"There's a small place inside us that they can never lock away, and that place is called hope."
-- Andy Dufresne
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Why Don't You Take a Good Look at Yourself and Describe What You See?
For a large portion of the first-half yesterday, the part-timers of Havant & Waterlooville were writing the script for the greatest upset in the history of the FA Cup. Unfortunately, they had to return to the pitch at Anfield for the second 45-minute period, and the impossible dream was lost amid Yossi Benayoun's second hat-trick in a Liverpool uniform.
As a Liverpool supporter, it was difficult for me to truly appreciate the potential magnitude of a Havant upset, if only because it would lead to my favorite football club always winding up on the end of a trivia question relating to some of the largest upsets in sports history.
The lone professional player on Havant and Waterlooville's squad, 19-year old Alfie "Harry" Potter, was all over the pitch in the first-half, and on his way to becoming a legend to hundreds of underdogs around the soccer universe, but in the end, the combined skill and force of the Reds dealt the final blow to H&W's Cinderalla run.
The Third Edition of "Why Running Down a Dream loves the FA Cup" focuses once again on the great disparities between the sides at some points in the competition.
When the players from Havant and Waterlooville step onto the pitch at Anfield this Saturday to take on Liverpool, they will be facing a squad that is composed of players that are paid ridiculous sums of money solely to play a professional sport.
A quick glance at their own resumes would reveal something very different...
The manager, Shaun Gale, runs a sportswear business in his spare time.
First-team goalkeeper, Kevin Scriven, is a property-developer in his family business
Second-team goalkeeper, Tom Taylor, is a plumber and barman.
Defender Neil Sharp is a Courier Driver for Lynx UPS.
Left-back Justin Gregory is studying sports therapy at Chichester University.
Center-back Jay Smith is a quantity surveyor (whatever that is) in Surrey/Middlesex.
Center-back Phil Warner works for a plumbing company.
Right-back Shaun Wilkinson works for his father's lagging firm doing whatever it is that people in lagging firms do.
Left-back Brett Poate is a plasterer.
Midfielder Jamie Collins is a football coach for primary school children in West London.
Midfielder Mo Harkin is a Gas Boiler Engineer serving the Twickenham/Richmond area of London.
Midfielder Michael McEnery is a student.
Midfielder Charlie Oatway is a Brighton & Hove Albion Community Officer.
Midfielder Alfie Potter is a "professional footballer" on loan from Peterborough. Finally, someone who gets paid to do this "football" thing.
Midfielder Tony Taggart is a dustbin man. Alright, back to the regular Joes.
Forward Rocky Baptiste is studying to become a London Cab Driver. Imagine that, you have to study to become a cab-driver in England.
Forward Richard Pacquette is a school caretaker/monitor and football coach.
Forward Jamie Slabber (which is a fantastic name, by the way) is a former professional footballer who is currently unemployed. With a last name like Slabber, how could you ever be unemployed?
Finally, forward Craig Watkins is a student. Thanks, Craig. Way to end things on a dull note.
Just imagine if Tom Brady lined up on February 3, 2008 for "The Big Game" and the guy across the line from him wasn't driving a Bentley or living off some gargantuan signing bonus. Instead, the defensive tackle spent most of his time working as an English teacher at the local middle school and played the sport in his spare time. Once you can picture that improbable scene, you'll have some idea of what the FA Cup can be at its best.
Finally, since it is the Song of the Day, I feel obliged to pass along this superb video of U2 playing "One" during the Slane Castle concert in 2001.
