Liverpool FC – A club unlike any other

An article by Matty

As Christmas Day comes to a close, so too does an incredibly tough week in my life. Some events I have already told you about. Some events I have promised not to tell anyone about. But believe me when I say my whole world has been rocked in some way or another. Nothing in my life is certain anymore except my education. I can’t feel safe at my job, I don’t want to be home anymore. My brief teaching career looks more and more dead by the day. My heart is broken, my mind wandering and evermore filled with rage and hatred. I almost hope I get threatened again so I can take out my intense anger on those Middle Eastern scum so they can learn a lesson about respect and I can get my aggression out. Yet at inarguably the lowest point in my life, there was one thing that brought me a tiny bit of happiness today, the worst Christmas I’ll ever have. And that was a video about a Liverpool fan from Ireland.

If anyone hasn’t seen the video about Daire, I hope you watch it. I watched the biggest LFC fan I have ever seen brought to tears during “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, I saw Klopp treat him like a king and watched our players embrace this fan like an old friend. I’ve seen a few videos now of LFC players in the community, making the lives of their fans better with every interaction. I don’t think I need to lecture anyone on the hard times of the city of Liverpool. In many ways it’s similar to my own home city. Yet no matter how hard life gets, no matter how hopeless things seem, there is a message the club consistently gives us with their actions: “you’ll never walk alone, we are with you and we support you”.

I’ve never seen another club act like this towards their fans. I think the closest competition I can make is, ironically, my hometown teams. I don’t see other clubs, other managers, other players, consistently helping the community the way LFC do. Helping those who are truly struggling and making them feel loved and appreciated. Making those who are at their lowest know that they are not alone, giving them gifts that show just how much they appreciate every last one of us.

Our global fan base is a family like no other. These fans let the players know they will never walk alone, and the players make sure the fans know that the same applies to them. It’s a type of symbiotic relationship that may exist in other clubs, or other sports, but not nearly as strongly. Liverpool FC holds the city together, they help their fans know just how much they matter. And for people who may not have anything else in their life to tell them they matter, or a battle so vast that they feel they cannot possibly conquer the day, that means the world.

What is the reason we watch sports? For many of us, it is meant to be a distraction from our dreary lives, and when it comes to Liverpudlians I imagine that’s the case for many. It is meant to entertain us, enthrall us, make us feel alive when we want to be dead. Fortunately for the fans of Liverpool FC, we support the greatest storytellers in the history of sport. Both the good and the bad, the triumphs of Istanbul or the failure of Crystanbul, the trophies of King Kenny or the hardships of Stevie G, keeps us on the edge of our seat until the very end of the story that every season tells. There is no greater drama than what this club provides. The sheer number of comebacks that seemed impossible, made possible by the intensity and passion of the fans, players and manager alike. 3-0 down at halftime to the greatest Milan team ever. 3-0 after the first leg in Barcelona. The Hillsborough tragedy knocking the club back further than ever before, only for Kenny to rally the troops and win the league the next season. “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams”.

Liverpool are the club everybody loves to hate. Some attribute this to our historical success, but I attribute it to jealousy. Every club hates that they aren’t us. Every fan hates that their club doesn’t do for them what our club does for us. They hate that they cannot tell the greatest story in football the way that our club can. They cannot stand us because we are everything a club could ever aspire to be. They can try to beat us to the top of the table in the results, the history books that everyone says is all that’s remembered. But what is remembered more than the cold hard facts? It is the story, the fond memories of the dramatics, the emotions we are made to feel, the connection between the fan and the club. And it is in those ways that this club can never be topped, no matter how much those opposing forces may try. It is a unique club and a unique fan base unlike any other. And that has been proven, time after time, to never change no matter what.

Daire in the video says that he treats Liverpool FC as his best friend. And why wouldn’t he? The club, the manager, the players, and the fans combine to form one massive supportive family. Even if you can’t find support anywhere else, this club and fan base will support you. We are the embodiment of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. And I must admit, being reminded of that at my lowest point brought me to tears. This club is almost certainly the saving grace for a good few people. This club is the reason why some people are still alive. For as long as we never walk alone, we always walk in hope. Even when the situation looks more and more hopeless, being reminded that we are never alone helps us realize that as long as there is a sliver of a chance, we must fight to make that chance happen. And that we have a family to support us chasing what we dare to dream.

And how fitting that I begin and end this ode to my club with an idea about the fighting spirit. Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager for this club and forever will be. He perfectly embodies everything this club is about, and he brings an intensity and passion to the game that inspires everyone around him and everyone watching him. Similarly to how this club urges us to walk on through the wind and rain, even if our dreams lay tossed and blown, Klopp urges his players to fight for the badge until the last dying moments. They never stop trying to make the fans proud, they never stop trying to make good things happen. And it is this fighting spirit that offers yet another inspiration for all involved. No matter what this club never quits. And as this club never quits, neither should we as supporters and as people. As long as it’s possible for a golden sky at the end of the storm, we must keep fighting for the opportunity to see it. No matter how long the odds, how large the obstacle, this club has fought and will fight to overcome it all. And so will I. And so will all of us.