Steelers fans never walk alone
The cab driver was gouging me at 15 pounds, 40 pence for a two-mile drive from the Rail Station, but he did get us to the stadium in time for the tour, so I gave him a tip anyway.
And then he gave me one.
鈥淢ake sure you rub Shankly鈥檚 shoes,鈥� the cabbie said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l bring you good luck.鈥�
I was in Liverpool to visit Anfield Football Stadium last week. It was part of an extended visit for me and my family after the Steelers had played in London.
My 13-year-old daughter cared that the Steelers had lost at Wembley Stadium, but she didn鈥檛 care so much four days later when I agreed to take her on a three-hour train ride to Liverpool.
My daughter lives and breathes Liverpool soccer, and as for me, I wanted to walk where John Lennon walked.
So, it became a plan, and out of the cab we popped. As we passed through the gate we were greeted by a statue of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly in front of the storied stadium鈥檚 museum entrance. So I rubbed his shoes, and I noticed the inscription on the base of the statue: 鈥淗e made the people happy.鈥�
Shankly was to Liverpudlians what Chuck Noll was to Pittsburghers: a savior.
The tour guide told us that Shankly took over the moribund Liverpool football program on April 30, 1959 鈥� 鈥淭he day I was born,鈥� my wife whispered 鈥� and won the Second Division championship, and then three First Division Championships, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields, and one UEFA Cup.
I really don鈥檛 know what all of that means, but the Liverpudlians in attendance at the mid-week tour nodded dreamily. I looked over at my daughter and she was wiping away tears.
Oh, boy.
鈥淭oday was the best day I could have ever asked for,鈥� she would later write on one of her web sites. 鈥淪eeing where Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez get ready for games, seeing the FA cup, touching the 鈥淭his is Anfield鈥� sign that legends have touched so many times, sitting in the Kop. This is a soccer player鈥檚 dream and I still can鈥檛 believe it happened.鈥�
It struck me that this is the reaction I so often see at Heinz Field, and the South Side practice facility, when out-of-towners go on tour: dreamy nods at pictures on the wall, trophies on the stands, and even the reporters working in the the press room.
Now, here I was on a tour of an empty stadium鈥檚 press room, and the tour guide was explaining to the 35 or so of us that he took us here, into the smaller and more seldom-used press room, for two reasons:
鈥� One, to explain that corporate powers now force TV cameras to shoot the players at the podium with the names of those corporations 鈥� pasted on the back wall 鈥� in the shot.
OK, we have that in Pittsburgh.
鈥� And, two, to tell us a humorous story. It turns out that Shankly鈥檚 assistants liked to drink their beer before games in that room. But it was a 鈥淏oot Room,鈥� where the players鈥� street shoes were held. It was also a laundry room, so it was a pretty tight fit for those men.
Well, the teetotaling Shankly walked in on the boys before one game. Apparently they hid their beer and told Shankly they were talking tactics.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 good,鈥� Shankly purportedly said. 鈥淚n fact, do it before every game.鈥�
So they did. Liverpool kept winning, Shankly鈥檚 staff kept drinking, and the legend of the 鈥淏oot Room鈥� grew in this hard-drinking, hard-working, hard-playing city.
鈥淏ut, then one day the corporations came along and thought it best to refurbish the room into what you see now,鈥� the tour guide told us. 鈥淎nd we haven鈥檛 won a league championship since.鈥�
And, yes, we have that in Pittsburgh, too: dry spells.
While Liverpool hasn鈥檛 won a Premier League title since 1990, it has won the FA Cup in 2005 and the European Cup in 2006.
This return to prominence ignited the fan base, which has since been rocked by seventh and eighth-place finishes in the Premier League in 2010 and 2011.
That鈥檚 almost like losing five of your last seven games last season, all four preseason games this summer, and then all four games to start this season.
Yes, Steelers fans who鈥檝e barely stopped grumbling about Chris Kemoeatu missing his block, Rashard Mendenhall fumbling, and Ben Roethlisberger ignoring Hines Ward and Heath Miller in the team鈥檚 last Super Bowl appearance, a loss, and now they must struggle to come to grips with 0 and 4 and sinking fast.
Hey, the Steelers haven鈥檛 won Super Bowls since 2005 and 2008. It鈥檚 the team鈥檚 and the fans鈥� right, their birthright, to dominate the league. This 0-4 start means people have to go.
Big people.
Now.
Is that unique? Does a team such as Liverpool, a proud, tradition-rich football power in a rusting, industrial northern city, carry such overinflated expectations from a rabid 鈥� and some might say spoiled 鈥� fan base?
鈥淔ans here are very critical,鈥� Rob, my guide, told me after the tour ended. 鈥淲e had some good years between 2005 and 2009, and that鈥檚 made the fans believe it鈥檚 their right to be that good every year.鈥�
It鈥檚 their right.
I often read about these rights today. In fact, it鈥檚 sometimes an interactive nightmare.
In the old days, we all had our 鈥淏oot Rooms,鈥� where we could hide out and enjoy a beer and like-minded 鈥渢actical鈥� talks. But now it seems there are only chat rooms. And everyone, it seems, wants his pound of flesh.
鈥淭he Internet as been a curse to football fans,鈥� my guide, a thirty-something, said with obvious disgust. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a curse to all sports.鈥� He paused and added, 鈥渁 curse to society.鈥�
Now, they should put THAT under a statue some day, I mumbled to myself as I left Anfield.
I would be smiling soon enough, though, because we were getting on with my part of the day. But instead of meet a Beatle, we met a Kink, Ray Davies, THE favorite singer/songwriter of my teen years.
He was strolling through the Rail Station when the fanboy inside of me jumped up to shake his hand. He stopped to chat and I was able to introduce him to my daughter.
It was a dreamy end to a great vacation. Now, the only better ending would be to find a way around my 7-hour layover in Chicago.
And I found that way, thanks to an accommodating airline, which even waived the standby fee for some kind of promotion I had lucked into that day.
And then they put us in first class.
It had to be the shoes.
鈥淕ood luck to the Steelers,鈥� the guide said just before I left.
And good luck to Liverpool, too.