What it means to be a Premier League fan in America

Arsenal players celebrate after their teammate Leandro Trossard scored their side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in London,, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

April 24, 2024 at 11:48 am PDT

English Premier League viewership has grown tremendously across the U.S. in the past decade, and with it, so have fan clubs who brave pre-dawn treks to the pub to watch their favorite team.

Taylor: Hey everybody, my name is Taylor, I am a Gooner ‘til I die. I am the branch manager of Arsenal Los Angeles.

Benjamin Vishaga: I’m Benjamin Vishaga, I’ve been an Arsenal fan since about 4 or 5 years old. Originally from the Netherlands but moved to London when I was 4.

Taylor: Our group was officially founded in 2018, but the pub we meet at for our games — The Fox and Hounds in Studio City, California — has been an Arsenal pub for many, many years.

Vishaga: When I first moved to the US, it was actually the 2000s, so it was in the prime years of Arsenal. I didn’t know how to watch the matches so I would follow the league in the newspaper. Eventually, I saw it was getting popular on NBC and starting to be able to watch the matches then, and I thought to myself ‘there has to be a place where I can watch,’ so, I found this pub.

Taylor: Yeah, I mean, I think the pub we go to is a particularly special place. It’s an English pub that was originally, to my knowledge, owned by an Arsenal fan. And if you talk to people around the world that have traveled to the United States and have traveled to Los Angeles and they’re Gooners, they’re familiar with The Fox and Hounds.

Vishaga: It’s just like a family and all Gooners, we come here every week to watch the matches. And we’re all texting each other throughout to see if we’re gonna be there or not gonna be there, and if one of us is not gonna be there and something’s happened, we’re always there for each other. This group has become a real family and this place and the people makes it what it is.

Taylor: Coming here, one of the things that’s really special is that you will meet and mingle with Arsenal fans from all walks of life, from different age groups, from different locations. Ben, who’s again to my right, is from North London. We have fans here from Jamaica, we have fans here from other parts of Europe and from all over America.

Vishaga: England… football is all about the banter, especially with the fans, we banter with each other. My initial thought coming here to America was that the Americans didn’t banter like we do. However, the group that we have here at the pub, we banter like we do in England. That’s another reason I love this place is that, everybody, no matter if you’re American, you’re European, you’re British, you’re an Arsenal fan and we’re bantering together. We’re chanting, we’re singing and whether we win, whether we lose, we’re there together supporting our team. When we say Arsenal ‘til we die, I feel like this group is the Arsenal ‘til we die group.

Taylor: Football fandom in the United States and I think particularly the West Coast in a city like LA, it’s very unique. I woke up at 3:30 in the morning today and I was here at 4:45 in the morning today, to hang out with some of my best friends. People that adore and that I see more than I see some of my own family and some of my best friends that I’ve had since I was kids. I see these guys every single week and I love being here with them for the highs and for the lows.

We’re here every single week, no matter what time, big matches…

Vishaga: Rain or shine…

Taylor: Rain or shine. We have like a little catch phrase, but it’s “up with the sun,” and that’s one of the things that’s special about West Coast fixtures, is we are quite literally “up with the sun,” it’s not even out yet.