You've figured out how the Premier League works. Now comes the difficult part.

You need a team.

If you're coming to the Premier League without a family connection or hometown club, choosing one can feel slightly strange. In American sports, your team is often decided for you by where you grew up, where you live or who your family supports.

English football works much the same way for many supporters. Clubs are deeply connected to their cities, neighborhoods and generations of families.

But if you're watching from thousands of miles away in the United States?

You get to choose.

And we'd suggest taking your time.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham are the names you're probably most likely to recognize.

Collectively, they're often referred to as the Premier League's "Big Six."

There's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing one of them.

But there are 20 clubs in the Premier League, and supporting a club isn't necessarily about finding the team most likely to win.

Some supporters fall for a player.

Others love a stadium, a shirt or a manager.

Maybe you visit England and feel a connection to a particular city.

Maybe you watch one ridiculous game on a Saturday morning and suddenly find yourself caring far more about one of the teams than you expected.

That's usually more interesting than looking at the league table and picking whoever happens to be first.

Before choosing a club, think about what you actually want from following one.

There are clubs where finishing second can feel like failure.

There are clubs where simply staying in the Premier League can produce celebrations that feel like winning something.

Some clubs have trophy cabinets stretching back generations.

English football can certainly provide that too.

Location, stadium and matchday culture might matter more to you than who's currently playing up front.

There's no correct formula.

The important thing is finding some reason to care.

This one is worth remembering.

Players leave.

A superstar might be the reason you start watching a particular club, and there's nothing wrong with that. But transfers are a huge part of football.

The player you love today could be wearing somebody else's shirt a few seasons from now.

Managers change too.

Owners change.

Teams go through good periods and terrible ones.

The club is the thing that remains.

So use players as an introduction — just don't make them your only reason.

We've actually tackled this question another way at Bottom of the 90.

In Your NFL Guide to English Football, we matched all 20 Premier League clubs with an NFL franchise based on things such as history, expectations, identity, fan culture and what supporting them feels like.

They're not supposed to be perfect equivalents — English football and the NFL are very different sporting cultures.

But if you already understand what an NFL franchise represents, it's a fun way of getting a feel for the personality of a Premier League club. A few of our comparisons included:

They're not supposed to be perfect equivalents — English football and the NFL are very different sporting cultures.

But if you already understand what an NFL franchise represents, it's a fun way of getting a feel for the personality of a Premier League club.

This might actually be our biggest piece of advice.

You don't need to pick immediately.

Watch a few weekends.

Watch different clubs.

Listen to the supporters. See the stadiums. Learn some of the stories behind the teams.

Sooner or later, you'll probably notice yourself wanting one particular team to score.

That's usually a pretty good sign.

And once you've chosen?

Changing teams is generally frowned upon.

We don't make the rules.

This is perhaps the biggest thing to understand about supporting an English football club.

Success isn't always measured by championships.

For one club, a successful season could mean winning the Premier League.

For another, it could mean qualifying for Europe.

For another, finishing 17th and surviving relegation on the final afternoon could produce one of the greatest days its supporters have experienced in years.

That's part of what makes the Premier League interesting.

There are 20 clubs playing in the same competition, but they aren't all playing for exactly the same thing.

Choose a club whose journey you're interested in following.

Because once Saturday mornings start revolving around their result, you'll know you've found your team.

No draft picks. No guaranteed place next season.

Finish in the bottom three and you're leaving the Premier League.

Next, we'll explain how promotion and relegation works — and why some of the biggest games of the season happen nowhere near the top of the table.