The Reds

Liverpool prepared itself for victory as they faced off for the European Champions League title. I was working that day photographing the Tall Ships Festival. On my way back to the car I noticed a red shirt. I turned a corner and saw another red shirt. A trio of red shirts. A red scarf. A red car. A red shop. Liverpool was red. I’d never seen anything like it and I’ve covered a lot of events over the years. This felt different.

Everywhere I went someone was showing their pride in the club. In a way it was like Light Night were you see loads of people carrying a branded tote bag or guide. You feel part of a big city event only this was every other person. It was bonkers. I wondered how many tourists planned to be in the city on that day just in case. The atmosphere was electric. Hope bounced from street to street with the chants normally reserved for a stadium.

I was a bit jealous. As someone who isn’t a fan of football there aren’t often times when my interests take a city by storm. A few cultural events, maybe an afternoon for Comic Con but nothing like this. So I felt jealous. Maybe I should start going to WWDC or something. That’s where my people are.

Being removed from the event did give me a perspective on it. I wonder how many people really got the scale of it all that day? So I took photos to try and show the surreal normality of it all.

It was interesting being in town during the game too. Every street was deserted. No traffic. No people. When the game finished there were traffic jams everywhere. The city was still red.