My phone/Facebook has been blowing up all day with the “breaking news” that the Red Sox owners are purchasing Liverpool, F.C., my favorite soccer team. First of all people, this happened like 2 weeks ago. It’s been tied up in the judicial system for a little while because the former Liverpool owners thought the club was being undervalued. But the Liverpool board approved this a while ago.
I realize everyone out there is trying to feed me news. Trying to give me new material and shit. Listen guys, I invented the news. And I wasn’t born yesterday. I know how it works. You’re just trying to show me that you’ve been dedicated fans from the very beginning, so when I become rich and famous maybe you’ll get a slice of the pie. That’s all fine with me. But c’mon, texting me a story when it becomes headline news on ESPN? Step it up.
Anyway, I’m actually kinda upset about this. Two reasons.
1. The Red Sox have the best fans in professional sports, at least in the United States. That’s just a fact. Nobody cares more about their team more than we do. I think I’ll love the Red Sox more than I’ll ever love my wife. Over the past few years, we’ve taken a hit as all the Pink Hats and bandwagoners have been making their way to Fenway just to see what all the fuss is about (Hey, it happens. At least we sell out our playoff games, unlike the Yankees in 2009). And I’m not gonna lie, it bothers me when I see people that don’t actually care about the Red Sox, pretending to care. Seriously, people. Why do it? Why do you feel the need to put on a front? It’s not like I go to the MFA to look at the art. I hate that shit, so I stay as far away from it as possible. It’s stupid ridiculous.
And now all of New England is about to become Liverpool fans. It’s not like I’m upset because I thought Liverpool was my personal thing, or anything like that. I could care less. But if you’re gonna follow a team, you need an authentic reason for it. I watched soccer for 3 years before Liverpool truly spoke to me. Steven Gerrard. Anfield. The Miracle in Istanbul. Those words don’t mean anything to people around here. And now they’re all about to become Liverpool fans. I’ve been a loyal LFC fan for several years, and now it’s just gonna look like I’m some schmuck who started following the team because they’re associated with the Red Sox.
2. If you don’t know the background info: Liverpool is one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the world. However, they haven’t won the English Premier League since 1990. Although they are usually a very competitive team, this year they just suck. If we want to get back on par with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, we need to spend money on new players. Big money. Money that John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino might not have. And while these guys certainly all have more money than me, they don’t have more money than other potential owners. Sauidi Arabian princes and Chinese investment groups and shit. We’re talking about the same guys who wouldn’t give an extra $10 million to Mark Texiera. How are we supposed to compete with Chelsea, Real Madrid or even Manchester City when it comes to buying players? If there is one thing we have learned about John Henry and his boys, it’s that they do have a limit. Their pockets are not endless. Basically, Liverpool and the Red Sox both just became less financially flexible, to put it nicely. Not good news if you’re a fan of either.
