A wise person once told me that sport is a microcosm of society. This means that everything that makes up a society-history, values, culture, demographics of the people within that society, etc.- also make up the sporting fabric of that same society.
To be “Irish-American” in America is to be American. This is the same story as the story of football (Soccer) in America. There is no United States of America without Irish Americans, just as there is no sport of football without Irish Americans’ influence on the sport overall. The story of mine as an Irish football supporter is just one story out of a vast number of Irish football supporters around the world. This is the story of Irish football from an American perspective.
Ireland has long had an unparalleled impact on football here in the USA. The earliest football (soccer) leagues were founded in the mid to late 1800s by Irish immigrants in cities like New Orleans, St. Louis, Boston, and Chicago, among others. Many of the earliest winners of the storied Lamar Hunt U.S. Open cups were Irish American clubs. Lamar Hunt, the founder of the two most recent and most significant professional football leagues in the United States, NASL and MLS, respectively, founded his first professional football league after visiting his wife Norma, who was a Rotary scholar attending UCD, helping to document and transcribe ancient Irish fairy tales. During his trip to Dublin, Lamar Hunt and his wife Norma attended a Shamrock Rovers match in 1962. They eventually came home to the States and started a professional football league of their own.
I was born and raised in the state of Kentucky. A state within the United States of America that is widely synonymous with Horse Racing, bourbon whisky, and Fried Chicken. Football (Soccer) hardly stands out as a popular sport in my home state of Kentucky. Growing up, I didn’t play the sport. I’ve played nearly every American sport at an organised or school level aside from football (soccer).
The only experience I had playing the game growing up was in a pick-up game called “World Cup,” which we would play with friends. “World Cup” is a free-for-all, 5-a-side game where players pick a country to represent. From the first day I kicked a ball, my country was Ireland.
Growing up in the mid to late 2000s, Ireland was a decent country to choose. However, it was challenging for me to know that. The United States was a bit of a desert regarding access to “The World’s Game” via television. The first UEFA Champions League final on broadcast television wasn’t until 2010 when FOX showed the match-up between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
In addition, the first EPL match to be shown on live network television was not until a 2012 match-up between Manchester United and Arsenal. Various leagues and competitions were shown before this; however, they stayed on more niche sporting channels not included in network television packages.
How I feel in love with the beautiful game
My love of the game, which I had relatively zero experience with, did not begin until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is a similar story to many of the new football fanatics of my generation. The viewing experience was unlike anything I had ever had before. All while beginning to mature and experience everything that would lead to my development as a young man. The love of the beautiful game was now born. The only thing I still needed was a team/teams to support.
The day after the first World Cup match, I had ever seen on television, I decided I wanted a football kit. My dad took me to our nearby sporting goods store, where we browsed through the limited selection. At the time, young and enamored with the spectacle and flair of the beautiful game, I naturally wanted a bright, vibrant yellow Brazil home kit. My dad appreciated my eye for footballing glory and, instead, politely offered to buy me an alternative. The kit I brought home that day was that of Celtic Football Club.
My dad, the youngest of 7 children from a huge Irish-American Catholic family, is by no means a footy fan. However, he is pretty knowledgeable about Irish culture. So, knowing my Irish ancestral history and having a cool new jersey to wear, I naturally made Celtic my favorite club. I educated myself on Celtic Football club’s history and values as a young adolescent. I knew it was not a football club in Ireland, but instead, it was a football club founded by an Irish Brother named Walfrid for the Irish immigrant population of Glasgow.
The founding story resonated with me, as I come from an Irish Catholic background. While researching, I remembered always choosing Ireland as my “World Cup” team for pick-up games with my friends. Shortly after coming to this realisation, I all but devoted my newfound football fandom to Irish football and anything I felt nearly associated with it. In the early days, I remember watching Roy Keane, Damien Duff, and Robbie Keane highlights on YouTube to no end.
The love for the National Team
Which later led to a near obsession with Robbie Keane, helped by the fact that he had moved to LA Galaxy in 2011. My love for Irish football grew stronger when I bought my first FIFA game, FIFA World Cup 2014. In this game, I spent days trying to get the Irish National Team to Brazil and take home the trophy. Even though my success in the video game didn’t translate to the Irish National team even appearing at that World Cup, my love for my national team never wavered.
On October 8, 2015, my favorite moment supporting The Irish National team up to that moment occurred. While watching on in a dorm lobby at the University of Kentucky alongside a couple of friends supporting Germany, Shane Long got on the end of an Incredible long ball from Darren Randolph and put a shot past Manuel Neuer that would lead to a momentous 1-0 victory for Ireland over Germany. Shortly after we qualified for the 2016 European Championships, I could finally watch my favorite team at a major tournament. To this date, arguably the happiest moment I’ve experienced as a sports fan is Robbie Brady heading in that perfectly lofted ball from Wes Hoolahan’s wand of a left foot in the 84th minute to beat Italy 1-0 inevitably.
The tears of joy running down my face from seeing a sheer moment of magic at a stage I had never experienced before, combined with the shouting of worry from my late mother from the downstairs living room, who thought I would fall through the floor. Neither of which could be replicated again. This was the culmination of a growing love in a relatively newfound interest, followed by a likely confirmation that I will support Irish football for the rest of my life.
Fast forward to today, with the League of Ireland being as popular and mainstream as ever. Having been able to follow the league consistently for the last 4 years has been extremely rewarding. I can now watch the league and my favorite club, Bohemians, from either the comfort of my couch or, rather, the discomfort of my at-home treadmill.
The new LOITV app, alongside unprecedented support from various football vloggers and YouTube channels like Blair McNally and Copa90, among many others, means Irish football now has a domestic league on the global stage. With Irish football on a global stage, things do look promising as of late. Record attendances at League of Ireland matches, players like Nathan Collins, Troy Parrott, and Adam Idah, among many others, are doing well in various leagues in Europe at the moment. I can’t help but be hopeful for the future.
COYBIG
SEE ALSO: How a German guy became obsessed with Irish Football