Anchit Bhagat | My evolution into a Philly Gooner
When I first got accepted into Penn, I was of course thrilled to bits as you would expect. After all the initial euphoria of getting into an Ivy League college died down, I had a nagging worry at the back of my mind. How would I be able to follow my favorite football club (Arsenal FC) in a country that called it soccer and worshipped the NFL? Suffice to say I was proven wrong, and for once, I was glad I was. I have been very surprised by the popularity of the game here and have met a lot of fellow football (soccer) fans in Philadelphia. To add to my surprise, I have met a lot of Arsenal fans as well, whom I now refer to as Philly Gooners — Gooners is what we Arsenal fans call ourselves. I have had quite a few curious encounters while I have roamed the streets of Philly wearing my Arsenal scarf, from being stopped on the pavement by a dad walking his baby and engaging in a short conversation about the Gunners to being ridiculed for supporting Arsenal in the local train stations.