Seeing Red or "Ring of Fire"

Liverpool

Thursday Night, Europa League Quarter Finals, 2nd Leg
Liverpool FC 4-1 Benfica (agg. LFC 4-2)



"You'll Never Walk Alone"

Another great European Night at Anfield, and even though we know what we know now we must just go back to that night that feeling. After falling behind in Portugal during the First Leg, every supporter in the ground knew what they had to do. Be that 12th man the way only Liverpool supporters can. The flags were waving and as you can see from the video the crowd was in fine voice.

Liverpool if nothing else have been the come from behind masters this campaign. Falling behind is seemingly ever Leg. Of course there are only so many miracles in any team. We had great seats down int he lower paddock only feet away from the pitch, though a little close to the away fans for me. Now I know what other teams supporters must feel like when the Travelling Kop come to town. They gave all, the fans even after goal after goal came smashing in.

And the best part is...I was in the toilet when they say Lucas scored (plausable deniability for me yeah, cos I don't really believe it. But even a broken clock is right twice a day and lightening has to strike something sometime. So why not I guess it could have been him what scored, but I didn't have to see it, so I don't have to acknowledge it. Wouldn't change my mind anyway, he's still shite.) and just got to come back and say, "Yes!"

I wish I'd gotten some footage of the crowd doing "Ring of Fire" amazing stuff really 40 some odd thousand swinging their scarves in the air like lassoes. Na-na-na,na. Na-na-na-na (I was going to title this entry that but thought it just might confuse folks) brilliant. And you'd think scoring 4 times I wouldn't have missed it...but I did. I don't have any pictures from the match either (Jennifer has the big camera at home) but I think the video will suffice, yeah. As cool as it all is here, it is a million times better in real life.

I've tried to describe a match at Anfield before, and you know all the old cliches come out, "Like a religious experience" and "something to remember" those are all true, yeah. And it does move you. This was a cracker, yeah. We'd had a nail bitter last season, and would have another stomach churner later on, but this one 4-1... Amazing!

What did we do all day waiting to get to the match? Yeah, I don't really know (I am sure the Missus does though) I remember having a few pints, I might have made breakfast that day, maybe we took a nap. Its funny how 90 minutes can change everything, I might have met the bloody queen and all I would remember was the match. We had a pint or two as we waited for traffic to die down and get a cab back to the apartment. We heard the city party into the wee hours of the night, almost like they knew that this might be it.

It was too, another great night among a season of so many disappointments. But for that night we, the city, the players...we all knew we were the best. We all did it together, the players gave their all and looked magnificent, and we supporters took on, if not the Red Shirt then the responsibility of letting the men down there in the Red Shirts know that we were all in this together. And that were were unbelievable. I mean think on it yeah, if the stars hadn't all aligned and force me to the gents and threw the ball and Lucas at each other, it might have only been 3-1.

This is why I didn't want to do any interludes this time around, just to live in the moment again, forget the future (and the present) and submerge into the wonder of Anfield and Liverpool Football Club.

It was a good night and a good match and it will always mean something to me and the Missus, even if things didn't turn out the way we'd have all hoped. That night was and will remain Magik. She has pictures and I have more video, so maybe you'll see some more (when I need to escape) later.

Until then, remember...


"When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk

You'll never walk
You'll never walk alone."

Cheers,

g