"How Did I Get Here?" Contest Winners

Last month we asked our readers to submit their stories of how they became soccer fans. We called the contest "How Did I Get Here?" It was hard to sort through all of the entries and choose the top stories, but we tried our best.

Thanks to all of those who submitted stories.

Here are the winners:

First Place (Winner of the Free Beer Movement T-Shirt)

Adelaide Arriaga (Dallas, TX)

At the age of four I began playing soccer with my father as coach. Even at that age I remember being pushed so hard to practice everyday and succeed. My brother who is two years younger eventually began the same process with our father, but a lot harsher.

Years would go by that we played the sport, but finally developed a love for it. As long as I can remember we also had no choice but to support the Mexican National Team. See, my father was born and raised in Mexico and would not allow his children to support the US much less watch it under his roof.

I'll never forget the day though that Mexico was playing against the US in the early 90's and our mother said enough was enough. She ran to the garage to find a small portable tv that ran off of batteries. We went into her bedroom closet and watch the USA win over Mexico. We ran out of the closet and celebrated right in front of the TV and him! After that day we never supported Mexico again.

I played up until senior year of high school, but quit after my father told me because I was a girl I would never amount to anything as a player. His hopes and dreams were invested in his son now.

Now at the age of 26 my father and I still to this day support two different teams although his heart has softened towards the USMNT. He's incrediably proud of his son and daughter who travel to support their national team all over the world and are part of the supporters group The American Outlaws.

On a club level as well we're leaders of the supporters group, El Matador, for FC Dallas which has been a very positive step for growing soccer in this country as well.

Our road hasn't been easy, but the sport has stayed with us our entire lives. We LOVE this sport more than people will ever understand.

It runs in our blood.

It's who we are.

Second Place (Winner of the American Outlaws Scarf)

Bobby Drown (Seattle, WA)

I’m a relatively recent convert to the beautiful game.

In the summer of 2006 (just prior to my second deployment to the Middle East), I went under the LASIK knife to fix my flawed vision. I was told to stay at home in my dark apartment for the next four days after the surgery. Fortunately, the World Cup was happening at the time. At first though, I was only able to listen to the announcers describe the sights of epic 1-1 draw between my beloved Yanks and the Azzurri. I was instantly hooked.

Despite the fact that my unit and I deployed during the knockout stages, I made it a priority to find an Internet café to keep myself abreast of World Cup results that year.

Over the subsequent three years I started to “branch out” and develop my appreciation for the EPL and Bundasliga. I would also catch Major League Soccer matches whenever they were on ESPN. However, my fandom reached new heights last spring.

My girlfriend grew up in Seattle. When we started dating a couple years back, she would frequently tell tales of going to Memorial Field to watch the USL Sounders. This got me more than a little jacked for the new Seattle MLS franchise.

Then March 19th, 2009 vaulted my love for the game to a borderline obsession. I watched the Seattle Sounders 3-0 victory over New York on that day in the comfort of my home. This has become a rare occurrence since then…mostly because I have tried to attend each and every home game since then.

Singing and chanting with my friends of the Emerald City Supporters in Section 119 at Qwest Field has become (by far) my favorite pastime. I spend way more time at my place of work reading various blogs (Match Fit USA & The Shin Guardian are my favorites) than I ever should be allowed to in an attempt to quench my thirst for soccer news and/or knowledge.

So here we are at the World Cup 2010. My beautiful girlfriend and I will be celebrated her birthday…at Doyle’s Public House in our hometown of Tacoma, WA…watching the Yanks and the Three Lions. I love life.

Third Place (Winner of a 10-Pack of Free Beer Movement Stickers)

Christian Lugo (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)

Played hockey my whole life. I learned to skate before I could walk. In 8th grade I quit hockey and picked up lacrosse and ran with that into high school until my junior year. (Note: I moved from New Jersey to South Carolina before my freshman year).

News came about after my junior year that I would need to move back up to New Jersey for my senior year of high school... imagine, being the new kid, SENIOR YEAR. Needless to say when I moved back to NJ in the summer before senior year I had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do.

I found myself on my couch one day flipping through channels when I found Fox Soccer Channel. I began to watch and when school started that year I was a loner. BUT soccer became a friend and have not stopped following the game since then. For two years I have religiously followed soccer. I even slip up and call it football in conversation.

Now in college, all of my close buddies are long-time players and fans and that truly bonds us. I even play goalie for an intramural team.

I like to think that soccer has the possibilities to begin new lives, and to provide safety, and hope for the world.

That's what it has given me; something to love that is completely out of my control, and a sense of belief that all man kind is actually good at heart.

When the ball is being kicked around, whether its on the Wembley pitch or the street outside my dorm everyone is always having fun.

Honorable Mentions (Free Beer Movement sticker)

Stacey Ehmer

My father loves most sports, but hates soccer, so growing up my only experience with soccer was high school P.E. classes. At college in the summer of 2006, one of my friends, who is Croatian, had a party where we watched Croatia play Brazil (in the World Cup).

It was a revelation for me. I had no idea what was going on, or who the players were, but it was love at first sight. I watched a couple more games in the World Cup including the final.

I watched some of the Women's World Cup the next year, 2007, but after that I sort of lost interest and I was busy with school. Then last year I kept hearing that a women's league was starting up, the WPS. I started watching WPS last March and got back into soccer. After that, I started watching EPL, La Liga, MLS, and Mexican Primera Division as well.

Sometimes at work (I work at a nursing home), I will go into a Hispanic patient's room and pretend to do something and watch Mexican soccer, or some international games.

Mike Patterson (Houston, TX)

I became a soccer fan only a few years ago. I was born and raised in Houston and even as late as the 2006 World Cup did not care about a sport that I thought was inferior to football, baseball and basketball in every way in my mind.

I had a buddy who spent the entire 06WC trying to convince me to watch matches with him to no avail. When the Dynamo came to town, I thought it was cool. Good for Houston; getting a team made us a little more global of a city, but I had zero interest in the team.

My brother went to the first game and loved it. He was a soccer fan already and decided to check out the new home team. He called me the next day telling me what a great atmosphere there was and how exciting the game turned out to be. I told him it was beginners luck not understanding the legacy that the former San Jose Earthquakes had. He went to a couple other games early on and kept insisting that I come with him. He knew I was a big sports fan and figured I would get into it.

After four or five games I finally gave in and went. We stood with the Texian Army and before I ever had any idea as to what was happening on the pitch, I fell in love with the atmosphere.

I am now a season ticket holder. Have been a member of the Texian Army since 2006 and I'm an American Outlaws member, and have attended USMNT games and even started watching EPL.

A friend I met through the Dynamo and I have started a Houston based sports blog called Kategorie H which features soccer heavily. It has become an obsession. Luckily, I have a job and a wife who are understanding of the passion that has taken over and allow me to attend as many games as I do.

Now I spend my time trying to recruit my college football and baseball fan friends. I've even been using the brilliance of the Free Beer Movement to introduce them to the beautiful game.

Maybe soccer will never catch on in America. Maybe it will never take over football or basketball or baseball, but it is an amazing sport that I have learned to love.

And that's how I got here.

James Weise (Rochester, New York)

I am a general sports nut that has parents that couldn't care less about sports.

I don't really know how I started to like soccer. I remember liking Sheffield Wednesday because John Harkes played there and John was my favorite member of the USMNT at the time.

When I went to college I'd watch a lot of the games for the men's and women's teams at Clarkson.

After graduation I moved in with my dad in Rochester, NY. One day I heard that a player I knew in college had signed with the Rochester Rhinos, Mike Kirmse.

So, I started following the Rhinos because he was on the team. I thought it was cool to sit there and say, "I played indoor against Kirmse in college".

Then about five years ago one of the local soccer radio shows said that they were looking for a new "News Director". I had listened to the show for years and my wife nudged me to through my hat into the ring.

Well, they didn't get a lot of responses, so I got a shot. Five years later, I have a ton of fun little stories and I usually look forward to doing the show that focuses mainly on the Rhinos, but have had some other great guests.

My favorite interview was getting Abby Wambach live from the Women's World Cup in China a few years back when she was in the mixed zone after scoring the quarterfinal game winner versus England.

So, if volunteering for five years on a soccer radio show counts as trying to spread the word on this great game, that's what I do.

Eric V.

As most kids right of passage, I played soccer as a youth up until the fourth grade. Soccer was not something I was very interested in. Like an old friend it has crept back into my life.

Starting in during the 2002 World Cup I recall hanging out with Latino co-workers and staying up late watching matches and going into work on three hours of sleep. In 2006 I purchased my first soccer jersey (Donovan). Then one fateful Christmas my wife, when shopping, decided to purchase a Liverpool jersey for me.

From that point I started to follow Liverpool FC and became immersed in EPL football. I enjoyed seeing the success of the few US players in the EPL. Long story short I have dedicated hours watching USMNT and EPL matches.

My one jersey has grown into a wardrobe for me. I knew I had a fever for soccer when my jerseys became a staple in my wardrobe. Within the past year I got a tattoo on my calf. I'm hoping my wife will allow a US "Don't Tread on Me" snake wrapped around the soccer ball on my other calf.

I have started playing soccer again and have tried to share my passion with my friends. Though they think I'm odd for my obsession, I think they understand it. I have tried to take the premise of the "Free Beer Movement" forward in my area and formed a US vs England viewing party at a bar. Several of my friends who don't watch soccer are coming just for the beverages.

As a member of The American Outlaws and a US Supporters Club, I am hoping for a great World Cup and wishing for US to host 2018 or 2022.

So here I am...this is how I got here and this is where I am going to stay.

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