Come Down From Heaven, All Bathed in Sun

At some point, all of you have probably seen one of those clever Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks. I'm not sure if they have published the UEFA Champions League edition yet, but when they do, it will look something like Liverpool's first 3 matches in Group A this year.


In case you've been sleeping at your computer on the numerous days that I opine on the Reds, here's a quick recap: On Matchday 1, Liverpool drew with FC Porto (Portugal) 1-1 at Porto. On Matchday 2, the Reds lost to Olympique Marseille (France) 1-0 at Anfield. On Matchday 3 (today), Liverpool traveled to Istanbul to face Besiktas JK and lost 2-1. Despite a remarkable header from skipper Steven Gerrard in the 86th minute, the Reds fell further behind in the chase of the knockout stages.
Now that all of that doom and gloom is out the way, on to the pep talk. Liverpool are, to borrow the cliche, down but not out. They must win their 3 remaining matches (two of which are home matches at Anfield) in Group A against Besiktas, Porto, and Marseille sequentially in order to have any shot at qualifying for the Final 16 of the 2007-08 Champions League. If that wasn't daunting enough, they still might need to get some help from Besiktas as the spoiler.

I've written this before, but it is worth saying again: I probably care too much about sports. Even if I don't always display it externally, I'm generally a pretty intense person who expects a great deal from myself and those around me. As crazy as this sounds, I expect a great deal from the various teams that I choose to support.

I know that I've been following Liverpool for less than a year, unlike some who have supported them their entire lives, but today's match just felt like a punch in the stomach. Sports have this great ability to distill the human experience into a competitive setting while removing some of the more harsh realities of other arenas where human beings are pitted against each other. For instance, unlike the deceased Aztecs who were killed after losing in a friendly match of tlatchli, Steven Gerrard and the rest of the Liverpool squad, despite losing on Wednesday, will not be murdered by the victorious Beskitas players.

See, there's your silver lining for the whole day. I already feel better about things.

Just to cheer myself up even more, I'm giving you a little footage of the great Shunsuke Nakamura of Glasgow Celtic defeating Manchester United in last year's Champions League Group Stage with a superb free-kick.