I’m a 36 year old man who will admit that as Lucas Moura smacked home his third goal that night in Ajax I cried. I am not an overly emotional person however I think it was the sheer shock, the relief, the shock.. the lack of actually knowing what else to do in that moment maybe.
You see since I have followed Tottenham that happening is not us. It is not the Tottenham way. We are the team that concedes in the dying seconds to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Like in the quarter final, as Christian Eriksen had a brain fart and passed it to Man City so they could score and win the game. That’s the Tottenham I knew. I understood that moment, the hurt, the pain, the emotion, that was all very familiar to me.
However then a pause. A VAR decision, no goal and suddenly my emotions were confused. Just like as Lucas spun away and ran to the corner and leapt as if he were Superman taking flight. I shouted, I jumped up (in my living room) and as I said at the start I cried. I have not felt an emotion like that as a Spurs fan, indeed as a football fan the only thing close was when we finally won a World Cup penalty shootout – Dier put it away and again I was not sure how to react.
It’s been weeks now and we are at last at the final. The UEFA Champions League final. Tottenham Hotspur Vs Liverpool, in Madrid, in the Champions League final. I have typed that so many times as I think part of me is still not sure I believe it. Do you? Does anyone else still have moments of realisation where it sinks in. My team, Tottenham, are in the Champions League final.
The Champions League was something as I grew up watching on ITV. It was for other teams, Manchester United… as much as I hate to say it Arsenal… however never us. The dream of being in that competition was realised and has been great. European football is special and watching us compete on the biggest stage has been amazing. However… I do not think I ever dreamed of us winning the trophy.
Much like when I used to watch on TV when I was younger and believed the competition was for other teams now we are there winning it is for a team from Spain, Germany.. maybe Man City or perhaps Liverpool but us? No way!! … and yet here we are. We are in the final. The Champions League final.
I will be watching the game with my 10yr old daughter. It’s the first final she has seen us in and it is the big one. I cannot help but think what an amazing memory this could be for her, for her entire life. How I have sat with my father, my older brother, my friends for years and years and felt nothing but pain this could be the start of something for her where she only knows the term Spursy in the past tense.
Whoever you are watching with, wherever you are, I hope for all of you this is an amazing night, an amazing memory and the start of an incredible era for our club and us as fans. Good luck to us all. COYS!!
-Admin SJ
