Another spine tingling post and the forum at it's best..............
In a sea of soundbites on here sometimes you come across a post or two which portrays the raw emotion and touches on what it REALLY means to support this great club.....this is such a post
As many on here know I wasn't able to make Istanbul for personal reasons but it's the first final I've missed since the FA Cup Final in 92 but you know something , I didn't feel robbed or ever had regrets for not having been there. When I attended the parade the following day and stood on the corner of St John's Market and Lime Street and watched as the Bus inched slowly up the hill from Willaimason Square, the night was drawing in yet the trophy glimmered and glistened in the night air and in that moment for me at least it was the culmination of a dream i thought would never be realised in my lifetime ........
The EUROPEAN CUP for fecks sake !!!!!!!!!
The one with the big ears was being shaken violently by Garcia who was going mental yet I stood quietly, reverantly almost and took in the sight..............and what a glorious sight.
I thought about my time watching LFC, the trials and tribulations, the agony and the ecstacy, the wins and the losses. The long drives home after a shocking performance, the bewildering analysis on matches that had gone wrong and the exhiliration when it had gone so very very right as it did in Istanbul. I thought about the defining moments in my life watching LFC, my survival at Hillsborough and my subsequent loss of confidence in crowds and my self imposed exile from football for 3 years, the treble of trophies in 2001 when in one week i saw us win the FA Cup on Saturday, travelled to Germany and saw us beat Alaves on a mad night in Dortmund and then over to Charlton to see us win 4-0 and qualify for the CL.....I thought about the KOP against Chelsea of which Mourinho was forced to quip "The power of Anfield , I felt it". And there in the cold night air standing on Lime Street with thousands of fellow fans and the Champions League trophy for company I too felt the power of Liverpoool Football Club and the tears flowed ...........
Where do you begin to fully explain the events of May 25th 2005 except to say "Some men are born into greatness and some men have greatness thrust upon them "
To see players of average ability like Smicer be transformed in a moment from Lamb to Lion is hard to explain except to say he fulfilled his destiny on that night as did so many others..........
In years to come people will ask what the side of 2005 meant to me and I will reply " They were the team that reminded us all of how great and rich in history and tradition Liverpool football Club really are.
Walk on .................