I find it interesting how traveling can really make a difference when it comes to watching sports.

Take baseball for example. I grew up going to Texas Rangers games. You can always get tickets. It’s not a special thing. People don’t stay the entire game and there’s really not a lot of excitement.

Then I spent a weekend in Boston and experienced a Red Sox game at Fenway Park and separately a Cubs playoff game at Wrigley. Um, Rangers who? Everyone was excited to be there – they couldn’t believe they got tickets and knew everything about every player. This was their team, in their stadium and they loved it all. Nobody left before the end of the game. That doesn’t really happen at Rangers games.

I found the same to be true during a recent trip to London. I grew up playing soccer, have seen a few English Premier League games on TV and had an afternoon free. So, a phone call here and an email there and we had a pair of tickets to see Chelsea v. Wigan.

It was amazing and it was NOT the MLS on so many levels. Yes, the skill level was different but let’s not dwell on that. Let’s talk about the fans.

At an MLS game, there’s always just one group out of the entire stadium that tries to act like the game’s cheering squad. If you’ve been, you know who I’m talking about. They make as much noise and make as much of a spectacle of themselves as possible during the entire game. They wear team flags as capes, use blow horns, set off smoke bombs, paint their faces, and, strangely, always speak to each other in the absolute loudest voice possible (I’ve never understood that). They do chant and sing but nobody else in the stadium joins with them. They try to make it a party for themselves as if that’s what cheering for their team is all about. I pity tha fool….

At the Chelsea game, there was none of this. Fans showed up wearing their team’s jersey. That’s it. No face paint, no capes. We sat for most of the game because the stadium not does not allow standing at an excess. There were no noise makers, blow horns or smoke bombs. Nobody yelled at the top of their lungs just to be loud. Instead, you just had an entire stadium of die-hard loyal fans who love their team singing in unison songs they’ve known since they were little. It’s stadium-wide camaraderie. THIS is what a soccer game should be about. Pure love of the game and love of the home team.

It was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to a country that plays soccer.