So you are a regular ole’ American sports fan.  Your typical year cycles through the NFL, NBA and MLB seasons.  That’s awesome and all, but soccer is coming to the US at a rapid rate, and there is no better time than now to jump on the bandwagon.  Whether it is because you need something to replace the NBA during the lockout, you have been inspired by reading this column each week or you are just interested in getting into the game, now is the perfect time to start watching soccer.

It wasn’t too long ago that I wasn’t a huge soccer fan.  I followed the World Cup every 4 years, but that was about it.  The biggest problem for me was the size of the soccer world.  It is both huge and confusing.  Every country in Europe has its own leagues, cups and schedules.  This guide, combined with reading our weekly PK updates, will help you through all of this chaos.

How it Works

First, let’s talk about the schedule and the way the leagues are set up.  I considered this very intimidating when I first got into the game, as it is really difficult to judge how important different things are when there is so much to follow.

Each league as a top tier, and a whole bunch of leagues underneath (similar to MLB’s minor leagues, but much bigger and usually without affiliation between the teams in different levels).  The main leagues I follow (and therefore will be talked about most in this column) are the Barclays Premier League (England), Serie A (Italy), La Liga (Spain) and the UEFA Champions League (all of Europe, more on this soon).  The 38 match regular seasons go from August till May, with multiple breaks for international competitions.  These leagues contain 20 teams, and each team plays home and away matches against every other team, so there are no crazy schedule disparities in club soccer.

Each country also has a League Cup, which is of almost equal value to that of the league title.  The League Cup is won by the team that wins a single-elimination country-wide tournament, and these matches also take place throughout the season, but are not considered part of the league schedule.  The unique thing about the League Cup is that teams from many levels of pro soccer are eligible to play (the English FA Cup started with 759 teams in 2010!).  The best teams usually enter in the final 50 or so, but it’s as if every semi-pro, Minor League and Major League Baseball team played in the same season long tournament in the US.  There is also  a Super Cup, which is a season opening match between the previous year’s league champion and league cup winner, though it is technically considered a friendly.

The coolest part about European club soccer (In my opinion) is the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League.  At the end of each regular season, the top teams from each league qualify for the next year’s Champions League.  Depending on how the league is rated, a league can have its top 4 teams qualify, or just its winner (for example, in the 2011-12 tournament Spain gets 4 bids, Greece gets 2 and Iceland gets 1).  The winner of the UEFA Champions League is the best team in Europe, and therefore, the world.  The final, which takes place at the end of May, is the most watched yearly sporting event in the world, passing the Super Bowl in 2009 for the first time.

The best comparison I have for club soccer’s schedule in the US is NCAA College Basketball.  Each team has their regular season conference title (soccer: league title), conference tournament (soccer: league cup) and the NCAA Tournament (soccer: UEFA Champions League).  There is even a secondary tournament like the NIT called the UEFA Europa League.

What to Watch

First things first: Don’t try and follow the MLS religiously.  Even though it is improving, the best players will always play in Europe.  If you are going to start watching soccer, start at the highest level.  I do catch the occasional MLS match, but I never plan to watch them.  It’s certainly more accessible in the US, but top European club soccer is more than worth the time difference if you enjoy the game.

Next: Watch a bunch of games.  I do not recommend picking a single team and following them like a longtime diehard fan.  No point in faking an emotional attachment, this isn’t an attractive girl you just met (even if you are equally excited about it).  It takes time to build up a connection with a new sport/team.  Teams play with different styles, and you might like FC Barcelona’s passing/possession style a lot more than a super aggressive/more risky style of German club.  If you like a player that you have heard about you can try and follow his club; I liked Didier Drogba a lot, so I was sure to catch the occasional Chelsea match when I started.  Maybe you like to say the name Chicharito (Manchester United), or you want to watch the two best players in the world, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo (Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively).

Try and watch some of the best teams play, the game is more fun, and you’ll end up liking one or more of them soon.  I personally root for AC Milan (Serie A) as my first team, even went to a game in Italy last May (it was awesome).  I also enjoy watching Barcelona (La Liga) and Manchester United (BPL).  I usually like to watch their main rivals play when I get a chance, just because the soccer is usually just as impressive and fun to watch, namely Inter Milan (Serie A), Real Madrid (La Liga) and Chelsea (BPL).  That’s where I would recommend starting team-wise, though you can look at last year’s standings and pick any decent team to follow.

Once you narrow it down to a team or two (don’t feel obligated to restrict it to this list of course), you can get into a rhythm with the US TV schedules.  Find out what is available on from your TV provider, or try and find one of numerous (albeit sketchy) websites that broadcast games for free.  To help, I will be pointing out the best games to watch on TV throughout the season in each week’s PK.  ESPN is showing many Barclays Premier League matches in the upcoming season, while Fox Soccer is part of most cable packages, and they show the best Barclays Premier League, Serie A and the Champions League matches throughout the year.  Even the YES Network (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) signed a deal to show Arsenal (BPL) matches starting last year.  The German Bundelsiga is also at this top level of leagues, and it usually has higher scoring games with more aggression, though the only place I see German teams on TV is during the Champions League.

Just try and catch some of these teams play.  Your DVR is you best friend if you have one, it takes a little while to get used to the time difference as most American sports are scheduled for prime time, so recording games in advance is really helpful.  Normally, I don’t like recording sporting events, but soccer isn’t mainstream enough yet for the scores to be ruined all of the time.

Keeping Track

The standings are known as the league table, and they work a little differently than most American sports, as it’s most similar to the NHL’s point system.  No keeping track of how many games back your team is, just 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.  The only “playoffs” are the next year’s Champions League, so the points leader at the end of the year wins the league, and any tiebreakers are based on goal differential.

One of the major differences between and US sports and European club soccer is the promotion and relegation system.  If a team places in the bottom three in the league table, they get relegated to the league below, and the top three teams from the league below get promoted to the league above (this system varies slightly by league, often involving playoffs to earn a promotion spot).  It is an exciting system that gives fans serious reason to follow their team for the whole season.  To compare, if the Royals, Astros and Orioles finish in the bottom three of MLB, they would be sent to Triple-A, and the top three Triple-A teams would make it to the majors.

All good things must come to an end

Finally, find someone to talk to or something to read.  One of the best things about sports is sharing your opinions and hearing those of others.  That quiet foreign guy at your job that you have nothing in common with? He is a huge soccer fan!  Those hot European tourists taking pictures of your city? Soccer fans!!  Twitter is also an awesome way to keep up with news.  My advice is to try to ask questions in a controlled setting (like the comments section of this column), rather than a random message board or Youtube video.

Soccer is clearly growing in the US.  I believe it will one day be relatively mainstream, and I don’t think that day is as far away as you might think.  With the start of the season just days away, there is no better time to get into soccer than right now.