Liverpool FC Forum

by **redmikey** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:05 pm

hey big mick hope you had a good night mate and i hope you will remember the sight of the pitch as you get to the top of the stairs, it never stops being a great feeling

hope you get back on the forum as you always talk sence , i know a few lads who have joined the new zealand airforce after leaving the raf and they all seem to like it there

anyway you will still be a oot who likes bothering sheep like the rest of us oot's

by **7_Kewell** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:39 pm

hope the anfield trip went well...where were you sitting?

by **Woollyback** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:07 pm

jonnymac1979 wrote:By the way Woollyback, I said I'd meet you for a bevvy before that game, I made my way to The Oakfield because the Sandon was so busy I wasn't prepared to hang around half an hour to get served.

no worries mate, the sandon can indeed be a bit of a ballache before the match (unless of course ian is with you - he's like yoda in disguise, he telepathically tells the bar staff "serve these lads first, you will" :laugh:

)

btw bigmick i hope you enjoyed your anfield baptism, i could think of a lot worse nights to be there :;):

all the best for NZ as well :cool:

by **daxy1** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:56 pm

all right bick mick how was it and were was ya sat i was in block 208 in the kop
it was class we stood up all the way through the game i havent done that in ages.....
i would like to point out that i predicted the mo foe score 3-0 baby oh yeah!!!!

by **66-1112520797** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:12 am

One for the future Mick, en route to NZ pop in to Oz and we can meet up for a very masculine scooner :laugh:

by **bigmick** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:51 pm

Firstly sorry it's taken me a while to finish off the thread as it were, the tragic events of Drummerphils passing simply put me off posting for a bit. I hope the poeple who took the trouble to PM me both before and after Tuesday night, and those who added their observations on here will understand.

Despite being just about about as disorganised as it is possible to be (we missed the first five minutes of the game through being late FFS) we had a fantastic experience. I say "we" because despite not really being a football fan on any level, Sarah has talked about nothing else since. She's been to a couple of games before but this one blew her sideways and probably enabled her to at last realise what all the fuss is about when it comes to football, to "get it" as it were.
After getting stuck in a feckin unbelieveable traffic jam around Birmingham where we were absolutely stationary for ages than crawling at about 5mph for two hours, we finally managed to get to Liverpool and thanks to the walking road atlas (Ian/Dalglish) managed to find our way to the Liverpool supporters club building about half a mile from the ground (I think, it was hard to judge in the pitch dark when you're running and following anybody who looks like a Liverpool fan). On arrival you could hear the game had already started, but there was still seemingly thousands of people outside so whether they are all feckwits like me who didn't set off early enough or it's a normal thing at Anfield I don't know?
I've watched football and sport in stadiums throughout the World and for me, the first time at any famous arena is made by the initial glimpse of the pitch. Anfield in November doesn''t disappoint. The vivid green of the pitch glistening under the lights with the blood red shirts buzzing around is an image that will live in the memory for the rest of my days. Similarly, the capacity for the ground to catch emotion from the supporters, to contain it, bottle it almost so you can sense the relief for the captain when Gerrard scores with such clarity you feel you can touch it. You can feel the support not for the footballer but for the man who is going through a difficult period surging round the ground like a wave. When Gerrard says he wants to stay for many years I now believe him, how could he leave that?
When Fowler comes on for the last fifteeen minutes, the masses who have risen to a man to applaud Luis Garcia off the pitch (and isn't he ramming the weasel words of idiots like me down our throats for doubting him after Old Trafford) stay on their feet and the noise becomes louder. Another one of their own is greeted like a long lost son, clasped into the throng like the returning hero that he is.
When the fool of a Bordeaux player inexplicably butts Riise, they rise to a man to heave derision and ridicule on the perpetrator. Even those sitting around me who had slagged Riise constantly (clearly Murph' isn't alone in not rating the Norwegian) are on their feet, indignantly defending their man. He may not be the best left back but he is one of ours so feck right off you French..........

Anfield is not alone in it's atmospheric cauldron like atmosphere. Neither are the fans unique in their tendancy to support their own team but it is hard to escape the obvious conclusion that you are in a very special place indeed when you are there. Just like Lords on the first day of an Ashes Test match, or centre court during July, or maybe even to go out there a bit further the inner sanctum of an historic old cathedral or minster give you goosebumps, so does Anfield.
The game was pretty good but everyone's covered that. To be perfectly honest until Riise got butted and the intensity increased I was having difficulty concentrating. I couldn't stop gazing around and remembering great goals, historic moments and imagining what it must have been like to be there, to feel it. What was it like when Garcia wheeled away in delight after his "goal" against Chelsea, when Riise broke the net from the free-kick against Man U, when fowler got the hat-trick in four minutes against Arsenal, or Gerrard the last minute netbuster against Olympiacos? What was it like when in the one of the great sporting travesties of justice Michael Thomas stole the league title for Arsenal, when the Liverpool fans by all accounts hid their grieving and applauded the men in yellow.

It's a special place. If I'm honest, I felt like something of a tourist rather than that I really "belonged" but i enjoyed it so much anyhow. I understand the OOTer debate better now, I understand how some Liverputlians feel that some aren't as deserving of tickets as others. I understand when they claim we can never feel it like they do and they're right. We can't, but we can witness it and you can't help but be moved by the whole experience. As a footnote I have to mention Ian/Dalglish who couldn't possibly have been nicer and more helpful, he is a top bloke and I can't thank him enough.

The end of the story? Well we got a parking ticket for sticking our car on the kerb. There were loads of cars there, bumper to bumper and we were the only one who got a ticket. Maybe the traffic wardens don't like OOTers either

by **Igor Zidane** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:06 pm

Once again, great post bigmick. There's absolutly nothing like watching Liverpool in the flesh. I'm glad you enjoyed your expierence.

by **Ace Ventura** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:26 pm

Glad to see you enjoyed the whole experience Mick, sorry i couldnt of been more help myself with getting to the ground.

Great post as well mate.

by **red37** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:28 pm

eloquently written, thought provoking report BM. it made me feel like i was there with you..as for the ambience of the place..it stinks of vintage history :nod

and pi55

by **66-1120597113** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:30 pm

Glad you enjoyed it Bigmick it feels like that for me as well!

I just cant put it so well!

by **jonnymac1979** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:34 pm

Top stuff Mick. Glad you had a belter of a night. Put this thread in your favourites, read it again at your leisue, it will remind you of Anfield when you need it the most.

Throw it in this thread as well First visit to Anfield and abiding memories

Liverpool FC Forum

My trip to anfield. - It's amazing really....

Who is online