Two weeks ago, I decided that I needed to choose a Barclay’s Premiership League team to root for if I am ever going to go all-in as a fan of soccer. I went through a long process in my thought process in which I picked a team. Am I a jinx to the Spurs or was this just bad timing?

The first game in which I was a Tottenham fan, they played Manchester United. The Spurs came out and scored the first goal, I was joyous and running around the room like a liquored European. It didn’t take long for Man U. to take over and they scored three unanswered goals and won the game 3-1. Wayne Rooney probably should have had two more goals, but he must have been too distracted by his WAG in the crowd. I was thinking that maybe it was a bad time to choose Tottenham to support, especially since they have a rough stretch in their schedule.

I found out that they were playing Chelsea this past weekend and I wasn’t excited at all. I have been studying teams and everything that I have read has said that Chelsea could be the best club in the entire league. It didn’t take me long to realize that everything on the internet was correct, since Tottenham barely showed up the play. Chelsea won 3-0 and controlled the entire match, I was embarassed, but I probably shouldn’t have been, they are a great club.

I started to think to myself that maybe I could be a jinx to the team. I have been a fan of the Chicago Cubs, Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Colts, and Columbus Blue Jackets for years and combined, I have one championship as a fan. If you add in my Notre Dame fanhood, in my lifetime, add one to my total. The Colts won a Super Bowl, but after many, many thin years pre-Manning. Tottenham faces Preston North End on Wednesday, but their next Premier League game is against Burnley. If they lose against Burnley, I’m sorry Spurs fans, I could be a jinx.

I posted something about Footytube a little over a week ago and it made me think that I can’t be a true fan of soccer if I don’t have an English Premier League team. I was a free-agent, but after a phone call with our friend, Joe Pasquali, we made up our mind. We are officially announcing our fanhood for the football club, Tottenham Hotspur. You guys have to help me out a little, ’cause I’m new at this soccer fanatic thing. Read why I chose this club and why ESPN may have made me choose sides.

I was a soccer fan before today, but I was a casual fan. I am going all-in with this soccer thing. I have been a fan of international soccer, but I realized the reason I was a fan, I had a team to root for. I root for the United States soccer team and that makes me follow the sport. I know a little about the European Premiership, but I felt like I needed to pick a team to really get myself into this whole thing. I grew up a fan of the Chicago Cubs, Indianapolis Colts, and Indiana Pacers. Mostly because my dad liked those teams and I watched sports with him. I follow baseball, football, and basketball because I was vested in those teams.

I had a similar situation a couple years ago when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. I didn’t have one single NHL team to root for and since I was in town and I liked hockey, I became a Columbus Blue Jackets fan. I have became so knowledgeable about the team that I now a correspondent for the team over at Fanball.

I know what you’re thinking, I can’t pick an EPL team that is close to me, so I might as well just throw a dart and pick one. If a dartboard was nearby, I would have chosen that route, but Joe talked me out of it. He said that I should choose a team that would stay in EPL for awhile and wouldn’t be relegated down. I know that I didn’t want to be a bandwagon fan and pick Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, or Chelsea. Joe is a fan of Aston Villa and I couldn’t pick his team, because I kind of need to be against his team, it’s just good for my psyche. I almost picked Hull City, because of Jozy Altidore, but I didn’t want to get emotionally attached to that team, because they may not stay in the league long. I narrowed it down to West Ham, Portsmouth, or Tottenham Hotspur, three middle-of-the-pack kind of teams that fits my style. I looked at the rosters and being a Tottenham fan just felt right.

From what I understand, being a fan of the Lillywhites, I was grandfathered into a rivalry that I know little about, but I’m used to it. Apparently I am going to grow to hate Arsenal, which I’m okay with. Most of the teams that I dislike have red in their uniforms or logos like Arsenal. Also, I found out that Tottenham Hotspur was named after a character in the Shakespeare play “Henry IV.” I am fine with it and I actually like a little Billy Shakespeare, so everything lines up perfectly.

I am excited to be rooting for Robbie Keane, Ledley King, and Peter Crouch. I am not very familiar with them right now and I can’t wait for the time when these people become real and not just names on a piece of paper.

I will be tail-gating for the Ohio State/USC game this Saturday, but I want to be able to catch the Tottenham game at Manchester United. I need to sneak away and find a television where this game would be televised in the U.S. I may need to try and find the game online and watch it at a later date. The lack of televised games will not stop me from my goal of being a EPL soccer fan.

This is where ESPN comes into play. They have started to show EPL games on Saturday, which will help me scout other teams in the Premier League and catch a few Spurs games. I can’t wait for this, it’s going to be a lot of fun and I hope more Americans take the steps that I am going to take. I’m tired of being a fan for about 2-3 months every other year when the Olympics or the World Cup gets near. I am all-in and all I have left to say is, Go Spurs and kick Man U.’s ass!