Could write a book on this. Probably have in fact
. Thing is let’s never forget first of all that, whatever the atmosphere is like in any particular match these days, the very culture of crowd singing/chanting we’re talking about began just short of 60 years ago on the Anfield Spion Kop. And that unique legacy is a wondrous and magical phenomenon which trumps everything crowd-wise that’s happened anywhere ever since or will happen again at each and every stadium in world football.
I was reminded of this by a mate of a mate who was sat next to me on Saturday. Originally from the London area, he was telling me that he became a Liverpool fan when attending the West Ham v L’pool game at Upton Park in 1966, which it so happened coincided with my own first season attending most of the Red’s away games when we’d regularly take 10,000 to every away ground and completely occupy every main away end since the ‘home’ supporters of no other club bar Everton by that time had quite fully absorbed or begun to mimic the singing/chanting scarf and banner bearing ‘end’ culture which we Kopites had not just invented but had by that time perfected to an art form. In short we lorded it at every away venue, wherever it happened to be [save Glasgow - but that’s another story].
Anyroad, Kevin my friend’s mate, relayed to me the thing which had captivated him that day as a 13 year old lad stood with his dad at the opposite end to where we all congregated and which had ensured that from that day he had become a fervent Red. The entire opposite end of the ground bedecked in red and white belting out homage to our beloved Reds had captured his heart and soul. And here was me thinking some 54 years after the event that no fucker had noticed!
Some legacy huh.
Anyway, as for Satdee’s game and other recent ones which are the current bone of contention, yes the atmosphere was shit. No question about that. But whilst acknowledging that, let nobody kid themselves that we never had shit atmospheres like that in the past. Certainly we did not in the ‘60’s and most of the 70’s but thereafter any not so vital league game could find atmospheres not too far removed from what we had on Saturday.
Also, two other reflections on Saturday’s low key effort.
First let’s never forget the sterling efforts of those who always do make the effort. So easy to forget that as we press our keyboard keys deriding shite atmospheres. Those stalwarts on the Kop [except when they bore us all to fucking death with their ale house favourite Every Other Satdee] and in the upper main stand plus a few others such as myself who do try their damndest to get songs and chants going. Sure most efforts don’t ignite in a game such as Saturday because the instigators are surrounded by so many miserable sods who seem determined to reserve their own vocal contributions only for more stirring occasions that grab them. Leicester in league cup when two goals down anyone? But for goodness sake let’s give credit where it’s due to the valiant ones who do regularly try their best.
Second, let’s also never forget that there is another crucial difference in atmosphere these days. Back in the day even in huge games the singing/chanting with only very rare exceptions was confined to the Kop with perhaps some limited contribution from the Annie Road. These days for the big games we often have the entire ground joining in and when the occasion demands it Anfield with its four sided vocal assault still invariably rises to such occasions and can still provide an atmosphere to rank with most from the past.
So let’s not be too quick to beat ourselves up when things aren’t quite so boisterous as we’d like them to be. Twas often the same in past times and in truth actually ensures that when the special atmospheres do come they can be savoured all the more.
