Chelsea fan Matt Pursley becomes the latest to discuss what the club means to him and why supporters should watch the Blues during our 2024 tour of the United States of America.

When I think back to the emotions of seeing Chelsea live for the first time, it is like a kid waking up on Christmas morning.

You are just so excited because of the matchday environment and the anticipation building up.

Then being able to see the players up close and personal, I don’t really know how to put that excitement into words. You get these butterflies in your stomach because when you are so passionate about something and then you get to see it up close, it is almost euphoric.

You are just so happy and so excited to experience something you have waited all those years to experience.

My name is Matt Pursley, I am 36 years old and have lived in Houston for the majority of my life.

I have always played football but I didn’t have a team to support when I was growing up. Back then, it was hard to watch Premier League football in the US because there was only one channel showing games but I started following the Blues back in 2003.

I was watching Chelsea versus Manchester United and I remember thinking, ‘wow, they must be a good team to beat Manchester United’ so I started keeping an eye out for the scores more and would play as Chelsea on FIFA and getting to know the players more.

Roman Abramovich’s takeover of the Blues and the increase in Premier League TV rights saw the club’s exposure increase exponentially in the US and it became much easier to follow what was happening with the club.

I went to my first match at Stamford Bridge in 2007 when we beat Newcastle United 2-1 and my passion for the club has continued to grow to the point that I don’t think I have missed a game for several years.

I will often get up at 5am or 6am to watch the matches and for the last three years, I have been running the Houston Blues Supporters Club where we will sometimes have up to 80 to 100 people watching Chelsea games together, which is really cool.

Being involved with the Supporters Club is really special because we are bringing together a bunch of people from all over the world who now call this melting pot of a city of ours home.

We have a good relationship with Chelsea supporters groups from across the world. These are people who I have never met before but it is almost like you are best friends because you have this shared passion for Chelsea.

In our supporters’ group, we have fans going to the Club America game in Atlanta, we have some people going to Charlotte for the Real Madrid game and we will also be going to the Chelsea Women’s games because they deserve our support as much as the men’s team. So every year we always have members at the matches.

Having the chance to watch Chelsea play in the United States is incredible for the fans. I always tell other supporters, if you get the chance to attend a game, make sure you go.

You get proper exposure to the players and the club have done a great job over the years, putting on more fan events and linking up with the supporters clubs. It is a wonderful thing the club are doing.

Chelsea has become really important to me. That might sound odd coming from an American who didn’t grow up with the club but it really has become a crucial part of my life.

There is not one day where part of me isn’t doing something to do with or thinking about the club. I am either doing Supporters Club stuff or I might be checking the stats for our players at the Euros or looking at transfer news. When you do something that much for 20 years, it becomes a part of you.

In 2009, I was still in college when Chelsea visited Dallas. There were only a few of my friends who were into football, and I was the only one out of my group who was a Chelsea fan. So, I was like a kid on Christmas Day when I found out Chelsea were coming to the state of Texas.

I drove four hours or so to get to Dallas and the day before the game I attended an open training session. Just having the chance to see the players up close was amazing. Throw into the mix that this match was only the second event ever held at the new AT&T Stadium and it was even better because I had the chance to visit before even the Dallas Cowboys fans had.

Just driving up to the beautiful stadium, you are already in awe. Then you go inside and are so excited to see all the new shining things. But then seeing the team run out for training, wow. That team was full of superstars like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Petr Cech… it was just incredible.

Then you see Ray Wilkins walk out, who was obviously such a special person for this football club, followed by Carlo Ancelotti. You were seeing true legends of world football.

One of the funniest memories of that day was when John Terry and Frank Lampard were trying to kick the ball at the world’s biggest HD video display. They were trying for a while before one of them hit it and you heard over the PA system, ‘Please don’t kick balls at the videoboard’. These players who are worshipped were like naughty little schoolboys and seeing them in that sort of environment really helped humanise what were global superstars.

I stayed overnight and then it was matchday. Now I have been to plenty of Houston Dynamo games and had visited Stamford Bridge for the Newcastle match a couple of years before but the USA Tour matches are such a unique fusion of cultures. There is that blend of the English football culture combined with the US culture where we have our own things we do before kick-off and we make a whole day of it.

We were playing Club America, the biggest team in Mexico, and with Texas being so close to the border, there were so many of their fans too which helped create a great atmosphere and everyone was so happy to be there.

Chelsea legends Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic were among those to play on the day and it was also great to see some of the younger players like Daniel Sturridge.

It was 0-0 at half-time and when Franco Di Santo’s opening goal arrived, the stadium just erupted. I had already been to Stamford Bridge so had experienced that but for my friend I was with, she was like: ‘Right, I get it now. I get why people get addicted to this feeling’.

Florent Malouda followed up with a second goal minutes later but the great atmosphere with the Club America and Chelsea fans just did not stop the whole time.

I was then fortunate enough to experience seeing Chelsea on an almost weekly basis during the 2016/17 season. I was over in England studying for my masters and apart from the odd game, I was able to attend all of the home matches as we won the Premier League under Antonio Conte. I was even able to make it to the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

The last time I was over was two years ago when we beat Bournemouth 2-0 in December 2022 and I am hoping to be back again for the first game of the season. I have managed to tie in a visit to Stamford Bridge with a work trip I have in Aberdeen, as part of my role as commercial manager for a gas turbine company. I didn’t expect the first game to be against Manchester City though! Whenever I need to go to Europe, I always try to fly into London so I can fit in a Chelsea game too.

The club make it more than just the football match during these US Tours, as there are fan zones and they do things like bring the trophies we have won. How often are you going to be able to see the Champions League or the Premier League trophy up close?

When Chelsea brought the Champions League trophy to Houston, just being able to stand next to it was a dream come true.

The whole occasion is just so special and I highly encourage anyone to go see Chelsea live this summer because I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Chelsea’s USA Tour 2024

Don't miss your chance to make your own unforgettable memories when Chelsea visit the USA this summer.