Who is Matthew Leightman going to support on Saturday?
The head of business development for the BallStreet Trading site and app is conflicted like so many people that are fans of other Premier League teams. When Chelsea and Manchester City take the pitch in Porto Saturday for the UEFA Champions League Final, Leightman (and me as well) will watch on, mostly in horror, as one of our hated rivals will end up lifting the European Cup.
Maybe it helps Leightman that BallStreet Trading has collaborated with Bettors Insider to launch a market on the contest this weekend, where players can trade shares of each team in hopes of finishing near the top of the leaderboard, and winning some cash along the way in the free competition. It has kept Leightman busy, so he does not have to think too much about which doomsday scenario is better.
As an Arsenal fan, it is almost unthinkable that Leightman would support Chelsea, just as it would be for me to root for Manchester City as a Manchester United fan, but he has decided to support the Blues, and his brother’s potential happiness.
“My brother and I have been following European football, and specifically the EPL, for more than 10 years now,” Leightman said. “We grew up playing the beautiful game and it was simply a matter of time until we started watching. I remember watching the Landon Donovan game winner against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup and started following closely after that summer. I imagine that tournament was the impetus for a lot of American soccer fans getting more engaged in the sport.”
“The logical next step for us was to pick teams to support. I have this old picture of myself in a retro O2 Arsenal jersey, so I recognized the name and selected them, right smack in the middle of the trophy drought. Naturally, my brother and I had to support rival clubs so he chose Chelsea. We’ve always been passionate sports fans so we had our own London Derbies twice a year, and that’s not counting all the FIFA we played.”
“These days, I’m a bit more mature and not as spiteful towards my brother’s happiness (although he’s always done his fair share of rubbing Chelsea’s success in my face). This Chelsea squad is far more likeable in my opinion than the Diego Costa/Mourinho led teams of the 2010s, so I think I’ll be supporting Captain America Christian Pulisic and Chelsea in the final.”
The market on BallStreet opened on Monday, with early moves up and down for each team. If you have any experience in the recent crypto markets, you will love BallStreet: you buy the dips, and sell the highs, and hopefully have more money than the other players.
My pick for the game will be posted on Friday night, and it is really a no-win situation for me. But I do think I will be buying shares in City early.