Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:46 am
CRGooner wrote:As I was reflecting on the season as a whole, lots of thoughts popped up in my head, mainly about my general feelings for the club. My train of thought took me to ask myself one specific question: why do I love Arsenal so much?
I've been a Saprissa (my local team) and Barça fan (I'm part Catalan by my mother's side ) my whole life. I've cried, celebrated and screamed for those teams. Arsenal came later, but somehow, it feels as big if not bigger in me. Why?
I was an impressionable 9 year old when the France WC hit. There I saw it. Bergkamp's goal vs. Argentina. I was awestruck. I asked my dad who that was and what team he played with. He told me he was at some team called Arsenal, they had mentioned it on the TV during the match.
The Prem wasn't as big in here then (La Liga is still more popular), so I hadn't heard about AFC before. 56k modem didn't help. Being 9 didn't, either. Still, without knowing the match calendar, without knowing the table, without knowing what was up, every weekend I zapped through every sport channel in search of an Arsenal game. Sometimes I got lucky. Sometimes I struck out.
When I did catch the games, it was a treat. I saw that not only Bergkamp was amazing, but that the lanky guy could score a lot, the keeper that I called D'Artagnan was amazing, and that no one would want to mess with that angry Tony guy and the big French man with the funny sounding name. I couldn't tell formations or tactics, but I could tell it was great.
Then came Thierry. Then came Pires. Then the Swedish guy came good. Through most of my teens, I had the chance to witness some of the most glorious moments of this club's history. Not everyone of them, but most. However, suddenly... the trophies dried out. The silverware stopped coming. What was up?
I didn't follow the ins and outs of the club administration like I do now. The day to day. I didn't know the cost of that shiny new stadium. I didn't know the reasons. Many of my friends who sort of followed the Prem started changing their preferences. Chelsea fans started popping around, ManU fans kept growing.
I've always been a light Roma fan (Totti had kind of a Bergkamp effect on me). But I stopped truly following them after Batistuta left. That team lost something after that era of triumphs. Arsenal had lost some bits and pieces, but somehow, it was all mostly still there.
There was no Bergkamp, no Thierry and no trophies, but not only did I not lose my interest. It actually increased. My other two teams (Saprissa and Barça) have never stopped challenging for every national and international honor available to them during my lifetime. Arsenal sadly had, but the identity I grew to love was still there. It was not only based on trophies. It was a soul.
Be it with Henry, Van Persie, Chamakh or Giroud up front; this team, this club and this fanbase has never changed its identity. We've never once stopped being capable of playing some of the best football in the world. Not once have we stopped being that squad that can score the most scintillating team goals in England. Not once have we lost that spark that made Bergkamp great. We have lost consistency, yeah, but never have we lost everything.
That is why I love Arsenal so damn much. I follow closely (with different degrees of attention) at least 8 or 9 leagues around the world. You can find many analogies between clubs of one and other, even through financial and footballing distances. But NEVER have I found a team analogous to Arsenal. Arsenal is unique. Arsenal is special.
We're by far the greatest team, the world has ever seen. I envy all of those that can go and express their love in the stands every weekend. I request to them that, next season, they scream a little louder on behalf of all foreigners that, like me, have gone madly in love with the red and white. I know that I'm only one of many. This club is too beautiful not to share it with the whole planet.
Gooner till I die.
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