Every other club in England had no chance of winning over a particular youth footballer in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, once he started opening wax packs of English football trading cards in the early 1990s.
“Opening the packages, I saw my name on some letters,” said Brent Ford, who was on the sidelines of the Premier League Summer Series games in Philadelphia on Sunday.
“Brentford. I said this is my club and it’s been Go Bees ever since.”
[ WATCH LIVE: Premier League Summer Series on Peacock ]
Ford is one of thousands of fans who packed into Lincoln Financial Field this weekend for three games: Chelsea vs Brighton on Saturdayfollowed by Brentford vs Fulham and Newcastle vs Aston Villa on Sunday.
And while there were of course fans traveling from England to support their hometown clubs and many British exports living in America who can now watch their favorite teams in the States, there were myriad different stories of how fans found their club’s home in the Premier League.
From the military to the Claws
Kevin Johnson was in Philly from Virginia with his two children, Kaitlyn and Aiden. Johnson found his home in the Toon Army while stationed in England with the United States Army.
Johnson was largely drawn to the iconic black-and-white stripe, but admits it was secondary to being able to get under a co-worker’s skin.
“The position I worked in, the guy who sat with me was a Sunderland fan, so I was always trash-talking him,” Kevin Johnson said. “And people said, if you’re going to do this, you’ve got to be a Geordie. I started looking into it and saw how cool the uniforms are, the black and white stripes got me straight away.”
Johnson has seen Newcastle play before, in Orlando, but it’s his sons’ first chance to see the Magpies in person. His feelings about it are an almost universal refrain from fans of the lot: going to England for a game was a long-term goal, and their clubs being closer to home means a lot to them.
Bees support a family affair
Bees supporters at the venue had so many great stories between them, none better or more poignant than the ‘PASSEY 90’ printed on a Brentford flag at the tailgate.
“I was born in Brentford, I moved in 1987,” said Colin Passey, who was attending the game with his daughter but without another beloved family member.
“This is the first time Brentford have gone to a place in the west. That they are coming is incredible. My father died three months before we came back to the Premier League. That’s why we have his name on the flag there to pay him a bit of tribute.”
Fulham’s obsession started ‘as a bit’
This brings us to the Fulham support, and the crew who have arrived from Kalamazoo, Michigan, take us back to the beginning where a strange inspiration leads to a lifelong devotion.
“I knew someone who hated Fulham so I thought it would be fun to be a Fulham fan for a bit. But before I knew it when they lost I’d get really angry. I was like, ‘Oh no. I’m actually a Fulham fan and have been ever since.
Do you see them in person? It’s not a joke.
“It’s incredible. We always thought that one day when we grew up we would go to England to watch a game, but for them to come here is… It’s unreal. We are very excited.”
Fulham supporters tailgate ahead of the Summer Series match against Brentford on July 23, 2023.
