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| Explaining the Leicester City story to Americans | Explaining the Leicester City story to Americans |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| If Leicester City win the Premier League, it will be one of the most captivating British sport stories in years. But how does a football-mad Englishman living in the US explain its importance to Americans? | If Leicester City win the Premier League, it will be one of the most captivating British sport stories in years. But how does a football-mad Englishman living in the US explain its importance to Americans? |
| "Lie-kester." | "Lie-kester." |
| "No, Leicester." | "No, Leicester." |
| "Less-ester?" | "Less-ester?" |
| "No, Leicester. As in Lester." | "No, Leicester. As in Lester." |
| "Oh. Why is it pronounced like that?" | "Oh. Why is it pronounced like that?" |
| Trying, and failing, to explain the mystery of English phonetics can be a daily task for Brits living in the US. | Trying, and failing, to explain the mystery of English phonetics can be a daily task for Brits living in the US. |
| But when it comes to the Leicester City story, the how-to-say is not the only part that's lost in translation. | But when it comes to the Leicester City story, the how-to-say is not the only part that's lost in translation. |
| For those not yet aware, a small, unfashionable team based in England's East Midlands has somehow stormed the Premier League. | For those not yet aware, a small, unfashionable team based in England's East Midlands has somehow stormed the Premier League. |
| With four games left, Leicester City are five points ahead of anyone and barring a collapse, on course for their first top-flight league title in their 132-year history. | With four games left, Leicester City are five points ahead of anyone and barring a collapse, on course for their first top-flight league title in their 132-year history. |
| This team was in the third tier of English football in 2009, and after climbing to the top division, they spent months last season in bottom place. | This team was in the third tier of English football in 2009, and after climbing to the top division, they spent months last season in bottom place. |
| They weren't just out of fashion, they were a byword for failure. | They weren't just out of fashion, they were a byword for failure. |
| In 2008, when they were relegated to the equivalent of the third division, the Guardian newspaper wrote: | |
| The crowds still filed in, greeting each new season with optimism, but all too soon the realisation dawned that the cheers from the stands were for nothing - everything the club once embodied had been hollowed out from the inside, leaving only a desiccated blue and white husk. | The crowds still filed in, greeting each new season with optimism, but all too soon the realisation dawned that the cheers from the stands were for nothing - everything the club once embodied had been hollowed out from the inside, leaving only a desiccated blue and white husk. |
| As recently as 18 months ago, the chairman of Marseilles said he would be a "sucker" to take an interest in signing any Leicester City player. | |
| And their Algerian star player Riyad Mahrez says he thought they were a rugby club when they first expressed an interest in him. | |
| Should they win English football's most prestigious prize, some say the feat would be the most unlikely event in the history of team sports. Globally. | Should they win English football's most prestigious prize, some say the feat would be the most unlikely event in the history of team sports. Globally. |
| Bookmakers' odds on them winning the Premier League were 5,000 to one last summer. So it was five times more likely that Hugh Hefner would declare himself a virgin. | Bookmakers' odds on them winning the Premier League were 5,000 to one last summer. So it was five times more likely that Hugh Hefner would declare himself a virgin. |
| For a British sports fan living in the US, there's a natural inclination to share this footballing fairytale with friends. This, after all, is a story as much about the human spirit as it is about scoring goals. | For a British sports fan living in the US, there's a natural inclination to share this footballing fairytale with friends. This, after all, is a story as much about the human spirit as it is about scoring goals. |
| Writing in The Players' Tribune, their manager Claudio Ranieri said: "This is a small club that is showing the world what can be achieved through spirit and determination. Twenty-six players. Twenty-six different brains. But one heart." | Writing in The Players' Tribune, their manager Claudio Ranieri said: "This is a small club that is showing the world what can be achieved through spirit and determination. Twenty-six players. Twenty-six different brains. But one heart." |
| But mention Leicester City to American friends who don't closely follow English football and a blank look is the stock response. Or worse, a nod and a smile. Even from sports fans. | But mention Leicester City to American friends who don't closely follow English football and a blank look is the stock response. Or worse, a nod and a smile. Even from sports fans. |
| It's understandable. I'd have the same reaction if someone tried to enthuse me about, say, the San Diego Padres being on a winning streak. | It's understandable. I'd have the same reaction if someone tried to enthuse me about, say, the San Diego Padres being on a winning streak. |
| So how to put it in terms that my American friends would understand? Has there ever been an American Leicester? | So how to put it in terms that my American friends would understand? Has there ever been an American Leicester? |
| For help, I turned to team mates of mine on the football pitches of Shaw, a neighbourhood of Washington where every Friday night, the replica shirts of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal worn by locals give the scene a semi-English flavour. | For help, I turned to team mates of mine on the football pitches of Shaw, a neighbourhood of Washington where every Friday night, the replica shirts of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal worn by locals give the scene a semi-English flavour. |
| "Oakland As in baseball?" suggests Drew, a tough-tackling Wisconsinite, referring to the famous Oakland Athletics team under Billy Beane who used analytics to overcome more glamorous opponents, winning 20 games in a row in 2002. | |
| Nice story but they never won the World Series, which is the equivalent of what Leicester could achieve in the weeks ahead. | Nice story but they never won the World Series, which is the equivalent of what Leicester could achieve in the weeks ahead. |
| Next? | Next? |
| "OK, how about Minnesota Twins?" says Joe, who supports West Ham. | "OK, how about Minnesota Twins?" says Joe, who supports West Ham. |
| "In 1991, they went from bottom of the American League West to winning 95 games on their way to a World Series title. | "In 1991, they went from bottom of the American League West to winning 95 games on their way to a World Series title. |
| "And in gridiron in 1999, the St Louis Rams accomplished a similar feat, following a last-place finish in '98 with a championship of their own the very next year. " | |
| Both good examples of an amazing one-season turnaround, but for teams with pedigree that's admirable, not historic. | Both good examples of an amazing one-season turnaround, but for teams with pedigree that's admirable, not historic. |
| There are structural reasons why the Premier League / US sport comparisons are imperfect. | There are structural reasons why the Premier League / US sport comparisons are imperfect. |
| There is no promotion or relegation in NFL or baseball, so a smaller team can't rise up through the ranks like Leicester has, in a way that pitches David against Goliath. | There is no promotion or relegation in NFL or baseball, so a smaller team can't rise up through the ranks like Leicester has, in a way that pitches David against Goliath. |
| And the NFL operates a more level playing field than the Premier League, through a salary cap and by giving the weaker teams first pick of the best college players. | And the NFL operates a more level playing field than the Premier League, through a salary cap and by giving the weaker teams first pick of the best college players. |
| In English football, the reverse happens - the rich clubs tighten their grip on success because a higher placed finish gets a bigger cash reward and therefore they buy the better players. It's a virtuous circle of success feeding money feeding success. | In English football, the reverse happens - the rich clubs tighten their grip on success because a higher placed finish gets a bigger cash reward and therefore they buy the better players. It's a virtuous circle of success feeding money feeding success. |
| As a consequence, only five teams have won the Premier League since it was set up in 1992. In that period, 14 teams have won the Superbowl. | As a consequence, only five teams have won the Premier League since it was set up in 1992. In that period, 14 teams have won the Superbowl. |
| That's what makes Leicester's potential feat on a comparative shoestring so remarkable, breaking into a rich elite. When they beat Manchester City recently, they overcame a squad that cost 15 times their own. | That's what makes Leicester's potential feat on a comparative shoestring so remarkable, breaking into a rich elite. When they beat Manchester City recently, they overcame a squad that cost 15 times their own. |
| If Leicester was in the US, it might be... | If Leicester was in the US, it might be... |
| So if it hasn't happened in the US, what WOULD be the nearest thing to a Leicester triumph? | So if it hasn't happened in the US, what WOULD be the nearest thing to a Leicester triumph? |
| "The idea of Leicester winning the Premiership would be like the Cleveland Browns winning the Superbowl - unthinkable, and seemingly impossible," says Jeff Maysh, a British writer and football fan who is based in Los Angeles. | |
| "In history there have been a couple of comparable performances in college basketball, which is more akin to a team winning the FA Cup on a lucky run, rather than Leicester's dominance in the league." | "In history there have been a couple of comparable performances in college basketball, which is more akin to a team winning the FA Cup on a lucky run, rather than Leicester's dominance in the league." |
| Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated thinks there's no direct comparison but the nearest would be if a double AA (third division) baseball team managed to find its way - magically - to the major leagues and then won the World Series. | Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated thinks there's no direct comparison but the nearest would be if a double AA (third division) baseball team managed to find its way - magically - to the major leagues and then won the World Series. |
| He puts Leicester's success down to the implosion of several of the big English clubs like Chelsea, some astute Leicester signings and new manager Ranieri. | He puts Leicester's success down to the implosion of several of the big English clubs like Chelsea, some astute Leicester signings and new manager Ranieri. |
| After a troubled summer when the last manager resigned after a Thai brothel scandal involving his son, the club turned to a man whose Greece side had just lost to the Faroe Islands. Suffice to say, hopes were not high. | After a troubled summer when the last manager resigned after a Thai brothel scandal involving his son, the club turned to a man whose Greece side had just lost to the Faroe Islands. Suffice to say, hopes were not high. |
| Now Ranieri is a folk hero in the East Midlands and there's even talk of a knighthood from the Queen. | Now Ranieri is a folk hero in the East Midlands and there's even talk of a knighthood from the Queen. |
| There is also an English king's hand in their success, if you believe in superstition. Ever since Richard III's body was dug up from a car park in Leicester and restored to the city's cathedral a year ago, their fortunes have turned around. | There is also an English king's hand in their success, if you believe in superstition. Ever since Richard III's body was dug up from a car park in Leicester and restored to the city's cathedral a year ago, their fortunes have turned around. |
| The Very Reverend David Monteith of Leicester Cathedral has said that the re-interment added to the sense of civic pride. | The Very Reverend David Monteith of Leicester Cathedral has said that the re-interment added to the sense of civic pride. |
| "History has been buried and now it's revealed in all kinds of different ways, not least in the [football] match." | "History has been buried and now it's revealed in all kinds of different ways, not least in the [football] match." |
| The Leicester story is so rich that sex scandals in the Far East and royal influence from beyond the grave are mere footnotes. | The Leicester story is so rich that sex scandals in the Far East and royal influence from beyond the grave are mere footnotes. |
| But back in Shaw, my footballing team mates have drawn a blank in trying to give it a US context. | But back in Shaw, my footballing team mates have drawn a blank in trying to give it a US context. |
| "There really isn't an American sports analogy to Leicester," says Andrew, a Liverpool fan from Baltimore. "It has to be the most stunning underdog story in sports history." | "There really isn't an American sports analogy to Leicester," says Andrew, a Liverpool fan from Baltimore. "It has to be the most stunning underdog story in sports history." |
| Perhaps the best comparison lies not in sport but in politics, he says. | Perhaps the best comparison lies not in sport but in politics, he says. |
| "Everyone said Donald Trump would falter in December but here we are in April wondering how he's defied the odds." | "Everyone said Donald Trump would falter in December but here we are in April wondering how he's defied the odds." |
| If England and America truly are two nations divided by a common language then sporting talk is where the chasm is at its widest. The different vocabulary used by fans in the US and UK - not just England - when discussing the same sports seems as entrenched as ever. | If England and America truly are two nations divided by a common language then sporting talk is where the chasm is at its widest. The different vocabulary used by fans in the US and UK - not just England - when discussing the same sports seems as entrenched as ever. |
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