From the Publisher: Leeds United, ‘The Chief’ and the Joy of Sports-Related Travel

I can’t wait for the English Premier League season to start.

That’s a sentence I’ve never uttered in my life until just now. Even seeing it there has my head shaking as to how this came to be.

But my interest in soccer, while certainly piqued by the World Cup, isn’t necessarily related to the smashing success and awareness of the global game that the tournament brought to North America this summer. It has everything to do with my son Jonas’ adopted team, Leeds United, which by default has now become my adopted team as well.

After attending a recent exhibition match in New Jersey between our boys in blue and yellow against Premier League side Sunderland AFC, we are hooked, ready for the season and anxious to see more. (I’m even calling Sunderland a “side” now, which I’m gathering brings immediate relevance to my fandom.) And our interest is indicative of what I imagine is happening globally in our industry: The world of sports is getting smaller and more opportunities to attend events are sparking even more interest in traveling.

Video Game Origins

I’ve written before about how Jonas’ love of Leeds came to be, but it’s worth a refresher. His affinity actually comes from esports while playing the EA FIFA video game. It was there that he discovered a virtual Georginio Rutter, who at the time played for Leeds. One thing led to another and Jonas was playing as Leeds in their virtual Elland Road stadium against all comers. I joined him as well, even though my aggressive play and penchant for red-carding the best players early in the match quickly grew thin.

Then an interesting thing happened: His video game interest turned into real-life interest. The next thing we knew we were following the physical team as well. A few years back on a trip to England, we even visited Leeds itself — a journey that most of our British acquaintances couldn’t comprehend but that we counted as a bit of a pilgrimage. We made it to Elland Road on that trip, but not for a game because it was out of season. Jonas came away with plenty of merch from the team store. For some reason, I came away with nothing, a rare moment of self-control when I decided it was good enough just to be there.

In an effort to support Jonas and become a proper fan, I started following Leeds on social media, which led to an inevitable wall of emails hitting my inbox from the team. Earlier this year, when one of those emails announced a U.S. tour where Leeds would join Liverpool, Wrexham and Sunderland for games in several cities, there was no doubt we’d see them somewhere. When one of those somewheres was announced as the New York area where we have family and were planning to be anyway, we had our match: Leeds vs. Sunderland — teams I didn’t know existed a few years ago but that now are as familiar as our hometown Denver Broncos or Colorado Rockies.

Tickets Secured and Moved

I secured us tickets to the July 30 match back in March. But as the game drew closer, it became evident ticket sales were lacking. A few weeks before the match, we were automatically moved up by the ticket provider from our first row upper deck seats at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, to seats two rows from the pitch. It seems that without the brand power of Liverpool or the wildly popular Wrexham of TV-docuseries fame, the Leeds/Sunderland combo was the toughest sell of the U.S. tour.

But so be it. For us, it was the best match of the lot.

One immediate problem for me? Since I never secured any merch on our pilgrimage to Elland Road, I needed something. And fast. So I ordered the club’s new away kit, whose bright yellow look and historic team patch caught my eye. And you could even get one with the No. 22 of Ao Tanaka, my adopted favorite player if for no other reason than I’ve red-carded him on the video game more than any single player. The kit was about $100 but only available in England, which meant spending twice that much after shipping and tariffs. Like any die-hard sports fan, what choice did I have? I wasn’t showing up at this game in a Colorado Rapids jersey.

As the game approached, the Leeds United media machine hit me hard and heavy. One email touted a pregame gathering for supporters at Legends Bar NYC, a Manhattan watering hole across the street from the Empire State Building. Had 16-year-old Jonas ever been to a bar? He was about to have his first experience.

Strolling up to the place, we loved seeing all the Leeds branding outside. With me in my yellow Tanaka jersey and Jonas in the throwback 1992 kit he had bought at Elland Road, we fit right in. The bar itself is a gathering place for all soccer fans the rest of the year. But on this day, it was all Leeds all the time. We had fun walking around, seeing all the soccer imagery on the walls — including a hodgepodge of stickers from clubs around the world — and taking in the whole scene.

Meeting ‘Bridgey’ and ‘The Chief’

But we didn’t have too much time to dawdle at the bar. We had a game to see.

It’s worth noting that before catching our train to the game, we connected with Sports Facilities Companies’ J.D. Wood who was in town with his father from Texas to see his adopted team, Wrexham, play two games in five nights: vs. Liverpool at Yankee Stadium on July 29, and then a match in Philadelphia on August 2 against Sunderland. It was great to catch up with them and revel at how much sports-related travel we were all doing on our own just for fun.

After catching up with J.D., we hopped the PATH train from New York to New Jersey and soon approached Sports Illustrated Stadium, which regularly hosts the MLS New York Red Bulls. Because Red Bull is the main Leeds kit sponsor, we continued to feel at home.

Outside the stadium, we took part in the fan activations, taking photos in a photo booth and receiving a blue “Leeds United U.S. Tour ’26” towel from the team. We also got in line to see a few Leeds legends who we needed to research while we waited. Turns out they were legends indeed. We enjoyed a great chat with Michael Bridges — “Bridgey!” — who scored a hat trick for Leeds in just his second appearance with the club in 1999. That was followed by a photo and chat with former goalkeeper Lucas “The Chief” Radebe. Jonas looked him up before we chatted to discover that when Radebe captained the South Africa national team, Nelson Mandela once pointed at him and said, “This is my hero.” So that’s nothing to sneeze at. He couldn’t have been nicer.

Once inside the stadium, we went straight to the pop-up merch shop, where Jonas purchased the just-released home kit for the upcoming season to add to his collection. And those bright yellow away kits were for sale, too, for a straight $100 — no shipping fees or other nonsense. (I was OK with having paid more since they weren’t offering my Tanaka-specific jersey…)

When the game began, we sang “Marching On Together” like we’d been fans for generations. (And hey, didn’t we qualify now having spent quality time with “Bridgey” and “The Chief” even if we had just learned of their existence?)

At one point, we even got on the scoreboard with a photo of ourselves, which added to the fun.

The Great Tanaka

When the game began, Leeds played most of their starters, including the future legend Tanaka, who had a great game. The game itself? A bit of a snoozer with the only goal coming by accident early on when a Leeds player kicked the ball from the center of the pitch and the inept Sunderland goalie tripped over his feet, fell down and allowed the ball to trickle all the way into the net. 1-0 Leeds, roll credits.

This was an exhibition game for sure, with both teams swapping out dozens of players in the second half. But I’ve been to NFL preseason games and I know the drill for these matches. They were trying out their fringe players, a tactic the Denver Broncos will replicate when we see a preseason game of theirs in a few weeks.

For us, the joy was in seeing our club on the field. To see Tanaka in the flesh. To sing the songs. To relish in the atmosphere. To enjoy being in the presence of our favorite team and our fellow fans. Was it the same experience we’d get at Elland Road? Of course not. But that wasn’t really the point.

For when the Premier Season starts, we’re going to be watching. And as we watch, the fire is going to be lit to travel again. The next time Leeds plays in the United States, we’ll be there for sure. But now we have our sights set back on England or wherever else we might be able to make a journey. That’s the beauty and the fun of sports fandom and sports-related travel.

As we waited for the train back to New York after the game — surrounded on our platform with a swarm of Leeds fans who like us had traveled far and wide to be there — we couldn’t wait for wherever the next journey might take us. And for the real season to begin.

Jason Gewirtz is senior vice president/content for the Northstar Meetings Group and the publisher of SportsTravel.