For the first of the 'Global Villans' series, I spoke to the Lions Club in Chicago. The Lions Club has followed Aston Villa from the Windy City since 2003. The membership base is a good mix of younger and older people, both male and female, and is made up mainly of Americans, Brits, and Irish people. It's estimated that at least 25% of the Villa's games have Chicago Lions club members in attendance as the club sees its members take the transatlantic trip to watch their team.
The club was started by Scott Barsky, a Chicago local, who was married to a Brummie and fell in love with Villa so started a supporter's club. Maybe it's the fact that Chicago and Birmingham are known as the 'Second City', but Villa has a wonderful presence in the city. On match days, the Chicago Lions can see over 30 fans meeting up. Big matches draw closer to 50 and the playoff final versus Derby County saw the number swell to over 100 Villa fans. Not only do local Villa fans turn up, but people from further afield do too. Members of other Lions clubs from North America are regularly in attendance. Even Ian Taylor has visited the club on two occasions.
The meeting point for the club is The Globe Pub on W Irving Park Road. The bar opens early on matchdays at 6:30am (five hours’ time difference) where beer(!) and food are available. The full English breakfast is highly recommended. Simon Leach, who runs the club, explains what a typical matchday is like, "We have a very close-knit group, so we all congregate together at the rear end of the bar (near the Villa shrine). We share the bar with Arsenal so there are normally a number of their fans scattered among us. We have a generally good relationship with them so there is a lot of banter and singing, and if we win, it has been known for the Malört to flow pretty freely (this is a nasty liquor of Swedish origin but made in Chicago)."
Sharing the bar with Arsenal fans sounds like a difficult experience, but it works. "We get on pretty well with the Arsenal fans, but it can get a little tense when we play each other. There was an incident when we played Fulham in the playoff final that soured our relationship with Liverpool, and of course we all hate Man Utd and Man City. If there was any sign of a Bluenose anywhere in Chicago (which there isn't), we'd probably hate them too", offered Simon.
Like so many Villa fans living so far away from Villa Park, I was interested in how the supporter club's fans had found their love of all things claret and blue. For Simon, it was easy as an expat from Birmingham, but it appears that the ownership period by Randy Lerner drew in US-based fans. Simon pointed out that Brad Guzan was another reason. Interestingly, an aversion to the usual suspects was another reason. Simon stated that "many support Villa because they didn't want to jump on the top four bandwagon."
Simon was quick to recognise the wider North American Lions Clubs and how they interact. With over 40 on the continent, there are plenty of opportunities for travelling Villa fans to connect with the clubs while on their travels. Next year, the North American clubs are getting together for their annual meet-up in Charlotte, North Carolina:
“It is on the weekend of April 4th, and if you have a chance to join us for that, I'd highly recommend it. This one will be held at Middle James Brewery, which is owned and operated by Mike Smoak, who is the Chairman of the North Carolina Lions, so it promises to be epic.”, said Simon.
“Typically, we get close to 200 Villa fans in attendance, and we have some fun activities beyond just watching a Villa game together, including a raffle and auction that helps raise funds for Acorns. We have raised well in excess of $100,000 for the hospice over the years, with the last three years all bringing in well over $20,000 in donations.”
Finally, I wanted to get Simon's thoughts on the season:
"It's a tough one to call, and a lot will depend on how we manage the intensity the Champions League fixtures will bring. We have had a lot of turnover of players, but I think overall we have strengthened and improved our squad depth, but we are always a couple of key injuries away from issues. I have high hopes that we will finish top four again this year, but I won't be disappointed if we finish top six. It will be amazing if we can get out of the first phase of the Champions League, and then who knows? If we could finally break the FA Cup curse, I will be a very happy fan, as it is the only trophy I have never seen us win."
Photo Credits: Simon Leach
Facebook: Official Aston Villa Lions Club, Chicago