Far Away Boys: Musings from a Supporter in Exile

It's a problem faced by many fans, regardless of nationality and of a team they choose to support; a move forces you to leave the home of your team and, in some cases, your chosen sport, or you gain interest in a team so far away that is difficult to ever get to see them play live.

It's not a problem faced by every fan or supporter in sport, but it is a particular problem in world football, simply because of the variety of major leagues throughout the world.

The globalization of football throughout the world is what has made following a team from afar possible at all, but it certainly isn't as easy as one might think it could be. Outside of major teams in the world (AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and several others), it can be difficult to find coverage of games in any form at times.

Supporters are often relegated to hoping (praying?) that their team might be found on a television station like Setanta Sports or Fox Soccer Channel this week, searching for illegitimate webcasts (if they're lucky!), a possible radio link from a station local to their team through computer, or "live text" from an international website that can take a massive amount of the excitement away from a game.

It's not an easy life supporting a team from abroad, especially being an American, where very few in the population really follow "soccer." In fact, try explaining to your friends and peers when you tell them that you're going to wake up at 7:30AM to "listen" to this week's game, and watch the shock on their face when they realize that you will actually only be getting to experience your team playing through online radio.

Then, of course, there is the desire of those of us who are so incredibly dedicated to our team to get to see our team play in the flesh when we can. The cost to do so, however, can be massive: $600 in plane tickets, $40 in train and bus tickets, $50 for the ticket to the game, and all of the incidental costs that can come along, including food, lodging, etc.

And this, of course, doesn't even consider the cost of losing time from work or school, which makes seeing your team live a truly expensive proposition. All of this, mind you, for a weekend.

And can you imagine the disappointment when you travel at such great cost, just to see your team on a poor day be demolished by the opposition?

Overall, the question of globalization in football is as poignant as it is in questioning its impact on the global economy or the development of culture; technology seems as if it could easily answer the needs of fans abroad and around the world in allowing us to see all of our clubs matches (for cost, of course) on TV, but instead, fans abroad are limited by the offering.

Is it the popularity of the sport in a country that dictates its availability? Or is this a problem everywhere? Weigh in with your comments on supporting a club from afar, if you take time (and spend the money!) to see them in the flesh, and what should be done to improve the experience for those abroad.