Ryan (R) at his first Arsenal game
The recent re-election of Donald Trump has been attributed to some degree to the support and campaigning taking place on Twitter/X.
People are leaving the social media platform in droves, many moving to Bluesky, looking for a more sociable and respectful way to interact with others, whether discussing current affairs, the arts or sport.
One man who knows more than most about the story behind the story of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter is Ryan Mac.
I urge anyone who uses social media to read ‘Character Limit’ – the incredible story of Musk and Twitter written by Ryan and his fellow New York Times reporter Kate Conger.
But Ryan is also an obsessive Arsenal fan – his support for the Gunners stretching back more than 25 years.
When did you start supporting Arsenal and why?
Funnily enough it was video games, and it wasn't just any video game, it was an early FIFA, I think 1998 or 99.
I played soccer growing up a lot, you know in the US it's the first sport you do as a kid, and I was quite decent at it. My parents didn’t have a background in the sport.
I had a lot of friends through it and I went over to a friend's house one day when I was seven and eight years old, who had FIFA on his computer. The quick start option on FIFA at the time, if you just want to play immediately, was always Man United against Arsenal. My friend was a Man. United fan so I was Arsenal. It was funny because you would share a keyboard, so I would have the left side of the keyboard and he would have the right side.
I would memorise the players in that team, (Dennis) Bergkamp, (Patrick) Vieira….I knew that this was a game but I didn't understand that this was a whole other league at the time. My friend told me that these were real teams, not made up players.
In the States, it was an incredibly expensive package to watch games so I'd go over my friend’s home and watch games, and I was like, wow, this is awesome!
I played this sport. I have no idea what's going on in this world. And I just fell in love with it. Through the years I kept following initially online.
Back then, I had no way of watching those games. You would have a game tracker or something or look it up on the BBC. I went through periods of various types of illegal streaming to get the games here.
Actually that made it in some ways more appealing to me, in the way that you might like an indie rock band who only four people like. My fandom grew from there.
Liking Arsenal became a thing beyond just realising that the game was at a higher level and it grew from there. I also think that Nike marketing at that time was really impactful. Arsenal was a Nike club, you had these adverts at the time. I remember the cage, where there was a secret tournament. That had a significant impact on me as well. These commercials were always running, but you didn't really recognise the players or most people didn't, and I did. Henry was in there, and that all worked on me as a 10-11 year old kid at the time.
What was your first Arsenal match?
The US eventually developed the Fox Soccer Channel and it was channel 300 or something, between golf and shopping and it had everything including Serie A and the Premier League.
There was this. Scottish commentator on there called Bobby McMahon and they had all these former American players commentating.
The first game I attended, though, was Arsenal against Fulham at the Emirates in 2012.
I had some work stuff at the time and I stayed in a hostel. I spent all my money on the ticket, but to see the game was a religious experience in a way. It's totally different.
The experience of walking to the stadium, I don't think can be underestimated. In the US you drive everywhere and park in the stadium, you tailgate, which is a big part of American sporting culture. But to walk up through the neighborhoods, see the vendors, see the murals, hear the songs, walk by the pubs…for an American, that's incredible. I don't really know if there's an approximate US sporting experience like that.
Arsenal is completely different and I loved how integrated the stadium was with the community. I'd never experienced Highbury, but to see such a modern stadium like that integrated with the neighborhood was pretty amazing.
It was a thrilling match that ended 3-3. Mikel Arteta missed a last minute penalty but it was a dubious penalty to win in the first place. (Andrey) Arshavin kicked the ball against someone’s hand. I thought this was going to be the best experience ever. I'm going to witness a win.
I just remember sitting in the stands for 10 minutes after everyone cleared out and thinking this is my fault. I came all this way and they didn't win.
Who was your first Arsenal hero and why?
It had to be Henry because I scored so many goals with him on that FIFA game. Growing up I had posters of Vieira and (Cesc) Fabregas and Henry up there. You learn about the history later. I remember getting these history DVDs and stuff like that. Amazon changed the game for a lot of things. I was able to order Vieira posters on Amazon. There wasn't anyone teaching me how you support or this is how you behave kind of thing.
Henry was such a star. He was so cool, right? He was the best player at the time. France 98 had happened and he was becoming the face of Nike. He just had the whole package and he was so marketable. And that marketing reached all the way to the States. My fandom also coincided with the rise of club soccer in the US and then that explosion in the suburbs. And so there were soccer specific stores that popped up in in my neighborhood.
They would have Henry cutouts and his Vapor shoes. He was just the real deal. He was the peak athlete in a way.
I always thought it was cool when Henry went back (to Arsenal in 2012), you know? And then he had the Leeds goal, for example, which he calls his favourite goal.
He was a special player.
Who is your favourite ever Arsenal player and why?
I was a defender playing so Tony Adams for me, but he was a little bit before my time so I never like really saw him play. He was towards the end of his career when I started really tuning in.
Fabregas was amazing for me too. I mean through that period where I really became a fan. I was in college, streaming games on my laptop and we had the Champions League, and I remember him scoring against AC Milan. A friend who's an Arsenal fan from London and I would just go to the college pub and watch games. Watching that goal was incredible. I'd never seen anyone play like him.
He was on another level and when he left it was crushing for me.
What’s your biggest Arsenal regret/disappointment?
My biggest disappointment was the loss to Birmingham City in the League Cup final (2011) where Obafemi Martins scored.
That one stands out because I had got up pretty early in the morning here. I'm watching again with my Arsenal friends from London and we're so excited.
You know, we're favoured. We're going to break the trophy curse and finally going to get over that hump. It's just the League Cup, but you know, it's a piece of silverware. There was a little bit of “Arsenal played great football but couldn't win a trophy.”
And then to watch that made us think what the hell just happened? How did we lose that game? It was crushing.
Even from thousands of miles away you could see it in the players’ faces, it was just devastating. And that was psychologically damaging for that team as well.
I was at the Europa League game with Atletico Madrid (semi-final 2018), where the winning the Europa League was our best shot at getting back into the Champions League.
I had great seats that I’d got at the last minute. I was really pumped. They got a red card early in the game and we score through (Alexandre) Lacazette and we're cruising. Then a ball over the top goes to Antoine Griezmann, he roofs it and it's 1-1.
They go back to their stadium, where they're a fortress, and win the game.
What is your favourite ever Arsenal match?
The FA Cup final we won to break the trophy hoodoo against Hull City. (2014)
I’d cleared out my day. I was living in San Francisco at the time. One of my friends came over. I hate going to pubs to watch, I just get too nervous.
So I like watching at home and you kind of get this comfort of waking up and starting your day with the game. The people around me know not to bother me. So it's my safe space in a way.
We're sitting there and Hull go 2-0 up. I'm just like, what the hell is this? It’s like Birmingham City all over again. I cannot believe this is happening.
Then Santi Cazorla scores the free kick from 35 yards out and we’re thinking we’ve got a shot here and the rest is history. I remember the roller coaster of emotions. Then finally at the end reaching the summit and having that silverware after years when Arsenal hadn't won a trophy.
It felt like a real moment for us, a psychological moment for the fans and for the players.
What is your favourite Arsenal memory (away from the pitch) and why?
For me, the fandom is being online when I used to post a lot on Twitter and now it's on Bluesky.
To have that connection with someone online because you're an Arsenal fan is so great. I met Andrew (Mangan) at Arseblog and Elliot (Smith) from ArsenalVision and those are really special moments for me, building that community.
It’s a ritual on the weekends. I get up in the morning, I'll read Arsenal Twitter. I'll message my groups of friends. That's my thing. And for me that's what keeps me going sometimes. You know, if I'm having a bad day, we can duck in and talk about the latest transfer rumour, or is this injury so bad. It's always been that kind of escape. To connect with people that are quite influential in the community has been amazing.