In years past, my luck as a fan has never been good by any stretch, football teams whom I support generally getting agonizingly close to titles at best, burning out hopelessly (and early on in competition) at worst. Thus I have developed a fairly healthy cynicism for the prospects of any team I support. Much of the time a season or tournament will start and I will be optimistic about a new addition or strategy change, and as time progresses several things go wrong with the team and they will finish with less than stellar results. Case in point: The Colorado Rapids failed to make the playoffs several years in a row, finishing with a loss or tie to arch-rivals Real Salt Lake in the final match of the season, while also losing out on the season series between the two. For as long as Major League Soccer has been around, the Rapids have survived middle of the table, rarely turning heads but never being totally hopeless either. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, despite huge amounts of hype and excitement surrounding the US squad, they totally crumbled under the pressure and failed to make it out of round one.
The other major team I support, Liverpool, has an immensely rich history but relatively little in the way of success in recent years. I got my first real glimpse of them in 2005 when they beat AC Milan in the Champions League Final; ironically I fell in love with them during their 2007 CL run which saw them lose a tough final to the same team who they conquered two years earlier. Their style of play under Spaniard Rafa Benitez was captivating, and I was drawn to the Spanish players in the squad (Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, later Fernando Torres). I could go into detail for my reasons to support Liverpool FC, but that's another blog for another day. Point being: they haven't won an ounce of silverware since gaining me as a fan.
My first chance to cheer on the Spanish stars of Liverpool came in the 2008 European Championships, although after the last World Cup I'd have taken anyone but Italy. Watching the boys in red light up the tournament was definitely exciting, but I was anything but certain they would come out on top. Needless to say I was fairly nervous throughout the competition, given my history as a football fan. It was a huge relief and a shot of adrenaline to see Fernando Torres break the tense stalemate against Germany in the final, giving them their first Euro trophy in decades. June 29th, 2008 was when I knew who would be the next World Cup Champions. Fortunately they came through for me, in thrilling fashion against Holland in World Cup South Africa. Despite the absence of Torres due to injury and fitness, La Furia Roja performed excellently. Losing their first match of the tournament to Switzerland was a huge disappointment, but I never lost confidence that they could succeed (A first for me in terms of sports). In this case I didn't mind cheering for a tournament favorite, nor did I support them because they were such. They simply know how to play beautiful, fluid football as a team. Just as importantly, they know how to win when an opponent tries to stifle their game. Spain winning their first ever World Cup was the first time a football team I genuinely supported won anything of significance, and I was damn proud of them.
By July 11th, when Spain were lifting that gold trophy above their heads, the Rapids had done a perfect job of doing what they always do: being average. Their record at that point in the season was 6-4-4, a winning record but not by much. They had scored 16 goals 14 games, and didn't even win a match in July. As mentioned above, it had been years since they made even an appearance in the playoffs. However, the the latter half of the season they showed a life and energy not often seen by the club. September midfield acquisition Brian Mullan made a huge difference, working as hard as any player I've ever watched. Omar Cummings and Conor Casey clicked, and by the end of the regular season (30 matches) the club had 44 goals to its name, tied for second in the league. The matches they lost were tight, and there were several draws that could have been wins. There was a feeling that they were playing well even if the results didn't always fall their way. By the end of October they did just enough to squeak into the playoffs in the 8th and final position with a record of 12-8-10.
Simply making it to the post-season was like getting a monkey off the collective backs of not only the players and staff but fans like me as well. At that point I was happy to see the club where it was, not really expecting much in the long run but certainly hopeful given their recent run of form. After downing Eastern powerhouse Columbus Crew followed by the San Jose Earthquakes (29 degree gametime temperature- hell yes I was there) I felt like they had more than a decent chance. The 120 minutes of play on November 21st were about the most tense and nerve-wracking I've ever experienced, at the end of which I was basically incapable of sitting down. The Colorado Rapids won their first ever title 2-1, after being down a goal in the first half to FC Dallas and tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.
So in the span of five months, two of my favorite football teams won their first major competitions. One could say I had a perfectly decent 2010 as a fan. As of this writing I'm fairly confident of the abilities of both the Rapids and the Spanish National team to keep winning in the near future, and some of that cynicism has faded. Now if only Liverpool hadn't finished 7th in the English Premier League last year...
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