Research Summary

I tried to cover a wide range of angels on how to approach research for thesis question. Throughout the process the research seemed to fall into a few different categories starting off with soccer guides that are already available out there:

- https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2018/08/10/new-fans-guide-to-finding-favorite-premier-league-club/

- http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/08/americans-root-premier-league

- http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060719

- http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/89644576/flowchart-who-should-you-root-for-in-the-english-premier-league

- https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/jpz7j7/a-vice-sports-guide-to-how-to-pick-an-english-premier-league-team-guide

- https://thetailgatesociety.com/2016/08/american-guide-to-choosing-a-premier-league-team/

- https://www.barstoolsports.com/chicago/love-soccer-but-need-a-team-no-problem-barstools-guide-to-picking-an-epl-club

Summary: In short there are a number of "guides" to help someone find their perfect Premier League team, but they basically boil down to 2 options. Either the author just offers small tidbits about each club or there's a Buzzfeed style quiz that uses arbitrary questions to pick your team for you.

Another factor of this project is gauging the amount of US interest in Soccer:

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/06/07/feature/soccer-in-the-u-s-doesnt-need-a-team-in-the-world-cup-its-already-here-to-stay/?utm_term=.2be65f9a8a1e

- https://www.forbes.com/sites/filipbondy/2018/01/08/soccer-will-soon-be-americas-third-favorite-spectator-sport/#4c8033093c53

Summary: Based on most Gallup polls and TV ratings soccer has been growing at a slow and steady rate especially amongst younger viewers. In terms of participation soccer is also growing and leads the other major sports in terms of youth participation.

Finally there's the psychology behind our fandom and why we are so passionate about our sports teams in general:

- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/psychology-of-sports-team-loyalty_b_1110797

- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-risky-is-it-really/201110/the-tribal-roots-team-spirit

- https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32678379/The_psychology_of_fandom_Understanding_the_etiology__motives__and_implications_of_fanship.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1540082960&Signature=AI3k170DZk%2BIWHm%2FI%2Bmvhk%2BfoGk%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_psychology_of_fandom_Understanding_t.pdf

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY6GTSDYDRo

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-psychology-of-why-sports-fans-see-their-teams-as-extensions-of-themselves/2015/01/30/521e0464-a816-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html?utm_term=.24cf288327c1

Summary: We as humans are tribal in nature and these instincts have remained with us in our modern lives. The way we identify with a group used to boil down to survival but now we measure how well our group is doing by wins and losses. There's also a sense of community and belonging when you support a team.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/english-premier-league/23/blog/post/3712917/premier-leagues-biggest-rivalries-manchester-unitedliverpool-have-plenty-of-grudge-matches

Quick summaries of Premier League rivalries.