I started supporting Liverpool because…
The origins of my story don’t go back to my grandparents or my parents, but rather to a love for two players in particular, Michael Owen (I know) and Steven Gerrard.
I lived abroad for most of my childhood so my influence came from watching international football (Hong Kong’s time zone wasn’t kind to a kid), and those two happened to play for Liverpool.
It stuck and already at the age of six/seven I can remember letting everyone know that I was a Liverpool supporter, and for once proudly not following in my brother’s footsteps as he follows that other red team.
And little did I know that my love for two players would make the club the focus of my work!
My first game was…
Liverpool 4-0 Fulham, December 2012; Gerrard and Suarez scored and that made my day.
I was back in England after graduating high school and I will always remember visiting the ticket page months before for the general sale details. General sale, remember those days!
And I can still remember the feeling when the cards came through the post at my aunt’s house, and then that first walk to Anfield.
My mother and I may have been standing at the back of the old main stand, but I didn’t care. It was a dream come true (pardon the choice of headgear, I was used to the Australian weather!)
If I could relive a match in Liverpool’s history it would be…
This is an easy one, Barcelona. Imagine if you could bottle up the feeling the match evokes!
Now that I’ve turned my mother into a Liverpool supporter, one who gets more nervous than me (which is quite an achievement), it’s a memory I’ll hold dear forever.
It was a match and an opportunity that had everything, even if I have to admit that I more or less missed the corner goal when I went to put my water bottle down and my view was obstructed.
What is striking is the disbelief in the ground, so many emotions at once, just like watching people come home and be greeted by their shocked families on the way back to the car.
Nothing can replicate that.
I got involved with This Is Anfield…
Actually just by taking a chance. I had been sitting on an article I had written for a while and finally worked up the courage to send it in because the worst they could say was “No.”
Luckily that wasn’t the case, and it culminated in freelance work while I was at university and then a permanent job, something I still can’t avoid some days.
It’s a dream in every sense and I’ve had some incredible experiences because of it, from traveling to Scotland for a pre-season friendly, attending Jurgen’s press conferences and being in the press box for men’s, women’s, academy and legends matches.
Jurgen also once said that he had read an article of mine at a press conference in the US and that was quite special!
Maybe not as glamorous when the team is struggling, but I wouldn’t change it. No day is ever the same!
My best story about the Reds is…
I was lucky enough to go to Melwood in 2019 and watch the players warm up and then take pictures with Jurgen Klopp and the squad, this was days later That result at Everton.
I was impressed with Jurgen, he was bigger than I expected and through the process of getting the photo on my phone he became one of the few people who knew the passcode for my phone.
Then came the moment where I wasn’t sure if I was ashamed of it or not. After a photo with Sadio Mane, he gestured with a knowing smile as my hand was noticeably shaking during the shot attempt. And there I thought I hid it well!
Sadly, my signed shirt from that day became a blur of autographs due to a damp room, but it’s a day I still can’t believe happened.
If you could have dinner with three people from Liverpool’s history, who would you choose and why…
I would have to say Jurgen Klopp, Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly.
The reason for this is because I enjoy listening, not because I’m likely to get something out of it! The stories these three could tell and share would be amazing, and you can bet that none of them would hold back.
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