Times Square, TV audiences and classroom cheers: How Leeds United are leading USA's cultural revolution

Raiford Guins describes himself as a 'dislocated' Leeds supporter, having followed the club for 40 years from afar thanks to the childhood gift of a Whites scarf.

A professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Indiana University, he had already detected anecdotal evidence of an increased awareness of Leeds United prior to Adams' exploits in Qatar, but believes the midfielder will win more US hearts to the cause, not just for the Whites but for the sport.

"I was looking at some of the viewing figures recently," he told the YEP.

"The US v England match had 15.5million viewers in the US and that is only by way of the Fox coverage, which was in English - I don't think that number accounts for Telemundo. That number was higher than the viewers for the 1994 World Cup final. I found that to be quite amazing.

"What I'm seeing is that a lot of people who follow football and follow the US national team are now more aware of how many players play in Europe so I think the visibility of the game in the States has improved.

"I don't support the US, I support Sweden, but I took a huge interest this year because of Aaronson and Adams, players I want to watch, supporting Leeds in the World Cup.

"Whenever I start a new course when I teach, I always kind of identify myself as a Leeds supporter and in years previously it really didn't raise an eyebrow. Many young people weren't even aware of the club, but since the return to the Premier League, what I noticed back in September, when I mentioned that I had a student shout out 'Aaronson' really loud. So I do think having US players play for a club like Leeds raises the profile of the club and also their status as major players."

Adams didn't just do himself and his club favours on the pitch, because he didn't just play for USMNT in Qatar, he led.

A spiky press conference ahead of the game against Iran could well have drawn the youngster into headlines for the wrong reasons, had he not been the picture of diplomacy.

"That made waves, positive waves I want to say," said Guins.

"I think many were impressed that this is coming out of a 23-year-old. He seems to punch above his weight in terms of his age and his sense of leadership and I do think that garnered a lot of fans. It was impressive, he was under a lot of pressure and I don't know how much experience he has in these kinds of press conferences. To be a very young captain on the world stage, he dealt with it in a very cool manner.

"He didn't dismiss the racism in the US, but made the point that we're constantly working on it and I read that as a nice sort of wink to Iran, in the sense that everyone has their issues, no country is exempt. He was bold, mature and professional."

When Adams and Aaronson moved to Leeds in the summer they didn't create an American presence, they merely bolstered it. The financiers of the San Francisco 49ers were already in the boardroom as minority owners and Jesse Marsch, of Racine, Wisconsin, was the head coach.

The effect of that presence, on the other side of the Atlantic, Guins believes, is two-fold.

"I think for the, if I can use this term, brand of Leeds, it's huge," he said.

"You're seeing more Leeds swag in shops in the US. In my book I have a picture of my wife in the JD Sports store at Times Square holding up Leeds United hoodies, now go back to the 80s, 90s and even 2000s and that wasn't something you could find.

"I think the owners of the club are really savvy, especially with the impending 49ers takeover, to look at the US market and see it as almost untapped in the sense that so many other clubs have looked to the Asian market. Leeds have looked west, realised the US market is a huge one to tap into and by having these young players it's improving the brand, helping to spread it.

"That's one side of the story because they can also play very well. I was a little disappointed when Brenden said 'hey, Americans can play too' because I think people know that, John Harkes demonstrated it, Tim Howard, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and other examples.

"And with these young players playing well in the Premier League and at the World Cup, I don't have to explain who Leeds are to so many US people. We have US national team players on a Premier League team and there's bragging rights there for supporters and what always astonishes me is that many Americans pick teams to follow. You have this abundance of Man City fans in the US, something I still find a bit shocking, and that's very particular to us in the US, following a club based on players. It's a common approach, so I think a lot of US-based supporters of football will gravitate towards Leeds because of Adams."

And what of Marsch? A man who, whether he wanted the responsibility or not, is fighting to plant a flag on English soil for American coaches.Guins credits him for bringing fellow Americans Adams and Aaronson to the club for the right reasons, and sees hope for the head coach's tenure despite difficulties he has faced simply because of his origins.

"I will admit that when their names came out I thought oh this is just Marsch wanting to get the band back together, but he clearly saw something that I was ignorant about [in those players]," he said.

"They've been really exciting signings.

"I think Marsch is in a really tough spot. He's spoken about the stereotype of Ted Lasso, and none of that helps - I've never even seen the show, I've no interest, but I think that sort of approach is understood in the US, that you need to have these kind of caricatures and that must be tough for a US manager.

"I was a Bielsa supporter, I was weeping when he got the sack, but I've seen Marsch mature a little bit, I've liked his willingness to be more pragmatic and at first he was throwing in these odd substitutions but he seems to have learned from some of his mistakes and he's willing to make changes and point the finger at himself. But at the end of the day results are what are necessary."

Guins has authored a book [Feeling Leeds: Notes on Loving a Football Club from Afar/Pitch Publishing, 2022] on what it's like to be a Leeds United fan supporting from a distance and he very much talks like one. Concerns or doubts that might linger in Yorkshire Whites when it comes to the likely 2023 American takeover are felt just as keenly by a fan with a Stateside perspective.

"I'm a little scared, to be honest with you," he said of the prospect of the 49ers buying the club from Andrea Radrizzani.

"We see a lot of these kinds of acquisitions happen and are they sustainable? Look at the Glazers, I mean that's been an utter nightmare. I think Radz has done a very good job with building infrastructure, bringing stability to the club. I've admired his very personal touch, Tweeting about the players and Victor Orta.

"If the 49ers approach this by addressing football culture in the UK I think it can be very successful. If they come across as naive, trying to convert it more into an extension of the US market, I think that's going to fail. But I think this has been a long learning period. They have to be really aware of the culture, particularly of Leeds and Yorkshire, that's crucial."