In the first ten years of my life, there was only one sport which existed, and that was Cricket. I literally lived, breathed, ate and drank cricket. I watched everything, from international matches, to local matches. If there was a cricket match being shown on TV, I would watch it. I was so addicted, I could tell the results of the matches by heart. Then in the summer of the year 2000, something happened which shattered my belief in the 'Gentleman's Game'. The Late Hansie Cronje, until then considered one the game's true gentlemen, and a hugely respected and popular captain of the South African team, was suspended for life on charges of match-fixing. That wasn't all though, the bigger setback was yet to come. And that hit home! Literally. The Indian captain and vice-captain at that time Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, respectively were also given bans, the former a life ban, later revoked in 2006, and the latter a ten year ban from the game. This decision shook my faith in the sport I love. there came a time when I started to question every run-out and every loss which my country suffered. I was , to put it mildly, disillusioned!
About a year after this, in the summer of 2001, a quarter of the way across the planet, a certain sleeping giant was rising out of its slumber. After ten years of lack-luster performances, Liverpool Football Club won five trophies, the FA Cup, the English League Cup, the UEFA Cup(presently Europa League), the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup. They also had a young English froward in their line-up,who truly is a club legend. His name is Michael Owen and he had already made waves, both for his club and country. And at that time, he was the footballer I adored. To be honest, the only club football matches I had watched up until then, were either Real Madrid's or Manchester United's. Anyone who was watching football seemed to be supporting either of these clubs. Somehow, that didn't seem like an option to me. I decided to be neutral for the time being. Then I saw a match in which Liverpool beat Manchester United by a solitary goal, scored by Danny Murphy from a free kick. Somehow, I felt good after watching them win. And the rest, as they say, is history. Its been ten years now that I've been supporting them and I haven't looked back. There have been times when I've been disappointed, times I've felt lost, but I've never considered giving up on them. They have also provided me with one of the best nights of my life, the night of 25th May and early morning of 26th May, 2005. Because of the time difference the match ended early the next morning here. They came back from three goals down against AC Milan to win the Champion's League on penalties, after the match ended 3-3 after extra time. That is a night I will never forget. It was almost as if I was there, living the dream with them.
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| We Are The Champions!! |
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