You can go back to Shaggy if you would like, but 2010 I was working at home and watched pretty much every single match. I casually watched WC and some CL games with friends before that. That is when I decided I wanted to watch more soccer. I asked Shaggy for advice on which team. Based on some advice there, having read Fever Pitch because I love Nick Hornby, and a co-worker that would always have the Arsenal CL scorecast on, I decided to check out the local Arsenal Supporters Group. I found a Yahoo Group and figured out they watched at Cuatro’s. I enlisted a friend that is a Chelsea fan to go with me to the first game of the 2010-11 season at Cuatro’s. I expected 10-15 people there. It was against Liverpool. I walked in and saw a bar full of red shirts, half Arsenal/half Liverpool. 150 easily. I met the leader of the Austin Gooners.
Arsenal lost, but I was hooked. Never looked back.
Fast forward 8 years, and I have been the president of Austin Gooners/Branch manager, and on the board for 6 years. I am also on the board of Arsenal America, and deal with Arsenal FC regularly for member relations.
I blame all of this on the daily threads Hagbard posted that helped me understand all of the nuances of the international teams during the 2010 WC.
So, if Everton is your team , run with it. You can do some great things with local supporter groups. But you gotta drop any thoughts of Liverpool.