Apart from the fact that I enjoyed playing the game with the boys as a teenager, football has never really been my cup of tea. However, I have found that, living in London, a basic general knowledge of football is an essential requirement for your social life. This summer, for instance, I had the World Cup fixture list in my handbag. Why? Well, because I knew it would be pointless to plan any kind of social activities if England were playing ball that day.

We all know how the World Cup ended. I watched the England – Portugal game in the pub, and was hoping beyond hope it wouldn’t go to penalties. (Why is it we cannot seem to win on penalties??) After almost two hours of cheering, chanting, whistling and booing, you could have heard a feather fall to the floor when it became clear that we had lost. The jubilant football fever ended in football failure, and for a few weeks football was not the main topic of any conversation.

England would not be England without its football, though. Last weekend the football fever began to creep up on us again with the premier of the fifteenth FA Premier League season. Reigning champions Chelsea have the chance to become the fifth side ever to win three consecutive English top-flight titles. We’ll see about that…

As a foreigner, it is fascinating to observe how which team you support is almost as important to the English, as which church you belong to is to the Americans. Most people around my neck of the woods are Chelsea fans. Not very surprising seeing as Stamford Bridge (the Chelsea arena) is in Hammersmith, which is pretty much around the corner from here. Chelsea is a rich team with the budget of a small country. Not that hard to be on the top then, is it?

The money in football here is insane! A match ticket can easily cost you up to £50, which is more than a full working day’s salary for most people. I read somewhere that a Portsmouth season ticket would cost you £595, whereas a Real Madrid season ticked comes at a bargain £200. English football supporters are either loaded or totally mad! Personally, I feel that the biggest problem with the FA Premier League is that it is all about money, and only four – five teams have a real chance to win. Takes part of the fun out of the equation if you ask me.

My Man is an avid West Ham supporter who takes his footie seriously. On Saturdays he’s not a responsible adult. When the whistle blows, he goes from thick squaddie (his words!) to Neanderthal hooligan. If the team do well he’s over the moon. If not, well… Let’s just say I don’t need to check the temperature of our relationship – it’s quite enough to check the football results.

Would it be too much to hope for another good season for the Hammers??

//Evalena

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