Coping With An Empty May
We’re not used to this. Since the day Jurgen Klopp walked through the door, we’ve always had something to go after in May. Only a handful of clubs are left fighting for silverware at the end of each season. Our Reds have made it a regular occurrence and taken it in our stride.
The prospect of heading into the remaining nine games with very few stakes is daunting. Football when the three points hanging in the balance are ultimately meaningless is a peculiar existence. Our recent successes have made this an even more unfamiliar feeling.
READ MORE: Hard Times by Morgan O’Sullivan
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Just One May Ago
Liverpool played 63 matches last season. Every single one of them felt like the most important thing on Earth. That’s how it has been under the big man. But this season has unfolded so differently. How do we go about consuming these last nine games? What are we looking to take from them?
The best thing to do first of all is to remember what you’re in it for. Harken back to what drove you to support this great club in the first place. That motive varies from person to person, but nobody can hand-on-heart say that the only thing that drives them to watch Liverpool games is the end result.
That is for the players and management to worry about. The numbers on the scoreboard are why they are paid the big bucks. We enjoy the journey as fans while they get to parrot lines like “our focus is now on the next game” week after week.
Finding Joy Amidst The Joylessness
Beating Manchester United 7-0 was one of the most incredible days of my life. The bigger picture will tell you that the result will not count for anything in the grand scheme of things, but we all know that is not true.
Alisson Becker’s header against West Brom to secure Champions League qualification in 2020-2021 may go down as one of my all-time favorite Liverpool moments. If you fast-forward 13 months from that goal you could technically argue that it was fruitless given that we ultimately lost to Madrid in the final, but we all know that is not true.
I’m not saying we can expect one of those moments between now and the end of the season. The reality is that it is in fact highly unlikely. But the whole joy of being a supporter stems from being able to dream and simultaneously live in spontaneity and embrace the unknown each matchday.
You can eat your breakfast not knowing whether you’re going to be in a pit of misery or a party after the final whistle. If we knew the outcome of every match and season we’d never bother watching.
Keep One’s Head Up
There are nine matches left on the schedule. Anything can happen in any of those affairs that may produce a tale you can regale your grandchildren with. Even if there is not rabid anticipation for each contest, once the first ball is kicked you go to that special place. That sort of place that drew you to this crazy hobby from the jump. Hell, we may even go and win them all and do something spectacular! Who knows? The joy is in not knowing and the fact that new opportunities lie around every corner. Next May we could be back to having “normal” conversations again.
