EPL Fantasy League: Where MLS nerds & Europoseurs unite!

It's that time of the soccer year again - as the end of summer approaches, they emerge, clad in the mufti of clubs the world over (just not in this continent, please; standards): The so-called Europoseurs, American soccer fans who eschew the domestic game, instead watching the world's best leagues which are so readily available here in the USA.

And you know what? They've got a point. The football (and it's football, right? standards) is lovely. Part of the beauty of football is its internationality, the sense of different cultures and styles all woven through the game. And promotion and relegation insure that there's accountability for failures on the field, unlike ... other types of league structures ... we are specifically not calling out single-entity here ... they're bigger and better all just because they got a head start! (I'm sorry; MLS fandom provokes no small amount of cognitive dissonance at times.)

Here's the thing, though: Whichever side of the fence you're on, basically everybody who cares at all about football watches the Premier League on at least a casual basis. It's hard to avoid it - the Premiership's gravitational pull in English-language football press is so vast, and the story-lines so agreed upon, that one finds oneself knowing that, for example, Arsenal haven't spent at all the last few years, or that David Moyes was a huge mistake at Man U, or whatever. And then there's the fantasy league. It's free and it's simple to play; you pick some dudes with a budget, separate starters and bench, and find that you've expanded your rooting interest (as a neutral) perhaps a thousand-fold.

All of which is to say: Test your EPL knowledge versus the Hot Time contributors and the rest of the Hot Time community, and the astonishingly large pool of football fans worldwide (3 million players last year!). Just go over to the EPL's fantasy league website and create a team.

Once you've created your team, you'll have to join our league to see how you're measuring up. Search for league 'Hot Time In Old Town' (no quotes); once you find it, use pass code 668706-166199 to join.

Then brush up on your English English; your defenders are 'rubbish,' not terrible; their 'display was shambolic' rather than 'played like shit.' You'll need it for talking trash!