What I would have said - my son is visiting, and I don't get to see him often - has largely been covered here. I'm a longtime fan of Ipswich Town, who have ascended (again!) into the Premier League, and I had the fortune to live IN IPSWICH in 1978, when they won the FA Cup, a glamour competition that has since lowered in prestige but back then was like winning the Daytona 500 in NASCAR used to be - a dark horse team could take it, it was sort of the Super Bowl at the time. The change to the PL in 1992 has lowered the value of it.
I began re-watching football (it will always be football to me - I was introduced to it before I learned of that American game based on rugby) in the fall of 2022, when it was part of my Peacock plan and Saturday mornings became fun times to watch several contests. I also agree with the "pick a team to follow" strategy, although in my case it's a "second team to follow". For those who are thinking, "Hey, I may watch this starting next month," here's a basic team guide to PL teams using college football teams as the parallel:
THE BLUE BLOODS
Liverpool - Alabama - the most honors of any team, has never been relegated from the PL, 8 FA Cups and 47 major trophies. Much of Liverpool's trophy case has come from being not just the best team in England, but the BEST TEAM IN ALL OF EUROPE. Six times they've been the best team in Europe, right there Bayern Munich and Barcelona, legendary teams. Liverpool has won the most trophies and the sum total most of the most prestigious ones as well.
Manchester United - Notre Dame - A rich and storied history with 13 FA Cups and 44 major trophies but hasn't finished in first place since 2013. A lot of their glory is long ago, the most notable being when they lost the 1957 FA Cup and half the team was killed in a plane crash in Munich the following February - and they made the 1958 FA Cup final only to lose again with half a team of backups.
One could argue these two placements, but Liverpool has had more recent success than Man United has.
Arsenal - Ohio State - a team with a long history of consistency even when they aren't winning titles. They've won the most FA Cups (14), but they've won a bunch of them in more recent years when it has lost the prestige, sorta like the Buckeyes winning so many titles under Woody Hayes and comparatively fewer later.
THE NEAR ELITE
Manchester City - Oregon - their history is phenomenal, but they're unfortunately in the same area with Notre Dame. Btw, the winningest team in English football history is Manchester United (City is 5th), and City is also 5th in win pct. Recent success.
Chelsea - Oklahoma - they have a lot of success, but it doesn't seem to register near so much as the teams listed above. They have spurts of success here and there, but rarely a powerhouse dominant team that takes a bunch in one season.
STEADY TEAMS WITH SOME HISTORICAL HIGHS
Tottenham Hotspur - Penn State - a steady team that has had some clusters of great accomplishment mixed with, "well, they're just there." And their arch rival is Arsenal, but Arsenal's arch rival is probably not Tottenham, too.
Aston Villa - Nebraska - a team that has a lot of hardware...because they won so much of it long ago. They have seven FA Cups but none since 1957 (they beat Man United, and their goalscorer, Peter McParland, always blamed himself for the Munich air crash that destroyed United the next year). They won the League Cup five times but none since 1996. And they won one European Cup - in 1982. The difference is, they haven't sunk to oblivion like Nebraska, but their big wins were decades ago, too.
Everton - Tennessee - a team that has a lot of hardware...again, because they won so much of it long ago. Five FA Cups (when it meant something) but none since 1995. Nine first place titles but none since 1987. And their stadium until recently could be seen from Liverpool's as they were only 1.4 miles away. They escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth just three years ago, scoring in the waning moments to survive. And their archrivals? Liverpool/Alabama. The one thing Everton has going for them: they have spent more years in the top flight than any other team, including 72 consecutive now, second only to Arsenal.
THE SPOILERS
Newcastle United - Auburn - their success has been in their consistency. Just as Auburn historically goes 8-4 on average every year, Newcastle doesn't do much but they do enough that you know who they are. (They were relegated the year I left England in 1978). They've won six FA Cups but none since 1955. They did win the League Cup in 2025. Basically, they're there and can pull off the shocker, but nboody will confuse them with the top teams.
Nottingham Forest - Ole Miss - for one dazzling shining moment in the late 1970s under one coach (Brian Clough), Forest were among the elite. The rest of their entire existence has been "remember how great we were in the 70s?" They've been relegated a few times before and since, rising back up in 2022. But for fans of a certain age they still have a cache about them. Plus, their name is kinda famous.
