Even though it's still a sizzling summer and the USA Women are again vying for Olympic gold, this weekend sees soccer fans switching their attention to the start of the new Premier League season in the U.K. Last week, it was heartwarming to see 64,000 people pack the new U.S. Bank Stadium to see Chelsea destroy AC Milan, and if that has given you a taste for the game or has deepened your love so that you feel the need to play BPL Fantasy Soccer, we'd love to have you join our league. Last year, there were 25 teams in The Current League, and I finished the season in fifth place — so just missing out on Europe!? (haha). But I was very pleased to be the highest-finishing MPR employee, and am excited to defend that title. And apparently, I was in the top 13 percent of all teams, of which there are 1.5 million!

You can start building your team by logging in to fantasy.premierleague.com. And join our league here (if you weren't involved last year); use this code to join: 171672-55698

It will be a very interesting year. After Leicester's amazing title last year, will the domination of the Big 4 return? Chelsea and Man City have new, big-name managers trying to return their teams to glory, and Arsenal have stuck with Wenger and their habit of NOT being drawn into chasing big-name transfers.

It will be an especially interesting season for me … because after 48 years of seemingly unwavering devotion, I am no longer identifying as a supporter of Manchester United! Old-school football fanatics will argue that I cannot do this. I really thought it was impossible for me to do, that I would always have that weird feeling in the gut when they play. But last year, that seemed to dissipate, especially when I had fantasy soccer to improve my enjoyment of watching other teams and players.

I have stuck by Manchester United through the change of ownership when a lot of lifelong fans, especially in Manchester, refused to acknowledge the American ownership of the Glazer family when they took over in 2005, even going to the trouble of creating a new team to follow locally, F.C. United of Manchester.

I almost cut them off when they got Robin van Persie from Arsenal; I just never liked him, and Arsenal are my most hated of teams. But van Persie saved the day by helping Man U win another title in 2013! I even gave the club the benefit of the doubt when Sir Alex left the team in the hands of David Moyes three years ago, but they didn't treat him well, and I was never totally won over by Louis Van Gaal. Now, I refuse to follow a team led by Jose Mourinho. His reign at Chelsea as "The Special One" ended last season after the team suffered the worst implosion of any champion, ever.

But most importantly, to me he fired the only female field doctor in the league. He was wrong, and he never apologized. He strikes me as sexist and arrogant. After the special treatment he got from Chelsea and their fans, he comes out saying he's always loved United and only wants that job?! Please. Then his first signing is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another arrogant has-been. I like the look of Paul Pogba, but setting a huge transfer-fee record for him seems desperate.

I can't take it, I'm done, I resign as a Red Devil fan.

So, who do I support this season? Well, living here in America has opened my mind to the possibility of changing allegiances. In England, you are often born into an area where you have to support one team or another, for life. That wasn't true for me. I choose United in 1968 when they were the first English team to win the European Cup, when my faves Bobby Charlton and Georgie Best played for them, and I aspired to follow them through thick and thin, to live up to that very English idea of staunch, can't-change-it fanaticism. But now, I choose the only English team to have surpassed them in terms of European success since 1968: Liverpool. Notoriously United's arch rival, along with Man City, Liverpool have never been despised by me because of a musical connection: John Peel, my boyhood DJ hero, was a Liverpool fan, so I couldn't hate them. And now, they are managed by Jürgen Klopp, a German who almost has the same last name as my German wife and who used to manage Borussia Dortmund, my mother-in-law's fave team! That feels like a personal connection, and Klopp's signings this off-season have been astute, not showy.

I have always loved the romance attached to the club, have loved The Kop choir, and I respect how they have never lost their dignity in the global arms race for players. Georginio Wijnaldum was in my fantasy squad a lot last year, even playing for Newcastle, so I hope he thrives at Anfield. This weekend, The Guardian (a good place to follow footie) predicted Liverpool will finish sixth, but without having to play in Europe, maybe they can challenge for a Top 4 place.

I like following outsiders too, and it always bugged me that Manchester United got to be EXPECTED to do well. They were predicted to win it all, and they have already carried off the first trophy of the season, The Community Shield, by beating Leicester in the ceremonial first game of the season at Wembley. So it's not as if I am shifting allegiance to have a better chance of winning. I just think, even if we have tried to devote our support to an organization forever and it does things that we disagree with, we should be able to have the courage to stand up and … move on.

It's going to be a weird season, for sure! Who will you be supporting and why?

Related

• On the Ball with Mark Wheat: How I Became a Man Utd Fan
• Premier League