This Is MY Liverpool

 Liverpool Football Club is many different things to many people, to some it’s a hobby, to others it’s a religion, to some a passing interest, to others something to lose hours of sleep over every night. There are Liverpool supporters happy to find out the final score on teletext hours after the game has finished, others in far flung countries will get out of bed at 2am to watch a 0-0 draw with Wigan before a full day at work. We all love the club and nobody can honestly say it means more or less to them than to anyone else, we just follow the Reds in different ways.

 This is MY Liverpool.

 I was taken to my first Liverpool game sometime in the mid eighties, we beat Arsenal 2-1, we were sat in the Paddock and my ticket cost £1.50. I was hooked, I loved the whole thing, the stadium, the noise, the full experience. I was used to watching football on TV and one of the things that I still remember clearly from that first taste of live football was the realisation that when you’re in the stadium you don’t get action replays. A goal was scored and I didn’t get to see it again from several angles, I think this taught me very early on to pay full attention to what was going on, if you miss something that’s it, it’s missed forever. Even to this day I’ll never have more than a couple of beers before going to a game, must be able to take everything in.

 Trips to Anfield became a part of my life, though not particularly regularly, they were certainly a treat and not the norm. I do remember a stadium tour, before they became as slick as they are now, it was a case of ‘there’s the pitch, there’s the dressing room, there’s the This Is Anfield sign, there’s the Kop’. But on that tour we did see Ronnie Whelan who was in for treatment at the time. As we were leaving and heading to the car he was also walking out to the car park, me being such a shy kid I ran and hid rather than stopping to talk to him, but he saw me next to the car and said ‘hi’ as he strode past. Thanks for that Ronnie, I missed out on the chance to tell you I had number 5 on the back of my shirt that day and I’ve always regretted it.

 I remember where I was on the day of the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989 but was too young to really understand what had happened. It was only much later when I’ve heard the stories of the survivors and the families affected that it’s really hit home what happened to a large number of supporters of the club I love. I don’t know anybody who was personally affected by the events of that afternoon and yet it’s still a subject I find it hard to talk about, I can only imagine what it must be like for people who lost friends and relatives. Like every other Liverpool fan I fully support the fight for justice and hope that it arrives one day soon, and with it comes a sense of closure for the families.

 There were two things that changed my Liverpool supporting life forever. Firstly I got my driving licence, and secondly I discovered that if I dropped a cheque into an envelope (along with a stamped, SAE) and posted it to the LFC ticket office there would be match tickets dropping through my letterbox within a week or so. This was revolutionary. I could go to watch MY team under MY own initiative, heady days indeed.

 After a few seasons of being a semi-regular at Anfield I found myself even more committed to the cause, and in the 2000/2001 season I only missed one home league game (for which I still hold a grudge against the ticket office), a 2-0 win over Man Utd and one home FA Cup game, a win over Man City. That season we won the UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA Cup, in addition to qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. On May 12^th 2001 I was fortunate enough to be in Cardiff for my first ever Cup Final, the 2-1 win over Arsenal thanks to Michael Owen remains just about my favourite ever afternoon in a football stadium.

 In 2002 I embarked on a ninety day trip around America and very quickly invented a new game, which I called ‘how many people’s holiday photos can I get my Liverpool shirt in?’. The rules are fairly self explanatory and it’s quite a lot of fun. There are bus loads of Japanese tourists with photographs of the steps in Philadelphia made famous by the scene in Rocky where he runs to the top (not recommended, there’s A LOT of them) with me standing at the summit, arms aloft, proudly showing my gold ‘HENCHOZ’ ‘2’ shirt. I’m proud of that.

 The next big season for me as a Liverpool fan was Rafa’s first with us. I attended every game at home in the Champions League, the games against Juventus and especially Chelsea will never, ever be forgotten. The noise, the passion, the thrill of the victories, everything. This was MY Liverpool, these were MY nights, the same way generations before me had THEIR nights, THEIR victories when they watched THEIR Liverpool. As much as I wanted to I just couldn’t afford the prices being charged for a trip to Istanbul so I had to settle for watching the game against AC Milan in Concert Square in Liverpool. It was the most amazing match in history and a feeling I didn’t think I’d ever have, but for me the semi final against Chelsea will always edge it out, simply because I WAS THERE.

 Over recent seasons as ticket prices have risen the frequency of my Anfield visits has dropped. I know watching on TV isn’t the same as being in the stadium but when you can get an entire month’s football on the box for the same price as one match ticket it’s hard to justify the spend. I still get to as many cup games as possible, I followed our FA Cup run last term all the way to the semi final – the ticket office again denying me when it came to the biggest game of the season. Missing out on going to the final hurt, but being at Wembley for the semi final win over Everton made up for it, especially being second row right behind the goal where Andy Carroll broke our neighbours hearts. I normally prefer to be high up in the stands where you get a better view of the pattern of play, but I wouldn’t swap where I was that sunny afternoon for anywhere else.

 I’m quite close to the top of the season ticket waiting list and once we either move or increase the Anfield capacity I’m pretty sure I’ll be offered a season ticket. I’m highly doubtful that I’ll be able to fork out the required cash when this happens though, another case of a loyal supporter priced out of the game. And we’re still one of the most reasonably priced clubs in the league, I have sympathy for people who follow other teams and have to pay out even more. I think I’ll have to make do with being a ‘couple of league games a season and as many cup ties as I can manage’ fan. That and catching us every time we’re on TV.

 I have a stash of probably almost fifty Liverpool shirts in a vacuum bag in my loft waiting for the day my son will be old enough to wear them. That day is probably a good fifteen or sixteen years away yet but I’m looking forward to it, I can’t wait to hand over to him what has been a big part of my life.

 For the moment MY Liverpool will have to consist of mostly afternoons and evening watching my beloved Reds on the TV, writing about them regularly on here and defending them on a daily basis against their bitter enemies I seem to have ended up in an office with. Who knows what will happen on the rest of my journey supporting Liverpool? I’m hoping that it will be trophy filled.

 This is MY Liverpool. Please feel free to share your Liverpool story with me.