Some footy nuts not only miss their beloved game off-season but also suffer withdrawals from the emotional attachment which accompanies the commitment to a side.
How about a “best fit” list of teams to follow for various supporters?
- Swans supporters can latch on to the EPL’s Swans – Swansea
- Though far from a replica, Sampdoria’s shirt looks sufficiently like Footscray’s to give Doggies fans a Serie A interest
- Southampton, The Saints, are an obvious EPL choice for St Kilda’s supporters
- The Philadelphia Eagles is an easy for West Coasters
- Likewise the Phoenix Suns in the NBA are an obvious fit for GC’s loyalists
- The Sacramento Kings wear Purple – good enough for Freo
- Hull City, of course, are the Tigers
Get out your duffle coats….there’s plenty of supporting still to do!
Port Powder and Manchester United. Disliked intensely, and a pack of so-and-so’s.
I’ve written about this on the Almanac before (http://www.footyalmanac.com.au/the-great-blue-and-white-north/), but for North it would have to be the Toronto Maple Leafs.
– Same colours
– Consistently competitive without looking like an actual title threat, thanks to a lack of genuine superstars and the sort of draft picks that mid-table finishes get you (though Phil Kessel is emerging as one of the league’s best players)
– their best, most exciting hockey is unsustainable run-and-gun
– suspect defense, for which the fans blame the coach
– a habit of simply not turning up about every fourth game, for which the fans blame the coach
– their young core – Kadri, Gardiner, Reilly, Komarov, and to an extent Kessel and Van Riemsdyk – have been together long enough that “youth” is no longer an excuse and they’re getting to the put-up-or-shut-up phase of their careers.
The Houston Texans a good fit for the Crows
Excellent fodder for the off-season.
Adelaide Crows: I recall that Smallville High were known as the Crows, what better way for Crows fans to while away the long off-season than to buy the complete box-set of Smallville and relive the on again off again drama of a young Clarke Kent and Lana Lang.
Brisbane Lions: The maroon, light blue and gold lion of Aston villa is an excellent fit, Also, hard to go past the Cameroon national soccer team, otherwise known as the indomitable lions.
Carlton: Stacks of soccer teams in England known as the Blues: Birmingham, Everton, and Ipswich being the better known ones. Also, there’s Italy: gli azzurri (or the blues).
Collingwood: A few English soccer teams known as the magpies, namely, Newcastle and Notts county. Also, Juve in the Serie A is a good fit.
Essendon: There’s the Winnipeg blue bombers in the West division of the Canadian Football League. There’s also the MK Dons. Couldn’t think of anyone matching the distinct playing strip, perhaps AC Milan or the rossoneri.
Freo: perhaps Fiorentina of the Serie A.
Geelong: the black cats of Sunderland. As for playing strip, Reading in the Championship and Queens Parks Rangers comes close.
Gold Coast Suns: covered in OP.
Giants: would have to be the New York Giants.
Hawthorn: Monmouth Hawks. Unfortunately, there is no other sports team in the world which remotely resembles Hawthorn’s rather tasteless playing strip.
Melbourne: teams known as the Red Devils abound: Belgium, Man Utd, Kaiserslautern, and Montpelier in French rugby.
North: perhaps Backburn Rovers (bit of a stretch)
Port Power: there’s the Pittsburgh Power and Power FC from Ghana.
Richmond: Hull city.
St Kilda: covered in the OP.
Sydney: covered in the OP.
West Coast: can add Crystal Palace.
Bulldogs: I agree witih the OP that Sampdoria is pretty close with our previous jumper design (with the addition of a black hoop). But I once made a discovery prowling the bargain basement at Filines in Boston almost 20 years ago. I picked up a cute hoodie with a bulldog emblem on it, and later discovered that it belonged to the Georgetown Hoyas, their mascot being Jack the Bulldog.
Barkly St.:
Chelsea are also the Blues, and I seem to remember Sheffie1ld Wednesday in North’s vertical stripes. It’s not so long ago that the Owls were in the Prem, although they have been struggling at Championship and League 1 (2nd and 3rd level) in recent years.
Although coming to Crio’s post belatedly, I would have liked the thread to move beyond playing colours to focus on clubs with a similar culture/history. I’ve a few tentative suggestions. My Carlton Blues, a glorious history in the imagintation of the club and its fans, but recently fallen on hard times so maybe Liverpool or Arsenal. The dominant rich and successful Hawks, shades of Bayern Munich or Mnachester United, maybe Real Madrid. Battling clubs like the Bulldogs maybe West Ham or Villa. The Saints recent near success followed by a rapid descent (this year at least) with their best players picked off by wealthy rivals are Borussia Dortmund. I’m sure that other Almanackers will have ideas in this vein. I don’t know enough about the US sports scene to speculate.