Origins of Booked for Simulation

Though I have coached (intramural, travel and high school) and/or refereed (intramural and travel) and/or played (old man pickup games) for over 20 years, until recently I was not too involved as a soccer fan.  Aside from the World Cup, I couldn't be described as more than a casual follower.  The introduction of MLS didn't do much since they did not deign to put a franchise in Philadelphia, at least initially.  Even when the Union started in 2010 and we went in on season tickets with others, I still wouldn't have labeled myself a serious fan.

In 2012, three factors combined to turn me into a devoted follower of the English Premier League, or EPL.  First, our cable TV options changed and suddenly we had access to most of the EPL games.  Second, my interest in American football was flagging and I had time to put into another sport.  Third, a few years ago my older son Scott had given me 2010 Football Manager - a computer simulation game that sets you up as the manager of a team - and I was becoming fascinated with the whole structure of English football.  So I dove in.  Newcastle became my team because, at the time, it had the most players from my computer team.

The blog has been a lifelong dream of mine was surprisingly easy to set up came about from a weekly email I was sending to soccer friends in the Philadelphia area, mostly providing comments on the EPL schedule.   I have posted most of those emails for those interested in what has happened to date.  Newcastle will get plenty of attention as will the Union, the USMNT, the USWNT, and Belgium (my favorite national team after the US).  And references to the Chester Blues?  That's my team in the Football Manager computer game.  I'm in my fifth season as manager for Chester, the team randomly assigned to me by the computer when I started playing.  We started in the 5th division but now play in the Championship (or 2nd) Division.

Aston Villa - the team of choice for my younger son Dennis who is co-creator and co-contributor of the blog - will usually be featured as well.  Among the friends of the blog are some Tottenham and Arsenal fans and another has sheepishly admitted favoring Man Utd, so those teams will usually be covered.  There is a Red Bull fan in the readership so they will get coverage during the MLS season.  Many also have Spanish favorites but coverage of La Liga will be limited because I still have a full-time job and would like to keep it plus we don't get many of the games, not being a subscriber to beIN Sports, Fox Soccer Plus and the like.

I don't hold myself out as an authority but hope that I can offer some insights or information not available to US fan, at least not through conventional media.  I do see 4-6 of the 10 EPL matches a week so my observations are usually based on actual viewing.  I also plan to offer brief descriptions of various aspects of the game or the EPL to provide some background that might be of interest to the new or casual fan.  Plus the comments section is open so the blog can serve as a central location for our discussions on the game.

Let's see how this goes.