knew how home field advantage was important but I always thought that these guys were professionals, it shouldn’t mean much to them. For me at least, traveling and using a minut locker room could play an effect, but not one that’ll would make or break the game.
But with fans like the blades have, those who were born and bread with steel, they must play a huge part in the game. It’s great to think that even though you are just a fan, and not really a huge part of the game, that you actually can potentially have some sort of impact on the out come. Or that could just be my crazy inner fan talking.
Beside’s the potential effect on the game it could have, it’s simply just an incredible addition to matches and soccer in general. Being a part of a chant that the entire stadium is apart of just connects you with the team, players, city and all the people around you. It’s something that I would love to see incorporated more (or at all) into an American sport. I say that, but then I think about football fans and how there’s no possible way any of those fans would coordinate a chant that wasn’t USA or a shower of boo’s.
The point being is that, unlike any sport that I know, Soccer continues to show its individualistic nature. Over the past couple of weeks, doing research into Sheffield United and following the social media pages, I’ve really come to appreciate the game that my family loves. It’s gave me a better understanding of them and allowed for me to connect with them on another level. The game is spreading into America more and more each year and I could not be more excited for it. I’m excited to see how far it goes. I’m proud to be a Sheffield United fan, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for The Blades.
Sam's Blog 