1 year ago
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I just wanted a dramatic player tunnel photo tbqh. | Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
It’s good to be back.
It’s been said that you can never really go back home. If I had to guess at what that means to me, it’s that memory is a slippery thing; a game of telephone you play with the past version of yourself, morphing until it is randomly encased in amber and you’re willing to fight someone over the proper spelling of Berenstain. It, like the heart, can sometimes will entirely different perceptions of reality out of nothing. It, like a Siren, can lull you into comfort and hide the more spiky formations that lurk along the contours. It, ultimately, is fashioned into whatever it is we need to get through and process what we’ve experienced.
In classic Gemini-fashion, I embody both ends of a contradiction tied to home: I both long to explore and adventure, while also craving the security and consistency of a place to call my own. It is why, even when excited about new opportunities, I still have to work through some light grief when transitioning from some place old. It’s like I need extra time to smooth the memories before they’re permanently locked in my mind. To hold onto the fondness I still crave.
My last story for The Liverpool Offside was sometime in March of 2020. The world was on the brink of the pandemic and LFC were looking likely to end their 30 year drought by bringing home Number 19. I think a lot about how I never got to write during the celebratory time, which I know is small potatoes in comparison to everything else happening, but it did and does still sting a bit.
Which is why this moment means so much to me. An opportunity to come back and talk about my favorite team with the best fan community around. A chance to stretch out and feel familiar surroundings, even if a fixture or three have been changed out.
Everything’s the Best as a concept feels appropriate right now. Not because things are all rosy and there’s nothing to complain about, but because it feels like transition is in the air. Jurgen Klopp’s squad refresh has moved from the forward roles and into the midfield, with two big signings in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Anfield’s expansion looks in full swing. I’m now a 40 year-old. Everything’s in flux! I’m not hoping to recapture the feel of what this space used to look like, but am more eager to explore what it could be with all of you and with what comes next for this team.
I am not as big a fan of transfer windows as I used to be, but I do recognize what this period is truly about: the dreaming. All potentialities are on the table and we can all guess and wonder at what each new in-coming and out-going player means for what the gaffer is cooking up. We can all obsess over roles and tactical arrangements. We get to play with a blank slate.
So, for the inaugural ETB a question I have for you is: what are you dreaming up for Liverpool Football Club this year?
Let’s chat about that in the comments. And thanks for letting me back into this space. I really feels good to be home.
