“When you walk through a storm
hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone”

Those of you who were around reading my rambles back in 2004 would remember my excitement before going to see Liverpool FC play live for the first time in my life.

Many of you who talked to me afterwards would remember that while I had a good time, I was disappointed by the atmosphere and the lack of real crowd participation. C’mon, that’s 50% of the fun at a match… right? Just as going to a concert without any crowd participation would not be any more special than watching it on television.

Fast-forward to May 13, 2006 and I finally got to experience some of that crazy pandemonium that comes from watching a match with people who are just as passionate about your team as you are.

The 2006 FA Cup final was between Liverpool and West Ham. My brother was down for the weekend and so we trekked our way to downtown Toronto to watch the match at the pub that the Toronto chapter of the Official Supporters Club meets at.

Previously, we had only seen one match live at a pub (one of the 2005/2006 Merseyside Derbies) and it had been in the town where my parents live. And while it had been fun sitting in a room with five Liverpool fans and listening to the Everton fans in the room next door, it was nothing compared to this.

The match was to start at 10am, however the supporters’ site warned to come at around 8am in order to ensure you were able to get in.

So getting up at 5:30am without any complaints, the two of us got to the pub at 7:30am. At around 7:45am we headed in and were surprised to see that while the pub had looked dead from the outside, there were already at least 10 people seated and ready to go.

The two of us grabbed a booth facing the big screen and settled in. The pub was showing an FA Cup Classic Match featuring the 1977 match between Manchester Utd and Liverpool. It wasn’t a good match to show a bunch of Liverpool fans, although it was quite exciting to watch. As time passed, more and more supporters came in and the room got redder and redder. People were wearing jerseys and scarves, some where putting up supporting banners, and someone even brought in a replica of the FA Cup; it was packing in.

Just as the match was to start, the place was packed with people sitting and standing, and the excitement had built so much that we were all raring to go.

By far, the match itself was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. It was unbelievably exciting, and the emotions we felt were elevated as each moment passed. The match went as follows:

20 min – West Ham 1 – 0 Liverpool
28 min – West Ham 2 – 0 Liverpool
32 min – West Ham 2 – 1 Liverpool
54 min – West Ham 2 – 2 Liverpool
64 min – West Ham 3 – 2 Liverpool
90 min – West Ham 3 – 3 Liverpool.

That last goal, to tie it up? I don’t think anyone thought it was coming, but in the 90th minute, good old Steven Gerrard blasts the goal in and the entire place erupted. Everyone was going nuts.

The best part about our decision to watch it at the pub was the fans. People were singing, chanting, yelling, laughing, everything. It felt like we were actually at the Millennium Stadium, minus the couple of thousand other fans, the actual players… well you get what I mean.

Every single time Liverpool scored and brought the team back up to pace, the place went nuts. Carragher’s own goal? Everyone was silent and then suddenly people started screaming “c’mon Jamie!” It was as if we all truly believed that the louder we screamed, the louder we sang, the more of the chance that the players would really hear us and get the inspiration needed to keep going.

And it seemed to work.

The match went into two halves of extra time, with chances for both sides leaving us with our hearts at our throats. At the break, I had walked to the bar side of the pub to get some water and was surprised to see that the place was at capacity and people were standing on the street watching through the windows. I believe there had to be at least 200 fans in the building, all with their attention focused on one thing: the match.

Finally it went to penalties and as each player walked up to take a shot on goal, each and every fan was sitting in anxiety, unable to watch but determined to just the same. When Reina saved the final penalty to ensure Liverpool’s win, the place erupted. Everyone was cheering, laughing, and jumping up and down. My brother picked me up as I was taking videos of the place and spun me around as we screamed. A few people had brought in a replica of the cup and immediately started drinking out of it. The pub played “Ring of Fire” (Liverpool’s song for the final) and we were all dancing.

It was a sight to see, and an amazing experience to participate in.

So it has been decided. From now on, every single important match there is, we’re heading down to this pub. I’ll even go by myself if I have to. It was unbelievable.