Playing soccer is fun, but watching it year-round is a whole new experience. The drama of rival fixtures, excitement of title races, and diehard support of your favorite club are all euphoric emotions.
You can try tuning to random soccer stations while wearing a jersey or ranting at online forums. However, becoming a faithful follower of the sport takes time.
There’s a series of seasonal fixtures that you can’t miss for your favorite club. Since you’re just becoming a fan, the action on the continental tournaments like the Champions League is a must-watch.
If you throw local cups and international friendlies into the mix, you’ll have nearly every weekend of your year booked for exciting fixtures.
However, if you don’t have a workable pre-match ritual for setting the mood before every match, it’s easy to lose track of your club’s fixtures.
Since you’re here to figure out how to start watching soccer, the follow highlights from my fandom journey will surely thrust you in the right direction. Also, I’ll share some valuable tips to make your viewing experience more joyful and attractive.
I don’t mean to mock, but I’ll assume you’re an absolute beginner for the sake of information. So, I’ll start with the very basics of starting to watch soccer.
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How to start watching soccer?
If you want to catch every game live at the stadium, you’ll need deep pockets. Besides making the wallet-denting spending on seasonal tickets, there’s traveling and accommodation that you’ll need to look into as well, not forgetting the time commitment.
But if you don’t have the time or money to commit to such a goal, then suit up to join ranks in the streaming community and watch the games on your home screen. This is where soccer gets most of its global fandom from and where you can still be a part of the thrill.
Either way, you’ll need some tips for readying up before every soccer game. How you start watching a soccer match has a lot to say about how much you’ll enjoy it.
Suit up
Suiting up is the first thing you do on a matchday. Whether you’re at the stadium or watching from home, wearing your team’s colors puts you in the game even before the whistle blows.
You feel the connection to the game and notice your excitement build up.
So, grab a jersey of your favorite player on the team and get into it. If you don’t have any of your team’s jerseys, what kind of a fan even are you?
Besides being a top choice for sportswear, soccer jerseys are also suitable for everyday casual wear.
It’s something that lets you become a part of the sea of fans storming the stadium on a matchday. You vibe with other supporters who share the same likeness for the game and even make great friends.
If you’re going to the stadium, you can amp up your props by getting your team’s scarf and tying it around your neck. Who knows, you might even get caught by the fan cam there.
Make company
Everything is better with friends. For a sport like soccer, you enjoy the moments much more when you’re among the people you like.
You’ll only bore yourself out by camping in front of your T.V screen alone on weekends. So, before you start missing matches, start inviting friends over on game nights.
Make your offer more compelling by setting the right mood in your living room. Get the snacks out, dim the lighting, and turn on a big screen. Once your friends see how much they’ll enjoy watching soccer together, they’ll show up every weekend.
Even if you’ll be going to the stadium, you need your group of friends in the stands more than anywhere else.
The chants, slogans, rants, and thrill are much higher when experienced in the stand. However, if you can’t convince any of your friends to accompany you to the stadium, plan to make new ones there.
Follow up on past action
Following up on past action makes a match more exciting before it even happens. Club and seasonal fixtures in soccer go a long way back and has interesting emotions tied to every match.
There are generational rivalries, competitions, title races, and derbies that add a bit of history to every game.
If you’re looking for an exciting way to start watching soccer, this is exactly where it begins. About an hour before you begin watching soccer with your friends, play highlights of previous head-to-head fixtures.
Watch the goals, admire the commentary, and watch out for the competitive spirit. There’s a high chance that the team that lost the last fixture will come in all fiery into this one.
Also, assessing table standings before the game begins is an excellent way to predict the outcome. The team that ranks lower on the league table usually proves a good match for top-table clubs.
If you find out it’s a derby or rivalry match, you’re in for an even bigger treat!
Scout screening venues
Between watching a soccer game live at the stadium and watching it on a TV screen at home, there’s a narrow space of watching it at a public streaming gathering like a bar or pub.
Bars are great venues for starting to watch soccer. The crowd is hyped up, the air is cheerful, and the booze takes over where the match falls short on entertainment.
If you want to watch a game among fans and can’t make it to the stadium, find yourself a bar where supporters of the same team gather. But, before you start watching a soccer game, it’s good to scout places before you take your final seat.
Generally, any bar that streams the match qualifies for the pick. But look out for the one where people following the same team as your gather.
You’ll enjoy watching the game more among fans of the same team. Imagine how awkward it will feel to scream after a goal is scored only to turn around and discover that every other person in the bar supports the opposite team.
It may not be like watching the game from the stands, but watching and celebrating soccer at a bar does come close to the real experience.
Place your bet
So, just watching a soccer match doesn’t excite your tastebuds enough? Raise the stakes then by placing bets.
Betting is closely linked to soccer. Some even argue it’s the reason why it entertains billions of people every week.
You’ll watch every play, freekick, corner kick, lost possession, and missed attempt with more eagerness when you’ve got something on the line for it.
The big betting screens in soccer are attractive spaces for doubling your money, but that’s also where you lose it. Bet with your friends if you want to keep it fun and not let it grow into a destructive habit.
Call up your friends before starting to watch the match and present your predictions. If your peer shares the same passion for excitement, he’ll answer your call to bet.
It can be drinks after the game, a meal, or even coffee before work the following day. But if you start watching a soccer match by placing a bet, you’ll never miss a second of the game.
Join the crowd
The 90 minutes of a soccer match is undoubtedly the highlight of every game night. But the real action begins way before that in crowds marching to the stadium.
Fans of different teams have their rituals before entering the stands. If you can find your way into one of these gatherings, you’ll undoubtedly start watching every soccer game.
A common trend is to show up at a decided bar, gulp a few drinks, and march to the stadium with flags and chanting anthems. It’s one hell of a spectacle!
Following the team’s bus and escorting it to the stadium gates is another crowd mantra seen at many stadiums. You start supporting your team before they even step foot into the arena.
If you can’t find such a crowd to join, you can always start your own by making friends and grouping with them. Either way, it’s a fun way to start watching soccer and also one of my personal favorites.
Hit the drinks stall
A vital part of starting to watch a soccer game is getting tipsy. Most soccer games are on weekend nights and perhaps perfect for getting intoxicated.
We all know the overly drunk participants at the stadiums who sing their own hum. So, be sure not to overdo it and spoil the fun for yourself and others.
But there are only a few ways to get drunk at a stadium. You either get your share from a bar before showing up at the stadium. Or, have to be lucky enough to find your way to the drinks stall’s counter outside during breaks.
However, it’s an entirely different picture when you’re watching at home. All you need is a pack of beers sitting in your fridge.
Watching soccer when tipsy makes many conversations, cheers, and celebrations flow more freely. After all, how else do you think the crowd dances and sings throughout the 90 minutes?
Show up early
Last but not least, show up early to the games. You can’t start watching soccer by showing up late to the games and missing the inaugural fun.
A soccer game is connected from the first kick to the last one. How a team starts and dominates, in the beginning, often dictates how the game will go.
So, if you’re watching at a stadium, reach the gathering point sooner. If you show up late, you’ll have to settle for the stands at the back and won’t get a closer view of the game.
Also, the entrances to a stadium are busy marketplaces right before the match begins. It’s a struggle to make your way out in such an overwhelming crowd.
Similarly, if you’re watching the game from your home, it’s better to set the mood and make the preparations well ahead of time.
That’s how you’ll have all the time to catch up on past action and start a fiery debate with your friend about how the match will turn out.
Conclusion
You need to set a ritual to follow in your schedule for starting to watch soccer. Just like you have preparations for going to work, hitting the gym, or meeting friends, watching soccer requires prep too.
Though all you need to do is switch on a channel that’s streaming your match and sink into the couch for the next 90 minutes, you can make your watching experience more exciting by starting to watch soccer with one of the above suggestions.
Hi there, I’m Jay.
Soccer is everything in my life! My friends and I have created this blog with all our enthusiasm, passion, and understanding after years of playing pro soccer. Hope you will enjoy it!