5 January 2008

Football Hooligan


The day we moved into Aussie Matt's house he informed us it was an Everton supporting household... fair enough. I took on the Toffies, the lesser known team from Liverpool, as my favorite even though I really didn't have much taste for football. I have to admit I warmed up to it, especially since Everton went on a winning spree as soon as I moved in, winning 10 and drawing 1 without loss after I moved in... I'm golden!


For Christmas Matt took me and a few friends up to London for the West Ham vs. Everton match in the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup... He even gave me his Everton "kit" to wear, without warning me that wearing that shirt at an away game meant I was the most likely to get beaten up. No matter...


It was a lot of fun - in English football they pack the "away" supporters into one end of the stadium and keep them separated from the the home fans by the police, which reduces but does not eliminate the fights. The fans like to sing songs to one another... my favorite, sung to the tune of "Que Sera, Sera", was:

Steve Gerrard, Gerrard,
He runs over kids with cars,
His wife takes it up the arse,
Steve Gerrard, Gerrard.


Classy! But somehow funny - you had to be there.

It was an exciting game, with Everton scoring in the last 3 minutes to snatch a road win - the away side went crazy and I couldn't help being swept up in it, joining in the chant honoring the goal scorer (Yakubu): "Feed the Yak and he will score!"



Matt, Good Guy Gary, Stu, Neil and I had a great time, and Everton is currently high up the table in the Premier League... Go Toffies!