The Joy of Six
AN ARTICLE BY CONOR
The joy of six indeed.
1am, that was the time the alarm went off so I could catch the 2.30am bus to the airport. Me mate collected me in a taxi around 2am and by 6am we’d reached the airport. Who did we meet as we entered the airport but a group of 20 or so fellow Liverpool fans with a similar thought as us, well we can’t get to Madrid so let’s go to Liverpool instead and enjoy the cl final there.
Normally to get to Liverpool is relatively easy for us, flights to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham are aplenty from Cork and Dublin. On this occasion it was not that easy. after the heroics of the Barcelona game, seats on flights were few and far between and at exorbitant costs. So in the end I managed to book flights from Dublin to Robin Hood airport (yes, Doncaster) and booked train tickets to Liverpool via Leeds. We thought we were the only lunatics to do this round trip but we were wrong. On the flight we met the 20 or so red fans we’d met going into the airport (great minds think alike). The air stewardess had their hands full let me tell you, at one point when the singing had gotten a bit too loud she lost the plot screaming and roaring at everyone to shut up (I do have a video somewhere of it and its hilarious).
Well we arrived in sherwood forest (Robin Hood airport) around 10am I think and bused into Doncaster train station. Arrived in time for the connecting train and travelled to Leeds for another connecting train (during the bus journey and subsequent train journeys the singing continued )
Upon arrival at limestreet Station we headed to our city centre Hotel, freshened up, got some grub and took too the streets. Some of the city centre streets were closed off and literally thousands of reds fans were drinking and singing in the streets, flares were being set off colouring the afternoon sky in a red haze. We headed to the baltic triangle which I can only describe as insane with the amount of fans packed in there, lads hanging off scaffolding to get the best views. Around 6 pm we heading to the waterfront and into a pub to watch the match.
I was at the bar ordering pints when the penalty was given, and rather than rushing back to my seat and risk holding 2 pints and celebrating if we’d scored I remained at the bar as salah put away the penalty. As it happens there was a gorgeous young lady at the bar and we cheered and hugged as we went one nil up as if we were old friends (then we went our separate ways ). When div put the 2nd goal in the roof nearly lifted off the pub and so ensued an evening of singing and cheering as hendo lifted number six aloft. By about midnight we were running on empty. Between nearly 24 hours of travelling drinking and singing we headed back to the hotel and got some shut eye, however on the way back I apparently fell off the footpath and landed in a heap on the ground uninjured I might add. Me mate was laughing his head off at me on the ground and a lovely old lady helped me to my feet and she too was laughing at me (had I been sober I’d probably have broken something) .
I had the foresight to book the hotel for 2 nights in anticipation of being victorious and the parade taking place the following day. Crawling out of bed around 11am we headed down to the hotel bar for some grub and a cure. From about midday (and probably earlier) fans in their thousands passed down hanover Street on their way to the docks for the parade that would finish there. We decided to have a couple more pints to clear the head before heading down there ourselves, so we went into a pub up the road and watched on tv as the parade was starting to set off.
What I love about Liverpool in particular is when you walk into a bar the locals genuinely take an interest in where you are from, there’s no snobbery and they want to share their stories with strangers and have the craic . Anyways, as the parade moved through the outskirts of Liverpool(and Jurgen nearly fell off the open top coach) we decided it was time to head to the strand and await out heroes. Needless to say the sight I encountered will live with me forever. A sea of red. As the coaches arrived, red fireworks erupted around the liver building and the celebrations intensified. Seeing Jurgen and the lads hold the cl trophy aloft only 10 metres from where I stood was one of the best moments I have witnessed. renditions of “you’ll never walk alone” “allez allez allez”were constant, even as the parade ended songs continued to be sung as we made our way back to the city centre to continue the party. Every pub we went too seems to be replaying the match and we got to enjoy it all over again.
The baltic triangle was in party mode again, however as groups came and went if songs started up again the door security weren’t too happy and we’d have to stop singing as they approached, it was brilliant . Well we ended the night in a late bar called mccooleys I think, singing and drinking .we didn’t realise how late it was until we left the bar and it was bright outside (5am ish)
I was hoarse the next morning as we checked out and caught a train to Manchester Airport for the flight home. Sick as a small hospital but what a weekend. The joy of six was an epic adventure. So what’s your champions league Madrid story from 2019?
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