I've been sort of following the UEFA Champions League matches shown on the various ESPN channels. After looking at West Ham's schedule about a month ago, I decided that the right thing to do was to root for Manchester United and Chelsea. Take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Premiership's top two teams:
Saturday-Sunday: FA Cup semifinals
4/17: Manchester United-Sheffield United
4/18: West Ham-Chelsea
4/21: Manchester United-Middlesbrough; Newcastle United-Chelsea
4/24-25: Champions League semis, first leg
4/28: Everton-Manchester United; Chelsea-Bolton
5/1-2: Champions League semis, second leg
5/5: Manchester City-Manchester United; Arsenal-Chelsea
5/9: Chelsea-Manchester United
5/13: Manchester United-West Ham; Chelsea-Everton
5/19: FA Cup finals at Wembley
5/23: Champions League final in Athens
I like the idea of keeping these two teams busy, as it may help West Ham. I must acknowledge that I was disappointed to learn that the FA eliminated replays for the semifinals in 1999. I suppose that I can stop rooting for Chelsea now. If there's any benefit to West Ham, it's come already, as the Irons will play the Blues before the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. In fact, it would be a good thing if Chelsea dropped off Man U's pace in the Premiership a bit. Perhaps that May 13 match won't mean anything for Man U. We have to hope it still means something for West Ham.
In the Champions League, I was rooting for the Premiership sides regardless of some potential benefit for West Ham. It's rather like how I approach games involving my alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When the other teams in the Big Ten conference are playing out-of-conference games in American football and basketball, I root for the Big Ten squads because it reflects well on the league. Also, Illinois derives some financial benefit, as the conference splits money earned in post-season tournaments and, in American football, the so-called bowl games played on or near New Year's Day.
Also, I am familiar with the English clubs, but haven't been following them long enough to build up a seething, jealous hatred of their success. It is only through clenched teeth that I can "root" for teams from the University of Michigan or the Indiana University basketball team, to name two examples from the college sports analogy.
I'm sure that, over time, I'll come to despise certain English football clubs in the same way. But for now, I have just enough familiarity with these clubs to enjoy watching them beat the other clubs in Europe. I can understand, however, if more seasoned fans would rather stab their own eyes out rather than root for the Red Devils or the Blues.
(Music to write by: Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughn, "In Session," and Blur, "The Great Escape.")
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