Dear Argentine fans, you will miss the ghost, the pain, and the curse
In Arabian Nights, Sindabad was once cursed and had to carry a big burden (ghost) on his shoulder all the time until the wicked curse was uplifted. In Greek myth, King Sisyphus had the curse of rolling a heavy stone ceaselessly as Albert Camus found that as a metaphor to describe the endless agony of a meaningless thing otherwise called human life.
But what was Sindabad’s feeling when the ghost was off his shoulder? What would happen to Sisyphus had he became free from that perennial routine? Did not they miss the thing that was attached to them for so long albeit an agonizing curse?
The question may sound ridiculous as anybody would say missing a curse is a bizarre fantasy. But, the idiosyncrasy of the human being is such that these fantasies often become a weird reality.
These were the exact thoughts that came across my mind when I had the similar situation of Sinbad and got rid of an unbearable occult thing that hung on me for 30 years.
Yes, I am a lifelong Liverpool fan, a member of a global family that had to endure unbearable pain for three long decades. Not only the despair of failing to add any more English league title in the aforementioned period but we also had to see our archrivals Manchester United leapfrogging us by adding 13 titles to a total of 20, two more than us, and faced endless banter from rival fans.
Ironically our fall from the grace came in the worst possible time. The English football became the most watched, a festival with huge money splash and the most lucrative television programme with the advent of The English Premier League.
As a matter of fact, it was not a total irony. The downfall had some obvious reasons. Liverpool was by far the most successful English club both at home and Europe in 70s and 80s but during that hay day, we faced two of the gravest disasters that sow the seed of damnation.
The first came in shape of Heysel disaster. During the final match of the Champions League at Heysel, Belgium, a clash between the Liverpool fans and Juventus fans left 39 died and around 600 injured. Despite that cataclysmic incident the match went on and the Italian side won it by a solitary goal.
But Liverpool had even greater loss to face off the field. Following the incident all English clubs were banned for five years and the All reds were banned for indefinitely. Later the punishment was reduced to six years.
Many years later it was proved that the blame was given to Liverpool fans may have some deep political implications as the erstwhile English government of Margaret Thatcher, who loathed Liverpool’s culture of workers, music and social bonding which was a huge opponent to her neoliberal open market policy, also wanted to impose stricter imposition upon the club.
And an even greater catastrophe awaited the passionate club. On 15th April 1989, English football saw one of the worst tragedies as 96 Liverpool fan died at a stampede of over crowd in Hilsborough Stadium.
Liverpool could not endure that loss. The sheer talent of the side helped them win domestic league next season but deep inside the players and the club was traumatized. The famous Anfield, which was tantamount to a castle, started breaching.
The timing could not be worst. It was a transformation period for the club as the core players of the side were getting aged and the two huge disasters along with lack of cash flow due to ban at Europe came as a huge jolt.
Amid that cacophony, the English League started to transform itself as a money spinning extravaganza. But Liverpool, despite being a fan favourite failed to grasp the opportunity and was unable to ride on the merry-go-round of the new festival.
In next decades they had their moments, with coming agonizingly close to seal the title but inexplicably losing it every time and despite clinching the European title back in 2005 in the most surreal final at Istanbul, their domestic curse went on.
The Istanbul! Steven Gerrard! The finest comeback the football ever seen! The memory makes every Liverpool fan Goosebumps. It was not only another glory to recall the great past but injected belief on those hapless old supporters and attracted many new ones.
A Liverpool fan inevitably speaks about history whenever gets chance and apart from the legacy of the club every personal stories of its avid follower is worthwhile to be retold.
I was brought up in a sporting atmosphere in the late eighties. People around me were the educated middle class of a burgeoning city and I believe they used to clutch global sports as a medium of prestige and aristocracy. However, they were progressive minded and supporting team apart from enjoying global game also had that effect. They were staunch West Indies fan in cricket and benevolent Liverpool fan thanks to their legacy and the golden era of both those sides accentuated the bonding.
As experts believe the love for any sporting team is deeply rooted at the tender age and I carried that legacy. However, I was like a unfortunate predecessor of once shiny legacy that is being dilapidated.
Allen Guttmann, a famous author, who used to depict sports as a lens of comprehending society and human behavior, depicted in his magnum opus ‘From ritual to record’, some aspects of modern sports.
In his opinion, which is highly revered in academia, modern sports are secular in nature. In old days, most of the sports were played either as means of physical exercise or for mere fun or to please gods. Ancient Olympics were held to please the god at the Olympus and winners were adorned with the blessing of gods. But in modern sports, satisfying the gods or perform physical exercise is not the only issue. Teams participate for prizes like money and accolades and for glory.
However, the situation is contrast for an avid supporter. In the postmodern era the power and hegemony of celestial gods and their religions may redeem while the jingoistic patriotism is being questioned by many considering its harmful effect. As a result, many people are detached with strong beliefs. However, human being needs some binding agent, some stories to hang on, and a football club provides a perfect reservoir. One may not believe in traditional religions or even dislike the extreme sense of patriotism but may easily behold the fervor for a club like a devotee.
And Liverpool has all the ingredients to attract that fervor, a club with rich history, a huge passionate fan base and the eternal hope of salvation.
I confess, I am a devotee of this grand narrative. Despite being a so called rationale and progressive minded, my support for Liverpool is almost religious. And there are many like me.
We have a huge fan base and we often gather to share our passion, joy and disgrace. We almost believe we are the victim of conspiracy that cooked by rest of the world when a referee blows his whistle against us. We almost worship our heroes, we carry the signs of the great club as proud identity and whenever we win we claim it as the triumph of truth.
Perhaps that is true for most of the clubs with plethora of devoted fans. Yet, I feel special as a follower of a unique club. Our ancestors had the pleasure of winning but we carried only the pains. But the incredible thing is, every time another year ticked pass being title less, the belief, the love, the adherence with the club just increased. Whenever faced banter from the rival fans, we believed it is our sacred duty to withstand those and wait for the salvation.
There are millions of memories in those 30 years that can be written. I remember crying with my comrades after our legend Gerrard lost the ball and we lost a game that caused our title in 2014. Had a big party with a pal upon hearing the news of signing a player who ultimately became a huge flop. Once I was so happy following a goal that I punched a glass window in excitement and my hand needed several stitches.
And the superstations knew no bounds. Perhaps one can write a book regarding the matter. Many times had sit a place for the full length of the game, did not even dare to look at the screen, and one extreme thing I remember, once I walked 20 kilometres with my extremely unfit body as an inner voice told me that the sacrifice would yield a Liverpool victory. For any other reason on earth, I would never do these incredibly weird things.
And I must confess, I actually hold a great pride of waiting for the glory for that long. As a matter of fact, deep in my mind I even feel pity for the follower of more successful teams as they never feel how incredible this wait is. How sacred this craving is. They can never value the achievement of a title win that will ultimately come after the wait of a lifetime. They will never comprehend how this becomes holier than thou. For them, the win is just a win, nothing else. Poor fellows!
Perhaps that is the reason when this ghost was finally off our shoulder with sheer ecstasy, with the greatest achievement of life a sense of melancholy appears. All on a sudden I felt, that excruciating pain, which was my permanent companion, is gone. The burden, which was almost a badge of honour is evaporated. I almost felt like that guy who committed suicide in the famous movies Shawshank Redemption because he was released from the jail after 20 years and the so called free world and the new found freedom was too much for him to endure.
I will miss the ghost, the pain, the curse.