My L.F.C. Story
Hello everyone! This is my first entry for American Scouser. I’m thankful and feel very privileged for this opportunity. I figured i would start by telling all of you a little bit about myself.
My History
My name’s Tim, but all my friends call me Hooch. I’m 33 and from Pittsburgh. I have been a Reds supporter since around 2010. I first got into the team because of a local radio personality. See, I used to deliver pizzas. I would listen to his show whilst driving my route. Every now and again, he would go berserk, either with elation, or utter disdain. It didn’t matter if he was in a middle of a monologue or talking to a caller. He would start carrying on, and hang up on said caller saying something along the lines of, “Oh who cares what you were saying, LFC is more important anyway.”
World Cup 2010
This was the season right after the 2010 World Cup, and the USMNT had captured me. There was something about the do or die of the tournament and I was hooked. The only problem was that I didn’t want to wait four more years to be that invested in a team. So I decided that since the EPL team I heard most about was the Men in Red, they would be my team!
The Seeds are Planted
I admit it was tough at first. At that time, ESPN basically only carried 2 matches a week, both in the early morning. And from what memory serves, we were a middling club. So the other option was to find a stream online, that may or may not crash your computer in a day or two. It also took me sometime to get used to their season. They had the EPL, Carling Cup, F.A. Cup, and of course the two European Tournaments.
A Bond Across Oceans
So after sometime on Google and Wikipedia it all started to make sense. It was also during this time I learned of the club and City’s history. It struck me that the City’s history mirrored that of my hometown of Pittsburgh. They were a hard working people on the Ports. We were known for our Steel Mills. They looked forward to their half days on Saturdays and to the Match. We worked all week to make it to Sunday afternoon, and in both cases the result of the weekend stayed with us til the next weekend. They were known as Scousers. We were known as Yinzers. We both had our own dialect to an extent with our own terms for things. It just seemed like a perfect fit.
A Love Affair Begins
NBC picked up the EPL, and made it so much easier for us Americans. We had numerous T.V. options, plus their app and streaming service which made it that much easier to follow the Club on a daily basis. Then we finished second and made the Champions League for the first time since I had been a supporter. I heard stories and read of the Glorious European nights and couldn’t wait for the next year. However, we sold Suarez and never found his replacement, and crashed out in the group stage. Another few seasons come and go and we get THE man. Jurgen Klopp. We beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. We played with reckless abandon(maybe to a fault in some cases). Being re-energized, we make two cup finals. Up until that point, I really hadn’t had that moment where i said, “I’ll never forget where i was..” Until that EPIC comeback against Dortmund. I’ll never forget Millie’s cross coming in and Lovern burying it. I remember falling to my knees and shaking in just sheer joy! I’m getting goosebumps just typing about it. We of course went on to lose both finals, but there was something there. A plan was in place.
This Means More
Which brought us to Kiev. We just made an unbelievable run to the Final. We look poised to make a run at the league. A trophy or two seemed definitely possible on the horizon.. We were back! If Mo doesn’t get his arm ripped off by that no good punk Ramos, who knows what could have happened.
Lets Talk About SIX BABY
The impossible happened, didn’t it? The run through the group stage, making short work in the knockout rounds, until those two fateful matches. While we played better than what the score indicated in Barcelona, it did nothing but set up the GREATEST day in my life. Three words. CORNER. TAKEN. QUICKLY. Then Divock scored in Spain. We all went insane, and are still writing history as I update my story!
This was my first post for this site. I went back to update it a bit, but what I wrote then still rings true. Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings, and I look forward to sharing this new wave of LFC dominance with all of you!!!
You’ll Never Walk Alone
-Hooch-