Russian Gansters Rule

Some of you may or may not be fans of Bill Simmons. For those of you that aren't this is why I bring it up. After the World Cup last year, Bill Simmons decided that he was definitely missing out on this whole football/soccer craze and he needed to right that. He saw that the game attracts the most passionate fans in sports. Fans sing for the entire game, with a home game being comprised of almost every person wearing team colors, none of this special white out (Miami Heat) or red out crap (Arizona Wildcats), this is just what they did. So with his new found enthusiasm he decided that he was going to choose a team from the Premier League and start to follow them. He had a large criteria and narrowed it down to a few teams, eventually selecting the Tottenham Hotspurs.

Well, after spending a few weeks in South America I've watched enough football (I'm going to continue to call soccer football because, as opposed to american football, it makes sense because you play with your feet) I've been able to see a handful of games and I've come up with a team that I like. Although I haven't seen every team (give me a break, I've been here two weeks) I've seen a handful.

Teams I've seen:

Barcelona: Ronaldihno is the heart and soul of this team, but its not without supporting stars. Deco is good and they seem charismatic. My problem, I always come away underwhelmed by Ronaldihno. He's supposed to be this amazing player he just hasn't seemed to perform on that upper level that only great players play at when I've watched him.

Liverpool: Sissoko is sweet. He's this oversized midfeilder that absolutely plays as hard as possible and always seems to fuck with one of the opposing teams players. He's kinda like Ron Artest without the Domestic Violence/Insanity. He just plays hard D, and usually makes one or two good moves on corners (he's tall, strong and can jump, great guy for header goals). My problem, Bellamy. He just seems like kinda a punk. This is completely irrational, but it is. Sidenote: Steven Gerrard is good.

Real Madrid: They have Beckham, and he seems to be playing better, but their identity is moving to the US in three months. I know he's not the best on the team anymore, but when you watch a telecast they don't talk about a player more than Beckham. Can't sink my heart into a team that's about to lose its identity.

Arsenal: Pretty sweet actually, I almost got hooked on them. Thierry Henry is a playmaker, but he has just a tad of A-Rod in his personality/demeanor. The team plays good football, but it just wasn't to be.

And my team:

Chelsea: Okay that have a Russian Mobster as an owner. That right there gives them bad ass points. Plus they have my favorite player, Andrey Schevchenko. The guy is just fun to watch. Plus they have my second favorite player, Didier Drogba who seems to make smart plays/good crosses and they got the fiery Ballack. The team plays good one touch football, (for lack of football jargon) and they have incredible interception to outlet passes that start breakaways. Plus they are Blue, to be honest I have a hard time rooting for any red team (Liverpool, Man U, Real Madrid) just for the reason that it just seems to close to those damn dirty Trojans. The royal blue unis of Chelsea just seem to work for me. So there you have it, my new team.