There's something The Kop wants you to know....you know the rest.
Such memories. Where do I even start?
I always wanted to write about my favorite (or, correctly, favourite) RnR Marathon series race, Liverpool, but the blogs were always too long as the stories were so detailed about the wonderful adventures I had Across The Pond. The Liverpool RnR was the first trip I took overseas by myself, before we all had GPS on our phones or global internet coverage, so I had to know exactly where I was going and what I was doing before I got there. What a wonderful adventure and learning experience!!
But now it seems that two eras have ended--The RnR Liverpool is no more, and Bobby Firmino of Liverpool Football Club is leaving.
I discovered running marathons--well half marathons at the time--and my love of LFC in my early 40's. True, I always loved both, but as an asthma sufferer and an American, both were a little limited during my early years.
The minute I stepped off the plane in England, all that changed.
I ran a few RnR Liverpool races before I committed to the full marathon. And that's when I fell in love with the city of Liverpool, LFC, and every person associated with each. The first time I saw Anfield, I ran through it and got to have my picture taken ON THE RACE COURSE that ran through Anfield and into The Kop. Yes. I got my picture taken in The Kop while running a full marathon.
That winter, I went to my first match, Liverpool vs. Manchester United, December 2018. I sat in The Kop, where I had my picture taken six months before, and watched my now beloved team win!! I had learned all the songs for all the players and sang until I went hoarse. It was amazing.
What tops that??
May 2019 I came to Liverpool to once again run the full marathon. Liverpool were doing well in the Champions League so I decked myself out for the race in LFC gear. I had a special running skirt made that was printed, "You'll Never Walk Alone" all over it.
As I said, I have asthma, and getting up hills and such are quite a challenge for me. I'm used to finishing last or next to last at races, but I had always finished. This was nothing different. But, yet, it was.
On the way up to Anfield, I went past this house that was decked out beyond belief. All LFC, everywhere. Cardboard cutouts, flags, banners, everything. It was amazing!!! I stopped for a few pictures but then the "End of the Line" crew gently said I had to get up the hill so that I could continue the race...OK...hills. Ugh.
I remember gasping for breath as I came up the top and saw a man who started yelling at me:
Get up this hill you f****** Scoucer!! Get up this f****** hill!!! Holy Moley! I got myself up, around Goodison and Anfield, and back down.
And that's when the most special part of everything hit.
The neighborhood kids were awake by then. I came softly running down the hill that I had come up a bit before with a little momentum behind me. They were cheering on the back of the pack as it is called, and since I was in the shadow of Anfield, running past this well decorated house, they ALL JOINED ME RUNNING and sang to me:
There's something The Kop wants you to know.
The best in the World is Bobby Firmino.
Our Number Nine.
Give him the ball and he'll score every time.
They had no idea who I was. A stranger, a no name, a woman who would finish last in the pack if she finished at all. But they gathered around me--a dozen at least--and sang the only song they could think of to sing to motivate me to keep me going. They didn't give up on me and I sure as hell wasn't giving up on them!!!
That day I had a small taste of what it means to be a part of LFC and to see what it feels like when people sing your name. It was incredible, indescribable, and one of the highlights of my life.
And then LFC went on the win the Champions League. And I was in Liverpool for the match, parade, and celebration. Two weeks of immense joy!
Flash forward post Covid. After a severe battle with Covid that nearly cost me my life, I tried to run the RnR Liverpool marathon again on my 50th Birthday. Alas, I didn't get through it. I made it 7 miles before the safety team pulled me from the course for my asthma. I did get to run past Anfield again, and that infamous house that was well decorated....
In fact, I got to meet Emily Farley, the woman who has the infamous LFC house when I demanded that the "Bus of Shame" stop so I could get out and meet her. After all, I waited three years to say hello, right? They stopped. We chatted and I said I'd look in after her for tea next time I came over.
This was the first race I didn't finish. I've run maybe 100 races since I decided that an old, asthmatic lady was still a stellar broad even if she finished last. And that I've done. And it kills me to this day that the race is discontinued.
So today, after an announcement from LFC that Bobby Firmino is leaving at the end of the season breaks my heart even more. He is special to me. His supporters sang to me to keep me going though they didn't know my name. These young people knew what it took to get me moving just as The Kop knows what it takes to get Bobby and the rest of our Reds going.
And this I will never forget. That day was one of the best days of my life. I will remember it always, and I will try to connect with Emily to let her know how special she is to me.
Afterall...
We Are Liverpool
This Means More
