English Premier League: Help an Ignorant American Pick a Team

I'm putting myself out there!

I really want to get into the English Premier League this season. I'm going to need something to fill the void of the NBA, which may never play again.

But as with most sports I am unable to get into it unless I have a team to follow. This has the biggest drawback for me regarding the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer.

So I'm soliciting help to decide who my team should be.

I've narrowed it down to a couple choices.

Everton

One way that I could go with this decision is simply to pick one of my favorite soccer, er, football players and just go with his team.

I'm probably going to get reamed for this, but my two favorite players are Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo who both, unfortunately, play in Spain.

So instead of them, I look to my fellow Americans.

Tim Howard, who was the hero for the United States during the last World Cup, plays keeper for Everton.

They wouldn't be my first choice, as I know next to nothing else about the team.

Fulham

Really the only other American player of note playing in the EPL is Clint Dempsey with Fulham.

But from the look of things. that team is pretty terrible.

So now on to some more irrational ways of picking a squad.

Manchester United

I could just go total front-runner and take the easy choice in Manchester United. Just sell my soul and get on with it.

I don't know if I could handle doing this, though. That would almost be like rooting for the New York Yankees in baseball.

And I sort of, kind of, maybe a little bit hate Wayne Rooney. I think he's a punk. Not sure if I could handle rooting for him.

But they are a great team and it would be easy to follow them and stay excited.

So we'll keep them in the running.

Manchester City

This might seem like another obvious front-runner pick considering that Manchester City is currently sitting tied with Man-U for the most points in the EPL.

But here's my crazy way of coming at this:

Back when they were still together, I was a big Oasis fan. And it's fairly common knowledge that Liam Gallagher is an avid supporter of The Blues. (Like how I just busted out a nickname? Thank you, Wikipedia!)

Manchester City would be fun to root for because I've been told that the Manchester rivalry is as big if not bigger than that of the Red Sox and Yankees in Major League Baseball.

So that would be a lot of fun. Plus, it would give me even more of a reason to hate Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool

I was born in Connecticut and have been a Boston Red Sox fan basically since birth.

So rooting for Liverpool would almost be an extension of rooting for the Red Sox, right?

The team was purchased recently by the Fenway Sports Group, headed by John Henry, which also owns the Sox. The downside here is that LeBron James is also a partner with the group, and as a Clevelander I don't know how I feel about that.

I also really like their kits which is always a plus. It's never a bad thing to be easy on the eyes when you're watching your favorite team.

Aston Villa

This goes right along with my Liverpool reasoning.

Aston Villa is owned by Randy Lerner who also owns my beloved Cleveland Browns.

I tried getting really excited about the Lions last year but my interest faded pretty fast.

I'm working harder on it now though. I've been listening to EPL podcasts and such, getting myself acclimated with the goings-on.

I feel like Villa is in the lead for my allegiances right now.

Help Me Out

Now it's your turn to chime in and help me decide who I should follow and why.

I'm pretty pumped about this and really want to get into it. I just need your help.

Lend a brother a hand!

You can follow me on Twitter @ClevelandFlack