Hey all
This is a story of a wonderful family reunion, RAWK superheroes, and how two cousins' dream came true. Excuse the length, I got carried away.
BackgroundI started supporting Liverpool when I was 6. I was fortunate enough to be taken to a Coca Cola Cup game by my 2nd cousin's now ex-husband who was a steward. Robbie Fowler slotted in the last minute to give us a 1-0 lead in the 1st leg of the Coca-Cola Cup semi-final in 1995, against Palace.
Football support was divided in my family, with my gran and uncle supporting United
, with my mom and aunt supporting Liverpool loosely (apparently Kevin Keegan was dreamy). I took up the fervent LFC support because of my interest in football and probably to piss off the family Mancs. This is how I think my cousin became a fan.
In 2005 my aunt moved to Ireland with her two fragile-X boys for the special-care and support system, which is much better than here - South Africa. Aran, the older of the two boys, kept up the Liverpool support and passionately supports the team, especially his idol, Steven Gerrard!
The holiday and getting ticketsMy mother planned a months holiday in England in France for my younger sister's school holidays. I was able to free up two weeks work in advance to join them for the first time. The part of the trip that interested me was a trip down memory lane for my mother and aunt on the Wirral, to revisit where they grew up, to see family in the area, and see what became of their schools. This fell over the first home game of LFCs season, so when flights were booked the priority for me became getting tickets for the Southampton game.
I signed up for a membership to try get tickets in the membership sale, with my mom and aunt trying through the phone lines on the same day. With no success and after a 2.5 hour queue, I began looking elsewhere. I made this thread here looking for 2-5 tickets and hoping for some kind hearted RAWKite to come in and save the day. I have been lurking RAWK for over 3 years and have always thought the posters to be generally intelligent, respectful, and kind to one another (except in transfer forums or ownership discussions). After my first dealing with the official channel, this seemed to be the best chance.
After receiving some good advice from RAWK on how to get tickets, I wrote an email to the club revving up the guilt trip spiel to see if they would accommodate my cousin. They emailed back saying they required all medical forms, doctors notices, birth certificates, and recent STD blood tests to put my cousin into the random draw for a handicapped person to see the game. Since this was not feasible for Aran and my aunt we did not go down this route.
The three of us (aunt, mother, me) tried the same phone/internet/carrier pigeon method during the general sale. With a shorter online queue, I hoped my chances would be better, but the tickets disappeared within minutes. When I got on my flight to Heathrow on the 11th of August I was determined to do everything possible to get to a live game at Anfield.
I met up with mom and sis who had been down to Brighton to visit a second cousin five times removed or some ridiculously-related relative. We stayed in Stratford-upon-Avon (y'know - fecking tourists) for a night. The next day was the late availability sale (LAS). I looked online for an internet cafe in the town. An address of one came up. Setting out at 10AM on the 13th of August I was determined to get at least two tickets. Obviously the internet cafe no longer existed as such enterprises are made redundant by free wifi everywhere. A friendly local directed my sister and I towards the public library. £2.50 got me an hour of internet access, and an estimated waiting time of 6 minutes for the LAS. 12 Minutes later I was in! The virtual ticket store I'd been waiting for. Frantically trying to negotiate the system it kept returning "no tickets of this quantity available" or whatever the hell it says, despite only trying to get 1 ticket at a time. Different stands kept coming up and disappearing. With only 5 minutes of my session left I clicked on the upper main stand, and two glorious open red circles showed up. Lightning reflexes filled the circles and the buy button forcibly clicked - I had done it!... or not. "The system cannot reserve these tickets for you". Heartbreak. I was browsing RAWK at the same time and posted in the Ticket Exchange thread. Time expired on the internet session and our drive up to Heswall began.
We stayed at the Premier Inn where I met the night clerk, Carl. A special thanks to him for trying his best to arrange us some tickets through his friends - this didn't work out unfortunately. I checked my emails that evening on my mobile (potato crapberry) and saw something amazing - an email titled 'two for southampton' - the best email I've ever received. A 10 year RAWKite, johnny foreigner, told me he had two tickets available in the Annie Road section, block 127. Another special thanks here to AlanX/Random Alan, for guiding me through the ticket exchange process and helping me verify a few things. He also informed me his friend was coming over with the member cards on the Friday evening. Swept up in the flurry of excitement I must have seemed like a babbling idiot (probably not helping my case with this short story), because I thought johnny foreigner was coming over, that I would get the tickets from him, and that we would meet up. Luckily he was patient and replied to my numerous questions and texts to clear everything up. I phoned his friend, henceforth known as Super Norwegian Man, from my aunts phone (I only had SMS roaming) on Saturday morning. I couldn't hear the name of the hotel and was inexplicably on a very loud road in Heswall so I asked him to text it to me. We were meeting from '14-15' at the Adelphi Brittania in Liverpool.
With butterflies in stomach I was dropped off outside The Vines pub across the road from the Adelphi at 14.15. I texted Super Norwegian Man (SNM) saying I was outside. No response. I was pacing and looking visibly fraught, deciding to walk to two men dressed in Liverpool shirts outside The Vines. They were quintessentially scouse, warm, welcoming, and offering to help with tickets if my venture didn't work out. They also had Aldo speaking in the pub at 3pm, which brilliant to see, despite not being able to attend. I went in and out of this pub, keeping my eye on United getting battered by Swansea. A smoke, 5 texts, and 30 minutes later I was clocking in at 160BPM. Still no response from SNM. I sent a text to johnny foreigner and the other number that had texted me, what I guess now to be SNM's travel phone. I didn't know it at the time, but this was the last text available on my phone due to limited funds. I got the surname of SNM so I could ask to call his room, and from the other number a text saying he was in the hotel bar wearing a red jacket. I ran down into the bar, frantically checking around for red jackets. A somewhat taken-aback individual ushered over the crazed loon calmly. It was him! We started talking about the tickets and it was a face value exchange. Having never seen a membership card for the club I didn't know what to expect. I examined everything and it all seemed legit. I was ready to hand over the cash right then but didn't have enough to pay for the pint he was going to order. I also had to fetch my mom and sis who were waiting for me in The Vines. I ran across the road to them, where they'd ordered me a pint, downed it, ran to the cash point in the Adelphi, drew some more cash, ran back down into the bar to pay for the freshly ordered pint, and drank that at a fast rate too through sheer adrenaline. I handed over £100 for two cards, and a print out saying row 24, seat 70 and 71, Anfield Road End Block 127. I told SNM that he was making something special happen for my cousin and I. We thanked him and left, having to get the car back to Heswall to pick up my aunt and cousin.
We went for dinner and drinks with more relatives that evening in New Brighton, most of which were LFC fans, former and current season ticket holders. I showed the cards to my cousin, Mike Cropper, who said they looked good, and could be the best forgeries he's ever seen - the scouse humour did not ease my sense that this still could all be one big scam. Later that evening I went out for a few more drinks with Carl, who also said the cards looked legit.
Match Day bacon
I woke up feeling 80% excited 10% apprehensive and 10% hungover. I helped my cousin get his 2012/2013 home Gerrard 8 kit on. I put my own 2011/2012 Suarez 7 kit on, as well as a warm grey jumper, and we headed out to make sure everyone else was ready. Packed into the car, over the bridge, advice to be dropped off far from the stadium because of the crowds in mind, we arrived at the Kop End gates (which we had to been to on Friday during a stadium tour and trophy photo) an hour early. Aran and I got out and he was advised to stay close to me. We walked in and around the shops and other fans. A feeling of awe and wonderment washed over Aran and I as we walked around the family park, checking out the fan wall, and buying a match day programme at one of the outlets. With 45 minutes before kickoff and seeing the players warm up in mind, we entered the stadium. The moment of truth. Was this an elaborate and well crafted fraud to make £100 and get a free beer? Was the stoic and proud looking Norwegian an excellent actor? Card under the sensor. Beep. Green. I walk through. The Marshalls call me back. Oh no. Is it a false green? Have I not seen enough LFCTV episodes of José's favourite cat pictures? No. They are just checking Aran's bag. He says "thanks dude" to them and I put the other card under. Beep. Green. He walks through. We are in. Its real.
A certain clarity came after we were through the turnstile. The predominant thought was that we were home and that this would be incredible. We walked up towards our seats. The Marshall on the corner greeted us and got a thumbs up from Aran. We walked up to row 24. Good seats. Unobstructed view. The stadium started filling up and two guys walked up to us. 'You are in our seats'. Fuck. "I'm sure we are row 24 70 and 71" 'This is row 25'. Phew. We clambered over to the row in front. A few non-participating players walked across the field to loud applause, especially Daniel Agger
. Then the players came out. Warm-up. Stadium filled to the brim. YNWA. Nearly in tears. Aran singing at the top of his lungs next to me. I'm trying to video this (upside down on the potato) and get him to hold up the other side of my scarf and 'sing' (see: wail, holler, caterwaul). Time for the game to start. 'Come on Steven Gerrard!' yells Aran. Good tackle and pass by Lucas. 'Who is that?' asks Aran. "That's Lucas" I say. 'Come on Lucas!' he encourages on every touch he takes next. Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool. Steve Gerrard Gerrard. Poetry in Motion. Fields of Anfield Road. Henderson. Interception. Through ball. Sterling. Eruption!! Arms fling out, gripping the ecstatic scouser next to me, and my screaming-with-joy cousin on the other side. 1-0. Football enthusiasts chatting behind me, why does Johnson keep leaning back when he shoots? Davies curls a freekick, good save Migs. 'Come on Simon!' 'Good one Simon!'. Nervy end to the half.
Half-time. Time for a drink and a snack. We shuffle out with everyone else. Now I'm not too sure how comfortable Aran is in big crowds. He is a happy-go-lucky guy and nice to everyone he meets. We are packed in the refreshment area tightly and caught between the flow to the toilet and the flow to the bar. I keep him close to me and ask "Aran, are you OK?".
He turns to me, smiles, and says "Yeah everything is fine,
I'm just happy".
He's just happy. I'm tearing up now thinking of it. Then I was dumbstruck. I didn't know what to say. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. My 22 year old mentally afflicted cousin who has been through enough shocking events for a lifetime over-and-above his day-to-day struggles tells me he's happy. With me. Here at Anfield. The place that feels like home. It was so very special.
We waited in the line for refreshments for an age. I didn't mind. I had a silly grin on my face. "NO MORE HOT FOOD" "NO MORE COKE" "STAY IN YOUR LINES". I became apprehensive thinking about the second half. We can't lose this. It will devastate Aran. After what he said it would dampen the day. We got to the line just before it closed. A fanta and a coke light. We rushed back up to our seats, past the smiling Marshall, past the patient fans who stood for us, to our seats. 51 minutes gone. 1-0. An unease around Anfield as Southampton press. 56 Minutes. Clyne down the right. 1-2. Easy goal. Silence apart from a moderate noise to the right. Away fans. They don't sound as loud in real life as they do through the microphone placed right next to them for the telly. More tension. Groans. Johnson reacts late as a high ball is taken off him. Unmarked Davis in the box. Good save Migs. 'Come on Simon!' 'Come on Steven Gerrard!!!' 'Let's go guys!'. Aran the lone cheerleader coming out of Annie Road giving each player an individual cheer. Rickie and Joe on. 'Come on Rickie!' 'Let's go Steven Gerrard!'. I'm sitting there stoney-faced and clammy. We just can't lose this. 79th minute. Hendo. Cross. Raheem! HEADER?!? DANNY!!!!!!! Screaming! Hugging! LIVERPOOL LIVERPOOL LIVERPOOL!!! Tense confidence. Southampton bomb forward. DEFEND. They press harder. Aran shouts more. 'Don't lose now you silly monkeys!' 'Come on Steven Gerrard!' 'Go on, get it!'. Save onto the crossbar. Ball cleared. Ball away from our goal. YNWA starts. Its amazing. So great to be there. Feel it. Still tense. Time ticks on. You can't see time added on here. Final whistle. Joy!! Aran cries 'WE WON WE WON!'. He has the biggest smile I've ever seen (see below). We wait a bit for everyone to get ahead. Say goodbye to all the friendly fans around us. Cheers to the guy next to me with whom I shared two hugs and never spoke to. The chatty guys behind us with excellent football analysis. The dad and his son next to Aran who were patient and kind.
We walked out with Aran saying 'WE WON WE WON we did it Dude!' 'Come on Steven Gerrard!'. We went to go give the cards back to SNM next to Shankly's statue. A firm handshake and a massive thanks came from me. I introduced him to Aran, who seemed shy for the first time that I've seen. "This is Super Norwegian Man, he got the tickets for us" I said to Aran. He shook his hand and said 'Thank you, Dude'. Aran was respectful and courteous. I felt almost embarrassed in the presence of this man who had done so much for us. We left shortly afterwards as SNM had his Norwegian friends with him and we didn't want to impose. They were so nice, and the one said YNWA as we were leaving. I said it back. For the first time I actually knew what it meant.
After that we got curry and chips and chicken chow mein from the Chinese/Greek/English chippie and were picked up. Mom, aunt, and sister were happy to see us and swear they had seen us on tv celebrating the second goal. They watched it at The Vines, where the owner apparently had two leftover tickets for the game - anyone looking in future could ask there. The family asked us how it was - "A dream of mine came true today".
Thanks- AlanX/Random Alan for answering my PMs and helping me through the process
- Everyone who replied to my threads and pointed me towards ways to get tickets
- Carl, the helpful lifelong fan who tried his best to organise through his friends
- My mom, sister, and aunt, for being there for us, letting us take the two tickets we got, and getting us to and from the game
- johnny foreigner, for contacting me, answering all my texts and emails, helping me through the Saturday panic. Please add him to the list of trusted ticket exchangers
- Super Norwegian Man, for bringing the tickets, arranging to meet, dealing with a panicked-looking wild person, and trusting a stranger from the internet. You made a dream come true
- My cousin Aran, for making the day so special for me
- All other unknown happy LFC fan and steward faces who were so kind and accepting to my cousin and I
- RAWK, the users, the admins, and the site for making this all possible
Pictures
Aran and I touching the sign at the stadium tour on the Friday before the game
Mom sister and I in the dugout.
Brendan Rodgers unveiling Aran Moreno.
Just through the turnstiles.
Aran and I in our (wrong) seats.
View of the main stand from our (right) seats.
Dejan in action.
Half time in line for refreshments - nice photobomb.
WE WON! WE WON!
Walking away with a pocket full of memories.
Thank you everyone for reading.
