Lessons from Liverpool

My father is an ardent football lover. It doesn’t matter to him if it’s the Manchester Derby or if Sheffield United is playing West Bromwich. It does not matter if he’s trying to complete pending work on a Saturday afternoon, or half heartedly attempting to listen to my mother talk. His face remains almost stoic as it stays glued to the television; his eyes moving with the ball, as it travels from one end of the pitch to the other.

My father is a Liverpool fan. A loyal one- but the word I’ve always preferred is optimistic. He’s supported the club for over two decades and it’s safe to say that he’s seen them through some of their worst times. The Roy Hodgson stint, Gerrard’s slip and the rough couple of years before their resurrection of sorts by Jürgen Klopp. Throughout this entire fiasco- after every humiliating defeat and forgettable match they’ve played, I’ve seen my father shake his head, and then look at us, smile and say- “It’s just one game. We’ll be back.”

I’ve often wondered whether the incorrigible optimist in him was failing to or perhaps refusing to see reality, due to his undying love for the club. But on deeper thought, his love and attitude towards the game has taught me a couple of things. About the game- and of course, about life.

Coming from a family having a Manchester United supporter, an Arsenal supporter and a Liverpool supporter, things are bound to get a little intense every other weekend. While it is easy to term this as immaturity, my brother (a Gunner) and I have always been at each other’s throats over our teams. It could be the sheer frustration at neither of the teams performing to their actual potential (in recent times), or perhaps just the regular sibling rivalry- but not once has my father ever joined us in this repartee. Regardless of how poorly Liverpool have played, he’s never let the criticism and comments get to him. Even after the embarrassing 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, he refused to be bothered by our banter. Instead, he’s laughed it off saying, “the monkey is off our back as reigning champions’ and how it would be easier for them to now win all other games they had to play. The ability to look at the silver lining, no matter how grey the clouds may seem.

Even when our teams struggled, he’s always told us, that it was all in the spirit of the game and what made football what it was. That the best teams were not the ones that never lost, but instead the ones that could pick themselves up, no matter which height they fell from and continue to fight on. If Liverpool’s late 2000’s history wasn’t proof of that, their final couple of games in the 2020-2021 League was- from being labelled the “worst title defenders”, to a well-earned third place. That no matter how hard you think the changes are, if you believe you can, and if you work for it, you are bound to get there. The loyal Liverpool fans would definitely know this. After all the mockery they faced for the ‘slip’, they were definitely the ones to have the last laugh- being the first English team to win the 'international treble'.

Yet, my favourite and perhaps his most valuable lesson has always been- “nobody wins until the game is over”. Your team could be trailing, it could be leading, but you can only decide who the winner is after the final whistle is blown. A look into it, and one can see that Liverpool are indeed the real kings of the ‘Fergie-Time’, having scored the maximum number of goals in extra time, among all Premier League teams. It doesn’t matter if it’s Origi or Becker, or if it’s against arch-rivals Everton or for the team to secure a Champions League spot. The classic Miracle of Istanbul definitely proved that. You don’t stop believing till the last minute, and you most definitely don’t give up, before the time is up.

All teams probably hold such passionate tales; ones that could teach us a thing or two.
 Yet, the most valuable lessons this United supporter has learnt, came from the best Liverpool fan I know. 

My dad. :)

Comments

  1. Unknown20 June 2021 at 06:10

    Hats off Sukanya!!A fitting tribute to someone who has fought his own battles with the relentless dignity of a striker, and scored his own covetable goals always upholding the spirit of the game!
    Quite unsentimental, nevertheless fully loaded with the finest of sentiments and respect,typical of an Acquarian!!

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