Local doesn’t mean much any more. It used to. It used to be everything. Your local newspaper was an integral part of your day. The conversations with your friends, neighbors or family members about local events and local happenings were important. The local nightly news was something you and your parents used to tune in. But not anymore. Local, except for rare occurrences is dead.

Local has been killed by the Internet, globalization and hundreds of TV channels. Among the people living in your town or city, our interests are more varied. We’re no longer all watching the same ball game. We have less in common now more than ever.

Niche sites like this one pull together people with common interests; not across our local area, but around the world instead. The Premier League we follow is physically thousands of miles away from us, but in reality it’s only a click or a push of a button away. When I’m driving down the road in my car, listening to talkSport or BBC Five Live on my iPhone, I’m in my element. I have little or no patience for listening to local radio, even local sports radio, because the vast majority of topics covered are ones I don’t care to listen to.

This week, everything changes. The Premier League becomes local for many of us living in the States, when Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Stoke, Aston Villa and even Swansea come to our doorsteps for their North American tours. It’s an opportunity to see many of the stars up close; the same footballers we’ll be watching week-in week-out from August through May. If any Premier League clubs are coming close to your city, definitely go ahead and see them play. Unless you live in Seattle, it could be years before they come again.

If you’re planning on seeing a friendly this summer involving a Premier League club, let us know in the comments section below. Which game(s) are you going to? Where are your seats? And if you’re interested in meeting up with fellow EPL Talk readers for a beer before, during or after the game, let everyone know in the comments section below.

I was originally planning on following Swansea play their three friendlies in the US this summer, but I’ve decided to go see them play in Wales this Autumn instead. Instead, I’ll be going to the Chelsea-AC Milan match on Saturday, July 28. And I’m trying to sandwich another game in depending on my travel plans this summer.

Are you excited about seeing a Premier League play this summer? Also, if you’re interested in taking photos at the game and sending them in to EPL Talk to be published, or to write a first-person account of your experience at a match this summer, let me know in the comments section below.

It’s going to be a fabulous summer of Premier League soccer. I can’t wait!