Liverpool Football Club are in Australia for the first time to play an exhibition match against the Melbourne Victory at the MCG and I am restless and excited in Bundaberg wishing I booked flights for today rather than tomorrow. I have waited a long time to be able to see Liverpool play and now I know that I am, the moment can not come quick enough.
On the 10th May 1986 I stayed up late to watch my first FA Cup Final live on TV. Little did I know at the time the impact this moment would have on my life. I was 12 but I can still remember the night and the excitement of the game. Up until this point all I had seen was a 1 hour highlights package every weekend. I knew enough before the kick off that I was going to support Liverpool, plus they had an Aussie in the side.
Fast forward 27 years & am I still supporting Liverpool and always will. As soon as I heard that they were coming to Australia I knew I had to go. After all I may never get the chance again. I booked the best tickets I could afford, organised the parents to look after the kids (they live in another city), booked the accommodation and ensured the most important thing was done. Get my wife excited to go to the game. That wasn't hard, once we decided to stay in Melbourne for 4 nights without kids and have our longest holiday without kids in 14 years of marriage.
Since I bought the tickets I have been mentioning the game to everyone and those who tune into the pubcast will now how much I have been looking forward to the day. Almost every picture taking during a recording will show that I am wearing the red of Liverpool. When we promote the pubcast at one of the 2 venues it is recorded it will always be advertised as "Just look for the guy in the Liverpool FC shirt."
So today we will pack ready to fly into Melbourne tomorrow. Jamming in all the clothes required for a colder climate will be tricky. In fact we had to go out and buy clothes for the trip as it doesn't get cold enough in Bundaberg to warrant such clothing. After all it is always beautiful in Queensland and perfect the next. Except when the town is in record flooding.
The clothes are packed, the LFC shirts are packed, the LFC scarves & beanies are packed and most importantly the tickets are packed. Tomorrow will be a restless day once once we are in the air it will be the start of a trip of a lifetime. I will be keeping a diary every day of the trip and the experiences from a viewpoint that I expect no other person to bring.
As far as I know I am the only sports writer/blogger that has facial agnosia and if there are others out there I doubt they are also Liverpool supporters. I am also the only writer/blogger going to the game from Bundaberg. I will be at one of the Cocktail Fuction in the Lindsay Hassett Room which will give me the opportunity to meet many people but if any of them are well known I will not be able to recognise them. I will be relying solely on either someone else introducing me or my wife pointing them out. Considering she does not watch sport I am not very reliant on that front. So if I relay any stories of people I meet, players past & present , celebrities and interesting people it will rely on a lot of luck.
As you can imagine having facial agnosia also makes large gatherings makes me very anxious. If anyone wants to try and catch up with me during the trip the one thing I ask is do not say "Just look for the person wearing the Liverpool FC shirt".
Just praying the Tinman doesn't streak!
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