NFL
By: Greg Rector
The Liverpool Reds have always held an extraordinary place in my heart. When I saw the Liverpool Reds playing football, it was generally once a year when the FA Cup title was being played first since Liverpool was home to The Beatles when you were a kid born during Beatlemania. That drew me to becoming a fan of Liverpool FC.
I don’t follow the MLS game since the league is so inferior to the style of the Premier League, and no team over here has the same fire and passion as the Liverpool Reds FC. When I went to England for the first time in 1983, after seeing London and all those tourist spots, I took off to Liverpool to see the place where The Beatles came from and to see Anfield Stadium, where Liverpool Reds FC plays football.
It’s where I first sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and discovered my passion for football the way every fan should. No matter which side you cheer for, go to England and see them play live.
When I hear “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” by Gerry and the Pacemakers, that song means the world to me. As much as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Fight Song and being a former United States Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Hymn mean so much in my life.
Hillsborough Disaster
At no time has “You’ll Never Walk Alone” ever meant me as much as it did on April 15th, 1989. The date is forever etched in my mind because of the disaster at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. On the date, 94 Liverpool fans died, and another 766 were injured. Three other people died after that day. That’s why they are honored as “The 97.”
38 young people aged 10 to 19 died on that day. They only wanted to see the Liverpool Reds FC play football. Those deaths alone still shake me to my corps.
The match had to be abandoned and replayed on May 7th,1989. Our beautiful Reds went on to win the FA Cup, which was before the start of the Premier League. The FA Cup was the beacon for every league team. This was also when the “hooligans” were alive and well. The fans of the Liverpool Reds weren’t acting out of control and were found during “The Taylor Inquiry,” which looked into the incident as a non-factor.
Yes, the Liverpool Reds have more titles than other teams in England. That means they are ahead of Manchester United, Manchester City, and all those London-based sides. Domestically, the club has won nineteen league titles, eight FA Cups, a record ten League Cups, one Football League Super Cup, one Sheriff of London Charity Shield, and sixteen FA Community Shields. In international competitions, the club has won six European Cups, three UEFA Cups, four UEFA Super Cups—all English records—and one FIFA World Cup Title. The club became a significant domestic and European football force in the 1970s and 1980s. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Flagan, and Kenny Dalgleish led it to a combined 11 League titles and four European Cups. Liverpool won two more European Cups in 2005 and 2019 under the management of Rafael Benitez and Jurgen Klopp; the latter led Liverpool to a 19th league title in 2020, the club’s first during the Premier League era.
This season, the Liverpool Reds will play on April 14th against Crystal Palace at Anfield Stadium. And trust me, singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” will be loud and so proud of the fans in the KOP, the most famous part of Anfield Stadium. I will be awake bright and early to watch the most stunning pre-game celebration as fans of Liverpool Reds worldwide will sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
This is Jurgen Klopp’s last year as manager of the Liverpool Reds so that the fans will be even more proud. But whenever Anfield Stadium remembers “The 97,” my tears will flow as much as they will be amongst the 60,000 fans. These words that follow mean everything to all of us Liverpool Reds fans.
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And a sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the rain
Or your dreams be tossed and blown
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
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