It?s an incredible time to be an Arsenal fan, isn?t it? In the last 12 months Arsenal has (deep breath in) had a new stadium approved, signed a new shirt sponsor, unveiled a new kit design, presented a new crest and, oh yeah, won the Double! That?s really enough excitement for about three years. This remarkable season also saw the birth of something special for Arsenal fans here in North America. Back in August of 2001 we started Arsenal America, a supporters? club for Gooners in the United States and Canada. The response has been beyond my expectations as people from all over North America (as well as an honorary members from places like Iceland and Australia) joined the club. The passion displayed by these people is truly fantastic, whether they grew up in England and moved to South Dakota or saw Dennis Bergkamp for the first time on television and fell in love with his sublime skills. And let me tell you, being an Arsenal fan here in America isn?t always easy. Ask those loyalists from San Francisco who got up at 5am to watch the FA Cup final.
But things are getting better here all the time. Believe it or not, in the States we were able to see about 30 Arsenal matches on TV and the rest we could catch on Internet radio. But for a truly unique experience, you had to join the diehards at Arsenal?s page on www.bigsoccer.com for those 2:45pm eastern time Champions League matches. Ian Lozada, a true Arsenal America hero from New York, would listen to the match on Internet radio and follow text descriptions of the match, then he would type in a running commentary on the discussion boards. You really have no idea what tension and suspense are until you spend 90 minutes frantically hitting the refresh button on your web browser, praying the opponents haven?t put in the equalizer in the last minute. What?s even better is that everyone else can throw in their editorial comments as well, so it?s like being at the pub with your mates, even though you?ve never met the guy from some other state. We?ve all been brought together by our love of the Arsenal.
It?s going to be hard to top last season. It seemed every game brought a new hero — and a new injury! There were times during last season when you could have made an argument for Henry, Pires, Ljungberg, Bergkamp and Campbell as Player of the Year. Arsenal America?s First Annual Player of the Year Award went to Super Bob comfortably, but just a couple of votes separated second through fourth (Henry, Ljungberg and Bergkamp, respectively). If things were running a bit dry for our superstars, there was always someone there to fill the void. Wiltord, Edu and Lauren all did yeoman?s work and bit players such as Stepanovs, Luzhny and Taylor also came up big. Sylvain?s tireless work, often out of position no less, earned him Arsenal America?s Unsung Hero of the Year Award.
So this new season dawns with great anticipation. Can the Gunners do it again? We won?t know until next May but I look forward to that adventure and say a big thank you to the folks at Arsenal magazine who will let me share with you the experiences of a Gooner in New York. Now if I could just convince Mr. Dein about my idea for an Arsenal summer tour of America?
Rick Liebling is the president of Arsenal America (www.arsenalamerica.com). Send him your comments at rick@arsenalamerica.com
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