Opinion: our beloved Tottenham Hotspur should not win tomorrow. Liverpool are much better. They are in no sense of the word our rivals.
Fact: that does not have to stop me wishing that we play like feral children and beat them into the turf of their vaunted ground.
And that’s what bring me to this short point. The reasons we are not Liverpool’s rivals are many: geography, history, success, and the list goes on. Passing each other during the night in the league table does not a rivalry make. Meeting in knockouts once, albeit a final, does not a rivalry make.
My hunch is that certain groups within our fanbase think to themselves “that shoulda been us.” And they may have a great point! It could have been. But it’s not; and the reason it’s not is rooted in the decisions and transfer windows past. At what point do we move past that? At what point does righteous anger over the past turn into unwillingness to deal with an uncertain future? Listen, I was furious with Levy, especially with the Mourinho hire, but that’s over now. If every grievance I ever have turns to vendetta, I’ve chosen to define my life by the things I hate. And while I am quite capable of hate, I like to think I save it for those that truly deserve it, not my beloved Spurs.
And isn’t that why we support the club? For the moments of joy and pain they give us day to day, week-to-week. When we truly believe in something, commit it means that we can be hurt: the risk is just as great as any possible reward.
So I ask you what’s the risk in dropping any cynicism you may be feeling toward the past five years? It won’t change our odds tomorrow. As I see it, it’ll probably make you miserable up until the moment something goes our way. Why not be open to a Halley’s Comet-like performance from a wingback. Why not be open to one of their players slipping up. I am willing myself to be open to this because I would rather embrace the joy of the moment than try to find my footing out of utter shock.
And if they batter us from pillar to post, well, then I guess you suffered twice and I suffered once. Still losers, the both of us.
That’s not what I feel like, though. A loser. I feel like I’m about to watch my club engage in a meaningful game of football. A game that is stressful for all the right reasons. A game that feels a little bit impossible if I’m being honest. But life is almost as full of happy accidents as it is calamity and I’m open to shedding the cynicism of the recent Spurs past and accepting the possibility of a bit of glory.
They may wear red, but they ain’t our rivals. Let’s keep our feet on the ground. #COYS
Love this. Why be so negative? Why not hope? COYS!