'I will remember this for the rest of my life!' USA Wolves fans reflect on pre-season tour
'I will remember this for the rest of my life!' USA Wolves fans reflect on a special pre-season tour
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00:00You've been around all the festivities and all the Wolves fans, how has it been in the last few days?
00:04It's been so great. I mean, so many of us, America's so big, right?
00:08So, all these Wolves supporters, we're friends online, on Twitter,
00:12and to be able to gather together, meet for the first time,
00:15we've been joking, like, introducing ourselves, right?
00:18Like, hey, I'm Nate. They stare at me blankly.
00:21Oh, Soccer Neophytes.
00:22Twitter handle, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:24I'm Adam. Hey, I don't know who you are.
00:26Nothin' but Neto. Oh, yeah, I got you.
00:28So, I'm from Houston. Gotta represent Houston and Texas in general.
00:34We had our Houston Tex Fest. I wore it the first time.
00:36Wore it in Nashville for the Fan Fest that the UPL was puttin' on.
00:41And kinda after that, everybody was like, you gotta keep wearin' the hat.
00:44And I was like, alright, I guess I will.
00:47Had Bully wearin' it. Got Mario Lamino to wear it.
00:49Jim, I'm first to wear it today, so I guess it's a thing.
00:53So, next season, you guys will see me in Wolverhampton wearin' my hat.
00:56It's been incredible.
00:57You've had four decades since the Wolves have been here in the U.S.
01:02And to be able to have Steve Bull and to be able to bring
01:05representatives from the women's club over.
01:07It's been just amazing.
01:10Just not behind the scenes that what they've been able to establish.
01:13I think they've really put a footprint within the U.S.
01:16to be able to build upon for years to come.
01:18I can understand them going over to Asia and making that tour.
01:23But I think the U.S. will be more prominent when they decide
01:26and elect to come back to the United States for training leading up to a season.
01:32It's fantastic.
01:33I've been following the Wolves for about 10 years.
01:35And my first time to see them live.
01:37So, I may cry like a baby.
01:40And if we win, I'll definitely cry.
01:41And if we lose, I'll cry and have a temper tantrum.
01:44So, but I think we're gonna win.
01:46I've been following for a while.
01:47I can't wait to come and see this.
01:49I'm super pumped.
01:50I've been following you guys at Espresso Stars.
01:53Years ago, before we were back in the Premier League,
01:56you guys and channels like Old Gold and Black,
02:00Daz and Dave, Always Wolves,
02:04those kind of channels were able to keep us connected.
02:07And now I can follow on these other bigger channels.
02:10But I still watch all the YouTube channels there as well.
02:12Talking Wolves, of course.
02:13Yeah, of course.
02:13So, yeah.
02:14So, it's been fantastic.
02:15And I've already got a lot of friends I've met online.
02:17And now I've met them in real person.
02:19It's been amazing.
02:20We've got a Facebook group going,
02:23where people are keeping in touch,
02:25telling people where they're gonna be.
02:28And I swear, the Wolves fans outnumber, like,
02:30three to one, the Palace fans.
02:33And as soon as we parked in our hotel,
02:36we met a guy from Wolverhampton.
02:38He had a Wolves plate from via Connecticut.
02:41So, people from all over the world.
02:44Feels amazing, man.
02:44First time seeing him live.
02:45Love the atmosphere.
02:46Love getting to meet other fans.
02:48You know, it's sort of a random thing that I became a fan.
02:51And so, seeing the community has been great.
02:53How did you become a fan?
02:54Honestly, Portuguese national team.
02:56And just, like, knowing, like,
02:58John Martino, Ruben Neves, Luis Patricio.
03:00And even though they've left,
03:01it's been sticking with the team and just enjoying the vibe.
03:05I'm a typical American.
03:06I said, I'm looking for a club.
03:09They have a cool logo.
03:11They have a cool jersey.
03:13And then, you know, I started following them
03:16the year before they got promoted.
03:18And it's just a really cool, it's a scrappy club.
03:20It's not a big six club.
03:23And the more you get to know Wolverhampton and its fans,
03:27they're just incredible.
03:28It really is like a big family event.
03:30And we've seen that out here.
03:31You know what?
03:32I think, so, I think they can go top 10.
03:34Maybe even eight.
03:35Maybe even eight.
03:36Maybe squeaking into Europe.
03:40We'll see.
03:40I think so.
03:42Young boys are, they're exciting.
03:44There's some exciting young men on this team.
03:46So we're hoping for the best.
03:48I mean, if you've seen what's going on in Jacksonville,
03:51within Annapolis and down here in Miami,
03:56you saw David Beckham.
03:57You know, Gary O'Neal's reaction to the play
04:00and the player's reaction, just to see Leonardo Messi,
04:02who lives right down the road.
04:04I mean, you know, to be able to bring people to South Florida
04:07is absolutely amazing because it is the hub.
04:09It is the gateway to South America.
04:12And we see a lot of talent coming out of South America.
04:14You see what Matt Hopps is doing right now.
04:16I honestly believe the Wolves are kind of setting a footprint
04:20to be able to make that big jump into South America.
04:22A couple thousand dollars to go to Molineux,
04:25you know, all the time it takes to travel,
04:27especially for us who are from like the west part of the country.
04:30We've got multiple flights.
04:31So to be able to see them in our own country,
04:34I mean, you look around,
04:35there's people from all over the states here.
04:36LA, all up and down the East Coast,
04:39who have traveled not just to Florida,
04:41but then all the way up here to Maryland.
04:42And they're going back down to Florida.
04:44I mean, really, it's a rabid fan base here.
04:47It's small, but very, very interesting.
04:49What would be a good season for Wolves this year?
04:52I think top 10.
04:53It would be a great season.
04:54I think it's definitely possible.
04:55And I'm excited to see it happen.
04:57Last year really showed we needed that scrappy young team.
05:01And I think this is a lot of it this year.
05:03Love Mario as captain.
05:05That was a great choice.
05:06I think the new signings are going to be great.
05:08Strand Larson won me over
05:10when he said he's willing to lose some teeth.
05:12So I'm hoping we can make Europe next year.
05:16That's the goal.
05:17It should be the goal every year.
05:19And yeah, just fun and entertaining games.
05:22What are your hopes and aspirations,
05:24you think, for Wolves this season?
05:26You know, it's always so hard to tell
05:28this early in the transfer window.
05:29I think if this club stays the way it is now,
05:33I think a top half finish is reasonable
05:35with O'Neal having the opportunity
05:37to have a full preseason with the club
05:40and embed the new guys who obviously played well
05:43on that first match.
05:44I mean, I don't...
05:47Top half seems very reasonable.
05:50And then if injuries stay away
05:52and a couple breaks happen, maybe Europe.
05:55It's really hard to sit there and say,
05:57you know, you know somebody on Twitter
05:59and behind a social media screen
06:03you don't realize how close you can get to somebody.
06:05And then you put a face to a name,
06:07like you're suggesting.
06:08I really feel like it's...
06:11This sounds so cliche to say,
06:13it is not just friends.
06:14It's a little bit of family.
06:16And it's a really weird situation
06:19over the last couple of weeks.
06:20But we have really honestly felt that way.
06:23And the old goal of being here
06:26has meant so much to us.
06:27It's tremendous.