By: Tyler Garling
Sergio Aguero dashes to receive the pass played to him by teammate Mario Balotelli. Aguero takes a shot with his powerful right foot. The ball flies into the back of the net. Manchester City fans fill the stadium with a cheer.
Commentator Martin Tyler shared his astonishment with the world with a simple yell of “AGUEROOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
May 13th, 2012, was the day Manchester City beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 and won the title, the day they snatched it away from their rivals Manchester United, and a day that truly shows why the Barclays Premier League is, not only the greatest soccer league in the world, but also the greatest sporting league in the world.
The Barclays Premier League was founded in 1992 as the English Premier League. The EPL was created after the teams that were part of the Football League First Division resigned from the league. The English FA decided that the Premier League would be the top division and the Football League would be composed of three separate divisions. The 1992-1993 season was the first season of the Premier League and it wouldn’t be the last. It is now known as the Barclays Premier League because British bank Barclays is the main sponsor.
There are 20 teams in the league. Depending on their results after a game, a team receives points. A win is three points, a tie rewards both teams with a point, and if a team loses they receive zero points. The team that has the most points becomes champions. They also decide who will be relegated, which happens to the bottom three teams in the table.
The Barclays Premier League attracts audiences from all over the world. A few students from Tuscarora are avid watchers of the league and all of them prefer it over the NFL. Thomas Feuerbach, a sophomore, is a supporter of current title holders Manchester City. Feuerbach has been a supporter of the team since he was in the 7th grade. City was the first team Feuerbach ever watched and it was love at first sight.
“I played soccer, so I decided it would be fun to try and watch,” said Feuerbach on why he decided to watch the league.
Senior Adam Kight got interested in the league just because of the way a player’s name was pronounced.
“When I was young, probably seven or eight years old, I was watching an Arsenal game against Bolton and I liked the fact that Thierry Henry [‘s name] was spelled ‘Henry’ but was pronounced ‘Ahn-ree’,” Kight explained.
One of the best parts of the Premier League is the intensity of it. In England, the defenders tackle harder, the game is higher paced, and you never know for sure what will happen.“I think, unlike the Spanish League, where you have two teams competing for it all the time, every week every team can beat any other team,” said Kight.
In the past, the Premier League has been dominated by the “Big Four” – Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United –, but many other teams have emerged as formidable opponents, like Tottenham, Newcastle United, and Manchester City. Week after week, the smaller teams still pull off surprising comebacks and jaw dropping performances against their bigger opponents.
Junior Akshaay Arora, an Arsenal supporter, loves how there are players from different countries that all play in the Premier League. You could find roughly six different nationalities on a Premier League team and each of them brings something special to the table. Another junior, Harrison Wray, is a Manchester United supporter, whom he started supporting back in 2000. Wray agrees with Kight on how there’s more teams that can win games.
“In all the other leagues, there are only one or two good teams and, in the Premier League, there’s four to five,” said Wray.
Sophomore Justin Carey loves the speed of the English game and the quality of the players that are in the league, something his favorite team Chelsea have plenty of.
The Premier League is filled with world class players that define what the sport and the league means. From striker Wayne Rooney to midfielder Steven Gerrard, the league only takes the best.
Emmanuel Okeke, a senior, is also a Chelsea fan. In 2004, Okeke was captivated by the way Chelsea played, though former Chelsea player Didier Drogba sealed the deal for him. Though Drogba was the main reason Okeke started watching the league, he had other reasons.
“The style of play and pace of the game is incredible. The league also has some of the best teams in the world too,” said Okeke.
The teams in the Premier League are some of the most well known in the world. If you ever find yourself in a foreign country, all you would have to do is mention a big name from the Premier League and they would know what you’re talking about.
The Barclays Premier League is simply one of the best leagues in the world; no other league has the style, pace, and tempo. The Premier League gives me a reason to get up on the weekends and I find nothing more enjoyable than watching my team win, a feeling any supporter of any club shares. The Premier League is something special and will no doubt provide more exciting moments just like the one it provided on May 13th, 2012.
