How many jerseys are in your closet?

Seven is my answer.

But the reason I ask is because I think the answer reveals a lot about a person's soccer fandom. Most obviously what teams a person is into or who their favorite player might be. But also what country a person might be from, where a person's ancestry may lie, where a person may have traveled to, what position they might have played, how many years a person may have been following the game or when they may have become a fan, what type of football a person may be into or what footballing philosophies they might believe in, what level of fan that person may be about the sport, and lastly what type of sucker they might be for spending so much money on an item of clothing that is not "work dress code appropriate" because these things aren't cheap.

I bought my first jersey just after the 1994 world cup with about 10 week's allowance. It was Jurgen Klinsmann's 1994 Germany World Cup away jersey pictured here to your right. I now have over 25 jerseys in my collection from four different continents and at least 14 different teams, some of which are draped on my walls as decorations, some of which were retired years ago into drawers or attic space that I will probably never see again, some of which were lost, some of which were given away, and some of which are still a part of my regular wardrobe.

I have a tie between two teams for the most amount of jerseys I own of one team, the German national team and Bayern Munich, at five apiece. The player I own the most jerseys of is Fernando Torres with two.

If your scoring at home, yes Germany is my favorite national team outside of the U.S. and yes Bayern Munich is my favorite European club. No Fernando Torres is not my favorite player, but he is one of my favorite players at the position I grew up playing - forward. Klinsmann is my all-time favorite player, having played on the first team that I ever followed closely, the 1990 World Cup winning Germany side. He scored a slew of ridiculously amazing goals during the '94 Cup in the states and amassed 11 World Cup goals in all. Check out them out:

With 25 jerseys I would say I am a soccer fanatic, you probably already guessed that considering we are starting a U.S. World Cup blog in one of the only countries in the world where soccer is not the most popular sport and may rank as low as fifth, sixth or seventh depending on who you talk to.

Some other aspects about myself I will divulge as it relates to the jerseys I own - I also have Irish heritage, I believe the English Premier League is the best league in the world, I have traveled to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and England, and I believe in the free-flowing offensive tactics that teams like Brazil, Arsenal, and Barcelona institute in their general play. I'm also obviously that bozo that teams know will buy their jersey after they change it every season, but I've just kind of rationalized collecting jerseys in my mind as a last hobby.

Anyway that is some of my own background as it relates to my fandom through my jersey collection. Anything else you may wish to know, drop me a line in the comment section or feel free to email at redwhiteandbluearmy@gmail.com