I've made the trip to Liverpool once before with Alan when he was visiting, I didn't care much for the city. Nice enough people I suppose, but it wasn't for me. It seemed that all there was to do was go out and drink, which to be honest I don't hate. It didn't fit me though, the girls are all orange from their spray tans and the beer isn't cheep.
So I made a second trip to watch Liverpool play Wigan at the famous Anfield. While the game disappointed, the stadium didn't. I guess knowing the history of the club made it special for me. Also I was able to watch what I believe to be one of the greatest English players ever, Steven Gerrard, was amazing.
Claire was visiting on her spring break from law school and she was lucky enough to attend 3 games in 8 days. She arrived in London at about 1pm on Friday, jet lagged and slightly overwhelmed we made our way to Liverpool on the 7:35 am train on Saturday from Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. We has a short layover in Crewe before finishing our journey.
Crewe was an interesting little station, lots of platforms but the trains where few and far between. We didn't exactly know where to go so we followed the others in red.
Claire didn't think I knew what I was doing or where I was going the entire trip. This is on the local train from Crewe to Liverpool, I'm sure she was questioning if we were going in the correct direction.
We made it to Liverpool and proceeded to walk to our hotel room. We booked one of those Thomas Cook deals because the game was sold out before Claire had bought her flight out to England. It turned out to be a great deal. The hotel we stayed in was on the water and had a full kitchen and everything. It was really comfortable, besides the fact that I was getting horribly sick at the time.
We got to the hotel at about 11am, thinking we would just drop the bags off get the tickets for the game and then head to Anfield, fortunately for us the room was ready. We dashed inside put our bags down and figured out what to do before the 3pm start time. Claire was excited to see the team the has followed for what seemed like forever. It was easy to tell when looking at her as she was holding a ticket to Anfield; she was pretty emotional.
She was already in her Liverpool jersey and scarf that she has been wearing since waking up at 6:30am. We set off to find a quick bite and then a taxi to the field. After searching for some time we decided to just go to Tesco's to buy a sandwich, sit in the sun and then leave. The taxi took about 10 minutes from central Liverpool. The taxi had the Chelsea Spurs game on the radio and he must have been confused, me jumping and screeching when the announcer got excited while on our way to Anfield.
We arrived at Anfield about 90 minutes before kickoff. Just seeing the stadium and the signs that say KOP where something that is powerful for any football fan.
It was a beautiful sunny day, around 65 degrees with no wind. We waited in a queue to go into the Liverpool store and bought a few things for friends. At this point Claire was overwhelmed by the size and scope of a football match in England, waiting in line to get into the team shop, everyone wearing red and chants being sung randomly all around you. We made our way to our seats, not before stopping at what I believe is one of the best photos taken on the trip, a bag loaded with goodies and a couple of tickets to a dream stadium.
We picked up a couple of programs and made our way to the seats. Simple enough, we were located in the Main Stand. Claire was surprised, much like I was on my first game, to see how small the entrance gates were. We made our way in and climbed a set of stair only to realise that the gangway was small and slightly crowded, with the overhang of the seats shrinking the walkway.
I grabbed a quick beer and Claire took a short toilet break before making our way out to the field and seeing what our seats were like. No disappointing there, granted I don't think there is a bad seat in the entire stadium.
We settled in to watch the warm-ups and that wasn't disappointing. I think watching warm-ups can be pretty exciting. The different ways each team prepares for the game. At this point I'm finally excited to see Steven Gerrard play, I know he isn't what he used to be, but I will always remember him and the influence he can produce on a game. The 2005 Champions League Final comes to mind.
While the game itself wasn't extremely exciting the first couple minutes when the players walked on the field was something else. Hearing the entirety of Anfield singing "you'll never walk alone" was pretty powerful.
After that though the crowd was pretty silent. Wigan was correctly awarded a penalty kick and converted with ease. I did get to see one of Steven Gerrard's free kicks, the form is his and his alone:
The game ended in a 2-1 win for Wigan, a let down for Claire, but she was still able to experience her first English game. While disappointing it is hard not to be overcome with emotion watching the team you grew up loving play at their home field. Even as a Spurs supporter I must admit that it is an excellent stadium, while the joy might not be there right now, I can imagine it will return soon enough. The chorus of boos upon the final whistle solidified the angst and frustration of fans.
While the result didn't turnout the way that Claire or I wanted, it was still fun going. Every chance I get to experience a new ground is exciting and I realise more and more the distinct culture that pervades each match. I won't be going back to Liverpool again soon, or ever, it was worth the 24 hours I was there.
