San Francisco Spurs: Inked in

Words: Daniel Díaz

Images: Daniel Díaz

My story as a Spurs supporter started on the opposite side of London. I was born in the borough of Hounslow and as a kid my family regularly moved house around the outer edges of South West London: Feltham, Fulwell, Twickenham, Hanworth, and a forgettable stint across the border in Staines.

I was surrounded by Chelsea, Brentford, Fulham, and Man Utd fans, but my Colombian parents had no local team to pass on to me. My first love was Junior FC, my dad’s team from his hometown of Barranquilla. He worked at Heathrow airport, where his colleague happened to have a famous brother-in-law named Osvaldo Ardiles—Tottenham legend and manager at the time.

Thanks to my dad’s silver tongue, we were soon at White Hart Lane meeting the likes of Teddy Sheringham and Gary Mabbutt in the players’ lounge. My fate as a lifelong Spurs fan was sealed.

My last game at White Hart Lane before leaving London was the 1-1 vs Sheffield United on November 9, 2019. This ended up being Pochettino’s last game for the club and the end of Tottenham’s most “successful” period in my time as a fan.

Two weeks later, I touched down in San Francisco, my wife’s hometown, to start a new life.

©Daniel Díaz/ Terrace Edition. San Francisco Spurs scarf. Danny Coyle’s.

Hearing familiar reactions, chants, and songs wrapped in an American-English twang takes some getting used to. The US flavour of fandom has a certain bounce and pitch to it, relative to the grumbles and gutteral tones we’re used to back home.

Joe Dimont, Co-President of the San Francisco Spurs official supporters club, explains that many of our US fans adopted the club during Gareth Bale’s first stint under Harry Redknapp, the original Ted Lasso viral adverts—featuring Jason Sudeikis’s saccharine creation as Tottenham’s head coach—or the high-flying Pochettino years.

Associating the club with the lofty heights of the Champions League can no doubt shape the expectations of any recent fans. Those fortunate enough to have missed out on the Gerry Francis, George Graham and Christian Gross years may consider the club’s current state unthinkable. Part of me feels bad for them, the other part admires their loyalty. They had a choice after all.

Supporting your team from 5,000 miles away gives you a different perspective, but with that also comes a disconnect.

The powerlessness we often feel as fans is only intensified by our inability to turn up to the ground and lend our voices to the cause. This feeling led me to Two Cranes, a tattoo shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown owned by fellow Spurs supporter Nicholas, to get my first tattoo in a superstitious bid to save us from relegation.

©Daniel Díaz/ Terrace Edition. Nicholas from Two Cranes.

He’s never seen Tottenham play live, or been to London, but Nicholas is undeniably a loyal and committed supporter.

His station is decorated with a White Hart Lane N17 street sign and a framed photo of our Europa League-winning squad in Bilbao. I arrive for my appointment, scheduled with urgency for the Saturday before our must-win six-pointer against Nottingham Forest—this couldn’t wait.

Nicholas was dressed in a prestine 1983 home shirt, putting the finishing touches to a beautiful custom design of an illustrated cockerel standing atop a skull-shaped-football.

Over the three scratchy hours it took to get tattooed, we swapped Spurs stories, memories, favourite players. Sonny, Dembélé, Defoe, Bale, Lennon, Keane. Nicholas didn’t grow up watching sports and is exclusively devoted to Tottenham, learning to love football thanks to a friend back home in New York who introduced him to the beautiful game.

After watching the 2006 World Cup on a big screen in Bryant Park he was hooked. “It was exciting. It was something different in my life that I’d never had before. After the World Cup was over, I was like, ‘yeah, I need more’.” He looked for a club that spoke to him, and after researching the Premier League he landed on Spurs thanks to the club’s history and underdog spirit.

Nicholas mentions that the only team he’s seen live is San Francisco City FC (SF City FC), the oldest community-owned team in the United States, and a club that exemplifies the best this city has to offer.

For all its magic, San Francisco can often feel like it’s working against you and is especially hostile to its own working class. Driverless cars, real estate investment and AI are the flavour of the day while SF City FC have faced being displaced from its home.

The city is home to the oldest league in the country, the amateur San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL) and the football culture here is rich.

Underpinned by a unique identity and lively street leagues, representative of the diversity and energy synonymous with the Bay Area. This translates to spectators of the game, with many pubs across the city acting as the official homes for their designated Premier League team.

Among those is Danny Coyle’s, home of the San Francisco Spurs official supporters club. An Irish pub within walking distance of the homes of icons that helped shape the city’s identity, such as Harvey Milk, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

©Daniel Díaz/ Terrace Edition. Danny Coyle’s.

The pub’s ceiling is adorned with the scarves of Tottenham, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Aston Villa, Celtic, and Paris St Germain, among others. Making for a surreal setting which often forces fans to share and play nice with rival supporter groups.

At 6:30am I’m standing in the dark, thigh freshly tattooed, waiting for the bus. I make my way to Danny Coyle’s as the sun rises over San Francisco, watching the droves of fans outside White Hart Lane on my phone and feeling complete confidence in my contribution to the team’s efforts.

In anticipation of a big win, I make my way into the pub and order an Irish Coffee. After forty minutes of putting on the pressure with no end result, we all know where this is headed. We’ve seen it all before. A few guinesses in, English fans grumbling, US fans screeching, and my thigh throbbing, I consider my next move. The game ends 3-0.

Since that game we’ve changed manager, again. Our 10th since I left London. De Zerbi might keep us up, he might not. I’m not in favour of his appointment, but I know I’ll still be here long after he’s gone. Doing what I can, whether that’s singing in the stands or getting another tattoo from a fellow fan 5,000 miles away.

COYS.

pilgrimages

Spurs: A Knowing Look

Canvey Ultras

San Mames: Transcending

San Lorenzo siempre