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The Loneliness of the Eircom League Fan

Peter Goulding

Thursday, May 26th, 2005

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 (Champions League Final)

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Surprised at my own lack of grace,
I supped my pint quite unperturbed,
And sat there with a placid face,
That great events had not disturbed.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 I watched the scene as from afar –
These wild-eyed men bedecked in red
Who leapt around the tiny bar
With veins protruding from their head.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Fists clenched in joy, with raucous chants,
All self-control and balance gone,
They acted a crazy dance
For me, their audience of one.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 They doubtless viewed me as a fool,
No int’rest in the wondrous game,
Who’d never heard of Liverpool,
Who’d not been touched by football’s flame.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 And, as I sat, I pondered why
I could not share their great delight.
Was mine a surly, jealous eye
Upon this most amazing night?

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 I bear no ill to Liverpool,
They well deserved to win the match.
Also-rans now, as a rule,
They’ll revel in this purple patch.

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 I’m saddened by this Irish mass
Who wear the red and kiss the crest
Such declarations I find crass
And utterly bizarre at best.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 When England play, they’ll mock and jeer,
And laugh whenever things go wrong.
And should they lose, they’ll raise a cheer
And sing a heartfelt rebel song.

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 But do they follow Bohs or Cork
And help to raise the standards here?
Or will the season’s football talk
Revolve ‘round Sky and pints of beer?

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 Throughout their native land, in pubs
Our trophy-seeking young men give
Allegiance to their English clubs,
Notwithstanding where they live.

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 Eggs and chickens, chickens, eggs…
Will we ever get success
If they regard us as the dregs,
Despite our native Irishness?

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 I sit here in my Shelbourne shirt,
Surveying scenes of utter glee,
Yet feeling all the righteous hurt
Of dreams that have eluded me.

© Peter Goulding 26th May 2005

Notes

Congratulations to Liverpool on a stupendous result. Absolutely fantastic.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-loneliness-of-the-eircom-league-fan/?shared=email&msg=fail