Name:
Brian Davies
Match visiting:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace – 14 September 2019
Year of Birth:
1985
Where are you from?
Colusa, California
Where do you live now?
San Mateo, California (near San Francisco)
How long have you been a Tottenham Hotspur supporter?
About six or seven years now.
Why did you start supporting Tottenham Hotspur?
In about 2013, NBC, which is an American TV station, started airing all English Premier League games. For free… all of them! So I started watching and I was single back in the day, just living on my couch and I would fall asleep on Friday night, wake up on Saturday morning and all the Premier League games would be on. So I started watching, decided to start following a team and the team I eventually chose was Tottenham.
As an American fan, I didn’t want to pick a front-runner—you know, some team who was always going to be top of the league and winning everything, because that felt kind of hollow. I wanted a team that had history, a team that meant something to people and to an area. Not just an upstart, recently promoted team or something like that.
It wasn’t just something I decided upon instantly. I was looking for a team who didn’t just have history, but also had success. So reading about Tottenham winning the double in ’60/61 and their FA cup history wasn’t recent enough that it meant people followed them just because of that success. Tottenham have always been up there but they’re not really flashy or anything.
What was the first game you went to?
You know, I’m really disappointed because I’ve actually never been to the traditional White Hart Lane. I know that Tottenham have been out to California, but they’ve only ever been to Los Angeles, which is 10 hours away! It’s my dream to go to a live game.
But I’m part of San Francisco Spurs and I remember the first game I went to watch with SF Spurs. It was actually against QPR. It was in 2014, an away game and we won… and I remember that game well because I made friends with an Irishman who was working behind the bar and is still a great friend of mine! I think we won 2-0 (actual score 2-1).
Who is your all-time favourite player?
I want to Harry Kane but that’s too recent, so I think if I’m going to pick all time, it’s going to be Teddy Sheringham. I’ve watched old games and old highlights and Sheringham is the embodiment of that Tottenham style—the free-flowing, fast-paced goals, the idea of rather winning 5-4 then 1-0. That was Sheringham for me.
Who is your favourite player currently?
I want to say Kane because of what he means to the game… but I love Lamela. I love him for the ‘underdog-ness’—that he was bought to be Gareth Bale’s replacement and he was never going to be that. But he never flinched and I love that about him.
What was the best (live) game you went to?
It was the NLD at White Hart Lane when Kane scored that curler from the left-hand side of the box. The bar where I was watching it just immediately lost its mind! And it was the most passionate sports moment that I can ever remember.
What was the best goal you’ve ever seen?
It was Victor Wanyama’s thunder-buster from about 45 yards out against Liverpool. That goal was just an incredible thing and I can’t believe it doesn’t get played over and over again.
Tags: Club history, fan file, visiting spurs fan
