The Pride of London’s 10,000th article: Chelsea fans’ origin stories
We’ve seen the true power of football fans over the course of the last week. While we may not have mega-yachts or own a handful of the world’s most valuable sports franchises, we do have one thing: our game. Football was created by fans, for the fans. Some have tried to take the game away from us and others will undoubtedly try in the future, but any cause that leaves supporters behind will die on the same pathetic, lonely hill The Super League did just a few days ago.
The greatest thing about football is its inclusivity. It’s often dubbed ‘the beautiful game’ because it doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, where you’re from or how much money you have, football is your game. That is what our site is all about.
The Pride of London, a Chelsea site for the FanSided network, published its first article on January 13, 2014. We’ve had Site Experts and Contributors alike from all walks of life during that time. We have tried to embody what it means to not only be a football fan, but also a Chelsea fan. The events of the last week have inspired us to share our origin stories as a part of our larger product, The Pride of London’s 10,000th article.
You’ve read all of our pieces, but this milestone article will serve as an insight into who we are as individuals and what, or who, caused us to fall in love with Chelsea Football Club:
Khaled Abdallah (Founder and former Site Expert)
I launched The Pride of London in 2014 after noticing that FanSided only had sites for the more traditional powers like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. FanSided even had a Spurs site, but no Chelsea site, and that just felt like a gross injustice.
So, I put in the request with management, helped brainstorm the name, approved the logo and PoL was born. I had modest goals at first and even 10,000 views in a month excited me. I must have underestimated the love for Chelsea around the world, as soon we were hitting 3-4-500k views in a month and the site was growing like wildfire. I never imagined that the site with a name I thought was just a clever play on words would become a mainstay in the Chelsea community. It’s gone from a one-man show to a well-oiled machine with Experts and Contributors chipping in from literally around the globe.
Much like Chelsea, this site is driven by and succeeding because of the fans and their endless love for this club, its traditions and everything it stands for. I’m so incredibly proud of what this site has become and I thank each and every one of you who has written or read a single article for letting my baby, The Pride of London, in to your lives.