To Enjoy the Premier League, Americans Must Abandon Dynasty-Style Fandom for a Different Kind of Attachment
Source: Luke Winkie. "The English Premier League is the world's most popular sports league. I found the trick to enjoying it.." August 28, 2026. slate.com
The Gist
The author explains that he could never really get into English Premier League soccer because, unlike American sports, there's no realistic hope that his team could ever win a championship — the rich clubs always dominate and poach the best players from smaller teams. He realized that the trick to enjoying it is to stop expecting a fairy-tale championship run and instead learn to appreciate smaller wins, like avoiding relegation or watching a talented player before he inevitably gets sold, the way his English cousin (a lifelong fan of a struggling club) does.
Conclusion
The only way for an American sports fan to genuinely enjoy the English Premier League is to reject the American expectation of eventual championship glory and instead adopt a different mode of fandom centered on smaller, more realistic pleasures like relegation survival, individual moments of skill, and team identity.
Premises
- The EPL lacks American-style parity mechanisms (drafts, salary caps) that give any team a chance at eventually building a championship dynasty.
- Smaller and mid-table clubs like Crystal Palace routinely lose their best players to wealthier clubs, making sustained competitive success structurally unlikely.
- American sports culture instills a linear narrative of hope—those that a team may eventually stumble into greatness and win it all, as exemplified by Tim Duncan's Spurs dynasty.
- Applying this American dynastic mindset to the EPL's hierarchical, financially stratified structure leads to persistent disappointment.
- The author's English cousin, a lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter, demonstrates a healthier and more resilient fan psychology by focusing on modest goals (avoiding relegation, finishing mid-table) rather than championship dreams.
- Adopting this alternative, lower-stakes framework of fandom is what finally allowed the author, after many failed attempts, to enjoy following an EPL club.
Assumptions
- A fan's enjoyment of a sport is primarily determined by whether their expectations match the sport's realistic outcomes.
- It is possible and desirable to consciously reframe one's emotional relationship to a team rather than simply accepting disappointment.
- The author's cousin's attitude is representative of a broader, culturally ingrained English approach to fandom, not just an individual personality trait.
- Enjoying 'small' achievements (avoiding relegation, watching a talented player before they're sold) can be as fulfilling as championship-oriented fandom, given the right mindset shift.