No, I think there is a good portion of those who actually do. Perhaps in the minority, but they are out there. Perhaps more knowing than every song (even some incredibly rare sung ones, which even regulars might struggle with), maybe locals would be still surprised at the levels of passion or knowledge you could ecounter in far foreign lands.
With the tools that internet in modern times made available, you can really learn a lot before your first real life experience. The distance can make you extra eager to learn every detail available (as it was the case with me) that it can even come to a point where expectations are even higher than what the reality shows (that wasnāt the case with me, I really enjoyed it, knowing already by then that not every game is exactly a Chelsea '05 kind of atmosphere and it didnāt have to be).
It took me 15 years as a fan to get to Anfield for the first time. It couldāve happened before if I wasnāt that shy to ask (big mistake now looking back), but there you go. I donāt regret it. Iād always choose Liverpool being successful and whatās good for them even if it meant me never ever attending another game anymore. Iāve had some incredible experiences home and away. Would like more of course. But Iām also not someone who will push my potential future family to get into it. Only if they really want to.
There are different types of fans and it can also evolve with time, naturally. Iām one who really always enjoyed learning about the club and itās history. With time, perhaps less on the emotional side. Iām not the same āfanboyā I was when I was 10-15-18 years old. I still love it, maybe just differently. Not everything that I like the most is objectivelly the best out there. Itās best for me and thatās enough for me. Maybe makes me a bit more objective, but itās certainly not less enjoyable. But I still can count myself lucky in the sense that I randomly ended up in an eternal affair with one of the worldās biggest clubs (I wouldnāt have an issue if it ended up with a club that never wins anything, but just saying). 26 years on, it would actually be a shame to stop, so I know for a while now that itās definitely for life. If not writing on fansā forums every day, then one day I might still regularly watch games on TV.
Some things are hard to measure, emotions above all. Iād never get involved in trying to do that. There are highly emotional people home and away. Knowledge of songs and clubās history though, perhaps some would be pleasantly surprised. I saw it a few times already.
In terms of sacrifice and money though, no doubt that regular match goers carry most of that. Iād love to even be in that position and see how often Iād be able to go. Everyone squeezes the most they can, if they want, as long as they want.
I had a few trips and games that really squeezed a lot of money out of me and had to sacrifice some other things as a result. But that was never regular. I only went to successive games once. Comparable to how often I think about Liverpool on a day to day basis and how much pleasure they gave me, experiences, places Iāve seen, people Iāve metā¦ I even feel like I donāt give enough back. As funny as it may sound. I pay my OLSC subscription every season and thatās really not expensive. I rarely buy official merchandise stuff from the shop, just because I often prefer those unofficial designs.
I do like that there are such actions from the local fanbase.
For me, Iād love to volunteer when the mosaic papers are being spread out the day before a game or especially if Iām ever able to wave one of the flags on the Kop, since Iāve heard they sometimes need more help with it.
