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Wacky World: Obama Gets Hammered!
Wednesday 30 Jan 2008
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OBAMA THE HAMMER
FROM UPTON PARK TO THE WHITE HOUSE?
Flipping Americans, eh? They come over here, steal our sport, support our teams and try to sack our managers. Basically, they aren't to be trusted when it comes to football, that's what we're saying. So, there's bad news for West Ham fans this week, as US Presidential candidate Barack Obama has been outed as a Hammers supporter, joining Elijah Wood in the ever-expanding ranks of Americans who call Upton Park their spiritual soccer home.
Dave Grohl, David Guest, Nicolas Cage, Macauley Culkin and Kyle McLachlan have all also pledged their allegiance to the Hammers in the past, no doubt drawn to the club by the famous faces who have worn the claret and blue in recent times, like Julian Dicks, Ian Bishop and John Moncur. But, with greatest respect to Frodo Baggins and the kid from Home Alone, none of them have quite matched up to the man who could be the leader of the Free World from next January.
Obama's half sister Auma lives in England, and it is through these ties to our land that he discovered the wonders of West Ham. A source from his presidential campaign said: "Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer. He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives. He's always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on."
West Ham's sponsors XL.com have already spotted their chance to cash in and have offered Obama the chance to visit Upton Park: "We send thousands of West Ham fans to Florida every summer so we'd be delighted to bring the Senator over to the UK," XL.com managing director Martin Lock said. If he did get to the White House next year, he wouldn't be the first football fan President of the USA either, as Bill Clinton was smitten with Man United after a trip to Manchester during his days at Oxford University in 1969.
Of course, United did pretty well during Clinton's reign at the White House, winning the Premier League title six times, as well as a few FA Cups and the Champions League, so perhaps West Ham are right to embrace the patronage of Mr Obama. Certainly it would be a gloomy day for the rest of the Premier League if his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton came brought her familial allegiance to Old Trafford back to power.
United and the Hammers aren't the only teams to have political power in their fanbase though, with Arsenal believed to be the favoured team of both the Queen and Osama bin Laden, while John Major was a confirmed Chelsea fans and Tony Blair claimed to be part of the Toon Army. Current PM Gordon Brown is a lifelong fan of Raith Rovers, having once sold matchday programmes for them, which is all well and good because he's not American and is therefore not evil. Much.
Well, apart from Tom Hanks of course. As well as playing some of the nicest people the world has ever known on the big screen, he's also a big fan of Aston Villa, as we reported a few weeks back. Well, of their name at least, saying that it reminds him of a Roman spa. Happily, Martin O'Neill is even more of a fan of him: "I'd look forward to meeting Tom and having a chat," he said. "And we might as well have the very best - we don’t deal with C-list celebrities!
"I was surprised but delighted to hear he was a Villa fan, although I heard he liked the club because of its strange-sounding name. I know you can get people who will come out of the woodwork. But for someone to take a genuine interest is brilliant. I hope he can come over some time. Arsenal have got Kevin Costner but we want the best - and we've got him!" Perhaps so, for now, but by this time next year, West Ham may well have trumped them by getting the most powerful man in the world on board. No, not Superman...
Wednesday 30 Jan 2008
OBAMA THE HAMMER
FROM UPTON PARK TO THE WHITE HOUSE?
Flipping Americans, eh? They come over here, steal our sport, support our teams and try to sack our managers. Basically, they aren't to be trusted when it comes to football, that's what we're saying. So, there's bad news for West Ham fans this week, as US Presidential candidate Barack Obama has been outed as a Hammers supporter, joining Elijah Wood in the ever-expanding ranks of Americans who call Upton Park their spiritual soccer home.
Dave Grohl, David Guest, Nicolas Cage, Macauley Culkin and Kyle McLachlan have all also pledged their allegiance to the Hammers in the past, no doubt drawn to the club by the famous faces who have worn the claret and blue in recent times, like Julian Dicks, Ian Bishop and John Moncur. But, with greatest respect to Frodo Baggins and the kid from Home Alone, none of them have quite matched up to the man who could be the leader of the Free World from next January.
Obama's half sister Auma lives in England, and it is through these ties to our land that he discovered the wonders of West Ham. A source from his presidential campaign said: "Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer. He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives. He's always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on."
West Ham's sponsors XL.com have already spotted their chance to cash in and have offered Obama the chance to visit Upton Park: "We send thousands of West Ham fans to Florida every summer so we'd be delighted to bring the Senator over to the UK," XL.com managing director Martin Lock said. If he did get to the White House next year, he wouldn't be the first football fan President of the USA either, as Bill Clinton was smitten with Man United after a trip to Manchester during his days at Oxford University in 1969.
Of course, United did pretty well during Clinton's reign at the White House, winning the Premier League title six times, as well as a few FA Cups and the Champions League, so perhaps West Ham are right to embrace the patronage of Mr Obama. Certainly it would be a gloomy day for the rest of the Premier League if his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton came brought her familial allegiance to Old Trafford back to power.
United and the Hammers aren't the only teams to have political power in their fanbase though, with Arsenal believed to be the favoured team of both the Queen and Osama bin Laden, while John Major was a confirmed Chelsea fans and Tony Blair claimed to be part of the Toon Army. Current PM Gordon Brown is a lifelong fan of Raith Rovers, having once sold matchday programmes for them, which is all well and good because he's not American and is therefore not evil. Much.
Well, apart from Tom Hanks of course. As well as playing some of the nicest people the world has ever known on the big screen, he's also a big fan of Aston Villa, as we reported a few weeks back. Well, of their name at least, saying that it reminds him of a Roman spa. Happily, Martin O'Neill is even more of a fan of him: "I'd look forward to meeting Tom and having a chat," he said. "And we might as well have the very best - we don’t deal with C-list celebrities!
"I was surprised but delighted to hear he was a Villa fan, although I heard he liked the club because of its strange-sounding name. I know you can get people who will come out of the woodwork. But for someone to take a genuine interest is brilliant. I hope he can come over some time. Arsenal have got Kevin Costner but we want the best - and we've got him!" Perhaps so, for now, but by this time next year, West Ham may well have trumped them by getting the most powerful man in the world on board. No, not Superman...
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