The Pride of London’s 10,000th article: Chelsea fans’ origin stories

Travis Tyler (Site Expert)

I think of how I became a Chelsea fan as a series of micro events shaped around one main event. That main event was the 2006 World Cup. I remember we had gone to Orlando for vacation and I, having already been there before and being a teenager, opted to stay back in the room and watch the United States play Italy. The U.S. crashed out of that tournament but something had clicked. I opted to watch Italy the rest of the time for no other reason than they wore blue. Them winning the whole thing (ironically against Les Bleus) only justified my decision.

Fast forward a few months and I was looking for something to watch on a Saturday morning having outgrown cartoons (mostly) by that point. I found a game on TV being played between one blue team and one red team. I picked the blue team again, this time Chelsea, and it went from there.

That was the big event but micro events solidified the choice. I was a left back and the world’s best left back, Ashley Cole, played for Chelsea. The team was named Chelsea and I’ll admit there were more than a few in my high school that helped justify the decision. I got some version of FIFA, not really knowing anything other than how to make a pro, and the first club that signed my player was Chelsea. And so it went, just a few little things piling on to turn into something that is a major part of my life.

I can remember the days of finding dodgy streams that I was sure were going to kill my computer. I can remember being a freshman and rushing back to my room to watch Fernando Torres score that goal against Barcelona. I can remember being utterly destroyed by Arsenal beating Chelsea 3-0 in 2016, having no idea what was about to come down the line with Antonio Conte’s revolution.

They say football is the most important of the unimportant things and to that I can agree. Football, and specifically Chelsea, has been a touch stone for nearly 15 years now. It has been there for me during some dark times and has been something to share during good times. I can’t properly put into words what the club has meant for me or even how betrayed I felt with the Super League news feeling as though all of that was being taken from me.

The Pride of London has given me a chance to lend my voice to the conversation around this club. It all started with being bored and writing a fanpost about youth involvement across the top clubs. Ajitesh Rasgotra reached out, I joined The Pride of London, and half a decade later, I’m still here trying to ask questions, point out contradictions, and love this club in my own way.

10,000 articles are checked off the list and we appreciate every single person that has ever taken the time to read our thoughts and opinions. Here is to 10k, and here is to the path to 100k.

What is your Chelsea origin story and what does all of this mean to you? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter! If you’d like to be a part of our team and have your voice heard, make sure to check out the link to apply back on the first slide.