Over the past two weeks, I have been absent from writing as I traveled to various parts of Europe with my family. I thought being so far from home would disconnect me from sports and leave me with little to write about when I got back to the States; however, I couldn’t have been more wrong in my assumption. I experienced firsthand a passion for sports unlike any I’ve ever seen. The love for European football, or as we would call it, ‘soccer,’ is so intense that it almost punches you in the face when you cross the pond. From England to Spain, the most common article of clothing you’ll see people wearing is a soccer jersey. The teams, or as they call them, “football clubs,” are rooted so deeply into the history of European cities and countries that most fanbases seem more like families than strangers. In the U.S., we have professional soccer leagues, but the passion and intensity are nothing compared to the European leagues. I was so impressed and intrigued that I knew it had to be the centerpiece of my next article.

With most European Football leagues starting in mid-August, now is the perfect time to tune in and see what it’s all about and become a new fan. The hardest part can be picking who to root for; luckily for Boston fans, there’s an easy choice. Liverpool football club in England is owned by The Fenway Sports Group, so there is a built-in path for any Red Sox fan interested in learning a little more about European football. Red Sox fans can relate to this team because both Liverpool and the Red Sox have a history of overcoming underdog narratives as well as old rivalries with teams in their divisions. Now, that being said, there is the controversy that many fans feel there is more money going into Liverpool than the Red Sox by ownership, and while I have touched on that subject before, this article is not about that.

Before watching a game or a “match,” it helps to know the basics as it can be confusing at first for American sports fans. First and foremost, each country has its own top league. In England, it is the “Premier League”, Spain has “La Liga”, Italy has “Serie A”, in Germany it’s “Bundesliga”, and in France they have “Ligue 1”. Most matches are on weekends with occasional midweek games. Matches are ninety minutes each, split into two halves with time added at the end for interruptions. There are no time-outs and no commercial interruptions during play (my favorite part), and substitutions are limited, so play management and good coaching are crucial. Each team plays every other team in its division twice, once at home and once away. As far as the championship goes, there isn’t a playoff but rather a points system, like you’d see in old school NASCAR. A win is three points, a tie is 1, and a loss is zero. Besides league play, there are many domestic cup tournaments that are “lose once and you're out”, where small teams can play against giants, which sets up many David vs Goliath stories that fans love. There are also large European competitions, the best and most prestigious being the Champions League, where the best teams from different countries face off for the title of “The Best in Europe”. Think of it like the MLB postseason but with teams from different nations, not just one league, and it happens during the different league’s seasons not after.

Below the top divisions, each country has lower leagues that can move up based on performance. This is because of relegation, which means the worst-performing teams in the top league move down. This pushes teams and ownership to work hard, as being in the top league is obviously more profitable for everyone. In the context of American sports, imagine if the Red Sox were the worst team in the MLB, and because of that, the whole team got moved to the Minor Leagues. It’s a lot of pressure to be great, and many American fans feel it could help U.S. sports and push away lazy ownership as improbable as it would be.

There is no salary cap, and no draft, and unlike the college sports route, you see in the States, kids are put into training academies for these teams as young as six years old, so they grow up and are already in a pipeline to a pro team, and many kids debut for teams in their teens. There are transfer windows where players can be bought and sold by teams and like the MLB richer clubs that can afford the best players typically dominate.

I could fill a book writing about European football (and many have) because I’ve only touched on the basics, but at the end of the day, it’s one of those things you have to experience yourself. This quick crash course is enough to get you started and see if it’s something that interests you. My advice to a new fan would be to start watching the English Premier League as it’s on many streaming platforms, and matches aren’t too hard to watch in the states. Use it to get a feel for the sport, follow the storylines, learn the rules and you might find a new weekend pastime to enjoy.

Christopher Smith is a graduate of Littleton High School and will be attending the University of Missouri in the fall to study journalism.

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