Cherry Pie

It only took 85 years, but AFC Bournemouth from the coast of England finally made it to the top division of English Soccer - the English Premier League - this season.  Bruce Schoenfeld wrote an entertaining piece about the team, known as "The Cherries," for ESPN - The Magazine a few weeks ago. 

Schoenfeld wrote, "The idea of a team advancing through England's 92-club, four-tier league system to the EPL is surprising enough. It rarely happens, even over a generation -- let alone in the span of five years. In English soccer, the same marginal sides tend to bob up and down from the top of the second-highest division to the bottom of the first. But if any club could do it ... well, Bournemouth would not be it." 

With a population of 180,000, Bournemouth is one of the smallest cities ever to play in the EPL and its stadium, with a capacity of only 11,464, is the smallest venue.

On the field the Cherries are off to a slow start and it will be tough to stay in the EPL.  They have two wins and four draws in the first 14 league matches, leaving them in the relegation zone - 18th place.  Although AFC has been competitive in most games, it is riding a 10-game winless streak since beating Sunderland, 2-1, back on September 19.