Earlier this morning, in the build-up to today’s England against United States friendly at Wembley (live on ESPN Classic beginning at 3pm ET), I wrote about why Americans hate English soccer supporters. To be fair, there are a lot reasons why Brits hate U.S. soccer supporters as well, which are revealed below:

  1. Soccer fans in the USA continuously brag how U.S. soccer has improved both on the national and club levels, but when the United States faces tough opposition, the national squad and club teams fail to live up to expectations. Recent examples include the 2006 World Cup, 2007 Copa America and SuperLiga.The last time the U.S. soccer team impressed people and pundits internationally was during the 2002 World Cup when the side beat Portugal and unfairly lost to Germany 1-0 in the quarterfinals. But that was six long years ago!
  2. When U.S. soccer fans call Brits and Anglophiles “Euro Snobs,” those same U.S. soccer fans are in fact being snobbish themselves.
  3. George Gillett and Tom Hicks. Enough said.
  4. Alexi Lalas — because of the stupid things he says.
  5. Americans who insist on getting into preposterous debates about how Major League Soccer teams would rank in England and how some of the teams would do well in the Premier League. It’s preposterous because it’s all guesswork. Judging how a MLS team does in a friendly against English opposition and then equating that to how the American side would compete in England is ridiculous. Wake me up when a game between an American club side and an English side means something, when both teams are playing for a win or a trophy. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.

While this afternoon’s friendly between the United States and England has little meaning on the international level, a lot of pride is at stake. If England loses, their fans will chalk it up to a meaningless friendly. If England wins, their fans will drag the U.S. supporters through the mud and laugh about how they still reign supreme. Most importantly for the U.S. is that they give a good performance at Wembley where they can earn the accolades of the watching press, media and the public at large. It’s more important than ever for the U.S. to put in a performance that’ll make their supporters proud.