Supporting Albion from across the pond

My interest in international football began in 2006 when I travelled to Argentina for a school trip. This was around the time that Lionel Messi was becoming such a big name and was also the time that the World Cup was on in Germany. From there, I became a big FC Barcelona supporter.

I was most interested in La Liga and tended to ignore the other international leagues, but fast forward 12 years and I am getting my PhD in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. Last summer one of my professors and I were talking about football. He kept telling me that I should give the Premier League a chance. I said I was spending enough time watching La Liga and supporting the Pittsburgh Riverhounds who were a local second division team, and I didn’t need another team to follow.

He then made a bet with me, each of us would pick a Premier League team that had been promoted in the last three years and whichever team finished lower at the end of the season had to take the other person to lunch. I did a lot of research about the teams, what they stood for, their history, and ended up selecting Brighton & Hove Albion.

Being the researcher that I am, I tried to learn as much about the team as I could, so I began listening to the Albion Roar and bought a copy of Nick Szczepanik’s 'Brighton Up' in addition to watching games. This helped me to not only learn about the history of the team, but become much more invested in Albion in the Community and the other aspects of the culture surrounding the club. Needless to say, I lost the bet with my professor after a disappointing second half to last season. We made the same bet this year — I chose Brighton again and he chose Norwich City. I’m confident in our team this year and excited to continue supporting the Albion! 

What is your favourite Albion memory so far? 

Last year’s FA Cup game against Millwall will forever been ingrained in my brain. I remember watching and being so incredibly frustrated with our play. I was very, very close to turning the game off but decided to just keep it on until the end. Then Solly March did what he needed to do by putting the ball into that top corner and forcing the Millwall goalkeeper to make the save — and as we all know, he didn’t make that save! I could not believe it! I was so happy and was jumping and screaming in my living room. My poor dogs were quite frightened, but what a memory! 

Have you been to the Amex? If so, what were your impressions of the ground? 

I haven’t been to the Amex. It is definitely on my list of next trips! My husband and I hope to make a trip in the future where we can come to England and see our teams play! The stadium looks so beautiful and the atmosphere amazing too, so I can’t wait!  

How much support is there for Albion in Pittsburgh and in the States as a whole? 

I’ve found one other Albion supporter in Pittsburgh. There may be more, but we haven’t found each other! It’s difficult because most people who watch the Premier League support the larger clubs. I know some of the larger cities like New York have Albion supporters' groups. That said, there still isn’t a lot of support for the vast majority of the Premier League teams, outside of the big names like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Liverpool.

What are your thoughts on the season so far? 

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the new manager and I was a bit nervous to see the changes in formation and personnel during the pre-season. That said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised overall with the play thus far. A few results have been frustrating, but I think the team is pulling together and progressing well. I’m excited for the rest of the season and can’t wait to see how the remaining games play out! 

What has been the stand-out game of the season to date for you and why? 

For me, I think the 4-0 loss against Manchester City was the stand-out game for me so far. I thought we played incredibly well against a difficult opponent. That’s what I want to see more of! I want to see us going for the goal, playing our game, even when we’re playing against teams who have more resources than we do. As soon as the game ended, I thought that it could be a turning point early on in the season and was one of the clearest signs of how we were moving beyond last season. So, while we did not win, I think it was an excellent showing for the Albion and hope that we can continue to build on that play throughout the rest of the season.  

Your husband supports Tottenham, what are your memories of that match last month? 

As I think we all know, Tottenham has struggled this season. I thought Brighton played incredibly well and was pleased with the result. My clearest memory was giving my husband some space after the final whistle! It was really amazing to see Aaron Connolly score his two goals. The look of pride and excitement on his face was incredible to see! I like seeing younger players getting playing time, especially early in the season. I think it’s critically important to build on the academy and give academy players a clear vision and pathway to the first team. 

How will you be celebrating Thanksgiving? 

Thanksgiving this year looks a bit different for us as we are expecting the arrival of a new Brighton supporter in the coming weeks - my husband will try to persuade them to support Tottenham, but we know the truth about who they'll really follow! We will be taking the day to stay at home and enjoy the peace and quiet before the baby is born. We celebrated a wonderful tradition, “Friendsgiving” with a group of our friends this past weekend and enjoyed all the traditional foods like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie!

What is a realistic target for this season? 

I think we can realistically end the season between 10th and 12th in the league. I want to see us continue to build on the successes that we’ve had so far and learn from our mistakes.  No matter what opponent we’re facing, we need to go and play our own game; not letting the other team dictate the rhythm of the match, we've already clearly seen some really promising signs so far this season!