Detroit Derby Fan

My deepest condolences to B4's family and friends.  Daniel was one of those rare individuals whose spirit leapt from the computer screen and into our lives. 3,650 miles from Derby as i write this, and I feel as though I've lost a friend that I never met. 

B4's unflagging support of Derby, even in the difficult times, always provided a lift and a smile for the rest of us.

Daniel's legacy will live forever in the hearts and minds of this virtual family.

R.I.P. 

Greetings from "Across the pond" in Detroit. It took me while to gather my thoughts on this topic and commit to posting them.  

My Derby fandom arrived much later in life, at 45 years of age.   I grew up in Detroit and have always supported Detroit sports teams, as well as Michigan State and Notre Dame University.  I grew up playing soccer, as did my father, who emigrated from Croatia, as well as two of my three boys.  My middle son and I started following the club in the 2013-14 season. We were interested in finding an English team to follow and knowing Andy Appleby as a fellow metro-Detroiter we started to follow Derby, originally only through the team's twitter feed and the occasional broadcast on BEIN network.  We watched them through the playoff victory against Brighton, then the calamity against QPR.  

An additional Detroit-Derby link is through Roger Faulkner, a Derby supporter who was one of the co-owners of Detroit's 1970s NASL team, the Express.  

As we are acclimated to unfortunate twists of fate with our Detroit-area teams,(ie the Detroit Lions NFL team)  the playoff final defeat cemented our support of Derby County.  In the years since, we are charter subscribers of RamsTV  and are now able to follow a number of games on ESPN Plus.  I also follow this forum on a daily basis and do admire the folks who frequent this Board, such as B4 and David.  Your deep, heartfelt support of the club, usually with a healthy dose of humor, is a joy to peruse through these cyber-pages.   

Other random observations from the Motor City:

 - Whether my son and I ever get to Pride Park remains to be seen, it is definitely on our bucket list.  If any forum goers are in the neighborhood, I would be delighted to treat you a Detroit City FC soccer game.  They are our local team and have a game atmosphere that supporters such as yourselves can appreciate. 

- While Mel Morris has his detractors these days, in my view he was spot-on with regard to EFL television rights. They are tremendously undervalued.  The Championship is the most entertaining overseas league to watch, in my view.  The Premier League top clubs are usually the in the same group of 4-6.  The Bundesliga, La Liga, League 1 and Serie A are all dominated by super clubs, with the remaining teams just trying to stay up. What fun is that? The Championship season is a rock-fight every year. Evenly matched teams with historic rivalries.  A crabs-in-the-bucket attempted escape through either the untold fortunes of promotion or the richest game in football.  Conversely,  the trap door of relegation immerses a club in financial quicksand, without parachute payments to assist out of the morass.  

-  In a way, the reduced expectations of this year may make for a more enjoyable season than chasing promotion.  If the club average one point a game, they will be in a position to stay up at the end, which is the goal of this year.  In any other recent season a home draw to Huddersfield would be met with concern from Derby supporters. This year, it feels like a win. 

- Thank you for your contributions to the forum, which I have enjoyed reading through the years. I hope to meet up with some of your some day either at Pride Park or the next time Derby launch a summer tour of the US. 

- COYR