Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Liverpool have reached the Final of the Champions League. I'm stunned, I'm shocked, I'm in absolute heaven.
It's so hard to put this into perspective, to show why this is such a huge deal. Liverpool have the greatest history of any English side both at home and in Europe, but have had nothing to show for it in the last fifteen years. Now Liverpool are in the final of the European Cup for the first time in twenty years.
And it's not like this was ever expected. Liverpool have had a horrible year and are generally considered a (large) notch below the top English teams, let alone the best in Europe. We're rebuilding under a new boss. But somehow, Liverpool have improbably made it to the Final of the world's top club competition, and have knocked out two of Europe's top three clubs in Juventus and Chelsea along the way.
And what a game that Chelsea match was. Liverpool hadn't beaten Chelsea in four tries this year, but knew all they had to do was beat them to reach the final. On the other hand, Chelsea are rather good and needed only a draw. But Liverpool gave it all they've got, stole a goal early on, and put up a fantastic defensive performance to stop Chelsea. And they were spurred on by the loudest crowd I've ever heard. For 90 minutes they roared every time Liverpool had the ball and booed relentlessly whenever a Chelsea player touched it.
I've often been made fun of for my Liverpool fandom. I don't think people doubt my passion -- in fact, they pick on how nuts I am about them -- more the disconnect I have with Liverpool's roots and success. It's a charge I cannot deny. I was not born anywhere near Liverpool. And I did not witness any of those four famous European Cup triumphs (which is what you get when you win the Champions League). But tonight I had my own little bit of Liverpool lore, I saw the passion, I felt what it all meant.
One famous story of the old European nights involve the Kop End at Liverpool's Anfield stadium, the end where the most loyal home supporters are. Their passion -- evident in the sheer amount of noise they make -- is legendary. Opponents used to complain that the Kop was Liverpool's 12th man; some swore the residents of the Kop would collectively "suck" the ball into the back of the net. And you know what? When Garcia's flick deflected off Terry and spun goalwards, I could almost swear that the Kop sucked that ball further in...
Posted at 7:03 AM
