When asked about his playing career, Jamie Carragher said he wished he'd enjoyed himself more. While that's a solidly good sentiment, it's actually a bit disingenuous. If you're playing to your physical maximum, preparing all week to sustain good form, going into high stakes games and weighing your happiness against weekly outcomes I'm not sure you can "enjoy" it. Yes you can enjoy the trappings of life as a highly paid famous footballer, but striving to succeed isn't fun and I'm not sure it's supposed to be. Man's eternal struggle isn't aligned with removing yourself from the carnage, stepping back and contemplating the joy of it all.
Like Carragher, when the stakes are so high it's questionable whether you can actually enjoy matches as a fan. Yes, you get the warm glow after we score a goal and a sense of accomplishment when we win but these are fleeting bursts of positivity as your mind moves on to the inevitable question: "well, what's next?" The anxiety that this won't last is enough to put the damper on a momentary high. Until you win the lot, what's the value in a mere three points?
This isn't supposed to be negative and miserable. It's essentially an insight into the neuroses of a Liverpool fan desperate to win the fucking league. WIN THE THING. BUT PLEASE DON'T LET US DOWN. PLEASE!
How can we enjoy this when the prize is so spectacular? How can we enjoy this when we look so good, we have great football players and an outstanding football manager? You can't, can you? It's too real. It feels too achievable to allow us to kick back and just enjoy the weekly goal fest.
I find myself almost incapable of watching us. It's killing me.
Are you enjoying it?