Football Aid

Well, I have been getting a lot of questions about this "game". There are many curious folks wondering how I have managed to talk my way on to the sacred ground. I wish that I had a really cool story to tell, like: I was hanging out in a pub after a match and a few of the players walked in.... Or that Rafa saw me kicking the ball about in the park and asked me to come for a try out. But sadly I don't.

It all comes down to a charity in England called "Football Aid". For 10 years this organization has been making dreams come true for dudes just like me. Dudes that love the game of football, and have a passion for a particular club. There are two ways to play in the game, it's pretty much like ebay: If you like a certain position, you can "buy it now", or you can take your chances and "bid" on a position. The money raised from "Football Aid" goes into research for diabetes.

I have been wanting to play in one of these games for a few years now. Of course my timing has never been great. Every time I would think about bidding/buying a position, all of the spots would be taken. Out of sheer luck, back in August I was checking my seldom used email account and saw that positions were open for the 2010 games. I thought about it for about a minute, then I called Stacey to tell her my plan. As usual, she was very supportive. I will get back to that....

So, the match is set up like this: Liverpool Home strip v Liverpool Away strip. Each team will have 2 Liverpool legends either playing or managing. I will be playing in a 90 minute striker role for the Liverpool Away team (which I am totally cool with as this year they have a wicked Black away jersey). As luck would have it, the jersey number allocated to my position is #11, the number that I have worn with the Wolves since I joined them.

On match day I will arrive at Anfield and enter the stadium through the players entrance, at which point I will make my way to the dressing room where my jersey will be hanging up with my name and number on it. How cool is that? I will get a chance to go around the room and meet my teammates for the day. These will presumably be guys just like me (hopefully from all over the world) that are there to have an experience of a life time.

The walk out the tunnel to the pitch at Anfield is one of the legendary experiences of the ground. Above the stairs that lead down to the pitch hangs this sign.

THIS IS ANFIELD

The purpose of the sign is to both intimidate the opposition and also remind them of where they are (as if the noise of the KOP isn't enough). Legend has it that those that touch the sign will have good luck. Countless footballing legends, both Liverpool players and others, have touched that sign as they have walk down to the pitch. So watch closely next time you are watching the start of a Liverpool game, you will see all of the Liverpool players touching that sign.

There will be an official photographer taking action shots, and the game will also be recorded (so I will get a chance to relive my waisted opportunities over and over again).

At the end of the match they will select a "Man of the Match" for each side, and "Moment of the Match".

As of today I do not know that exact date of the game. I am guessing that it will be sometime in late May.

As promised, back to my understanding wife. At the end of the day, Stacey doesn't care one way or another about football, but she knows that I do. This is what separates her from the rest of the pack. The example I always give is the 2008 Champions League semi final v Chelsea (I will write about it in a future post). When Liverpool advanced to the semi's I was very excited. When I came home and told Stacey, her response wasn't "Ya, so...", it was an astonishing response that only a truly understanding wife would make. Her response was a very sincere "Are you going to go?" Without that kind of understanding none of the stuff I have written about or will write about would exist.

Euro 2004 Portugal

Football, heat and Port..... what a combo!

Port house boats floating on the Douro River in Porto.

I have mentioned my "Master Dream List" before. Basically if you have seen the movie "The Bucket List", you get the idea. This is your personal list of everything you want to do before you "check out".

One of the items on my "Master Dream List" is to see England play in a major competition. In 2004 the European Championships were held in Portugal. Well, I hadn't been to Portugal, and I hadn't seen England play yet, so it only seemed reasonable that I try and get tickets!!

The thing is, with a major trip like this, you have to tread lightly on the home front. So more then two full years before the tournament, whenever we were out with the ladies, my brother-in-law Wayne and I started joking around about going to the tourney. About a year before the tourney we had to submit our requests for the ticket lottery. "It's a lottery. What are the chances?". "Think of the millions of Europeans that will want to go see their country play, we have no chance". The girls laughed it off (we crossed our fingers).

Apparently the Europeans weren't that interested in going to Portugal. We were allocated two tickets to 2 quarter final games, the 2 semi's and the final!! By the time we were allocated the tickets the ladies had been brainwashed, and had accepted the fact that Wayne and I would be spending two amazing weeks in Portugal in late June 2004.

The great news, England made it to the quarter finals! The not so great news, we didn't have tickets for that game. I ended up landing in London the day of England's quarter final match v the hosts Portugal. I caught the match with some friends in a pub. It was a cracker of a match with Portugal going through on penalties.

I am a pretty easy going dude, and I gotta tell you, I heard comments in that pub that shocked even me. Mainly because there were young families in there as well. I am sure in the heat of the moment I have said more then my fair share of inappropriate things. But I can't imagine wanting anybody to do anything to a goat....well, at least I wouldn't scream it at the top of my lungs in a pub.

We ended up seeing the last 6 games of the tournament.

QF-France v Greece: Crazy thing about this game, we were walking up the steps to enter the stadium and we bumped into Lindsay the goalie from our footy team the Wolves. Freaky! Greece through 1-0.

A friendly reminder of what you can't bring in the stadium.....

QF-Sweden v Holland: We bought the tickets for this game outside the stadium from David Letterman's Dutch doppelganger. If you like attractive blonde women, you would probably have liked this game. Dutch through on penalties.

40 degree celsius, no hats, bring on the coke cups!

photo by David Van Letterman

QF-Czech Republic v Denmark: Class team of the tourney Czech Republic wins 3-0. If you thought the Swede and Dutch birds were hot....

Game of human foosball outside the stadium

SF-Portugal v Holland: This was an amazing game which was won by the hosts 2-1. Portugal was headed to their first major tournament final. After the game we caught the train to central Lisbon to join in on the celebration. Here are some of my pics.

This is a great shot. There was a Portuguese flag tied to a vent blowing in the air. Just as I stood in front of it for Wayne to take my picture, these Portuguese kids jumped in the photo.

SF-Czech Republic v Greece: The Greeks were a super defensive side in this tournament. They realized that the only way that they could compete was to defend with all 11 guys, and try to poach a goal on a set play. The did it again in this semi final beating the Czech's 1-0.

We snuck out a few mins early to catch the train, this a great shot of Dragao Stadium in Porto.

The Final Portugal v Greece: Who would have thought that Greece would make it to the final? Surely the tourney was Portugal's for the taking.

Wayne had to leave for a family trip that he was going on to Brazil, so I was on my own for the final. One last bit of business was to get rid of Wayne's ticket. We decided the best thing was for me to sell it outside the ground on game day.

I am not the best when it comes to flogging tickets, so I nervously walked around with a ticket in my hand hoping someone would ask if I was selling. We thought that this was a great strategy because every other game we had been at, if you had a ticket in your hand, someone asked if you were selling it. Maybe it was my over active imagination, but I am sure every third person outside of the stadium was a cop, and it felt like they were all looking at me!

Finally the Chinese Elvis came up to me and asked if I was selling. Next thing you know I was surrounded by buyers. "how much?? how much??". I had already shown CE a price, so I gave him first dibs. We ended up getting a decent price for the ticket, but had I done a bit of research into where exactly our seats were, we probably could have got triple what we did! Second level, 3rd row, center field.....

As it turns out it was heartbreak for the locals, the Greeks put on another stellar performance and won the European Championships 1-0.

So that's the story on Portugal. Wayne and I were very fortunate to get to spend almost two weeks together watching some amazing football, seeing an incredible country and experiencing in person an event that is one of the most watched sporting events in the world.

Even though I couldn't scratch the England game off of my "Master Dream List", I came home with a fresh outlook and mind full of memories to last a life time.