Those who are not fortunate enough to be sons and daughters of the best city in the the world can make ammends by choosing to support Liverpool - and whilst this may be sneered at and frowned upon by some, I welcome them on the proviso that they understand it's a not a choice to be made lightly and not one you can go back on when times get tough. Liverpool Football Club is like a relgion and Anfield is our church - we are the most successful team this country has ever produced and we have the most passionate fans as well - providing these people understand and buy in to this as far as I am concerned they are more than welcome.
I'm not going to pretend that I speak for all out of towners, but I wanted to thank you for that post. I never "chose" Liverpool . . . deep in my heart I know that I was always meant to be a Liverpool fan. I stumbled upon a game on television out here in the States and fell head over heels in love with these lads in Red. I had no idea who they were, how many trophies they'd won, the history of the club . . . I just knew that I had found my club. I was a 14 year-old American girl, and within minutes Liverpool became the only team in any sport I've ever suported in my life.
I've spent the last 6 and 1/2 years of my life getting up at 6, 7 or 8 in the morning to watch earlier kick-offs (or 1, 2 or 3 in the morning to catch Liverpool players in the 2002 World Cup), taking my lunch hour at school to catch later games (and mostly arriving late to back to class), saving up my precious little money to buy replica kits, e-season tickets, pay-per-view matches, and the like. My love for Liverpool is the same, whether I'm getting up at 6 am to watch a 0-0 draw with Sunderland whilst we're sitting in 7th place, or catching the Champions League Final at noon.
I didn't know the history of LFC when I fell in love with the club, but I've dedicated myself to learning as much as I can about this club's glorious (and not-so-glorious) past. I get up early every 15 April to commemorate the date in my own way (though I know I can never truly understand the pain and the scale of the disastre), I avoid anything owned by Rupert Mudoch, I love watching "classic" LFC matches on TV, I take pride in the 4 European cup wins that I wasn't blessed enough to bear witness to, the 18 League Wins, the 2 UEFA Cups (being lucky enough to witness the third) . . . but I know that I will love this club through the good and the bad, no matter what, because that's what being a true fan is about.
It is one of my most cherished dreams in life to watch a game at Anfield. I wrote a list of things that would make my life complete when I was fifteen, and next to being a wife, a mother, and studying abroad reads "see a game at Anfield". I've been saving up my meager funds for a couple years now, and sometimes it feels like it will take forever to stand in front of Shankly's Gates, but I know it will be all the more precious when I do.
Once again, I can't speak for all out of towners, but I do keep in mind that there are thousands upon thousands of fans that have supported this club longer than I have, that there are many fans that have more legitimate claims than a girl in a country whose "soccer" announcers use terms like PKs and offensive lines, and I don't think I can ever honestly consider myself a fan on the same terms as someone whose family has supported the team for 4 generations or the like, but I do love this club and try to be an honour to it and to my fellow fans.