#1 ·
I lurk, I read, but I haven't really posted on this PDF until now—just popping in here and there to say thanks for a link or something.
Before you keep reading, let me be clear: don't come looking for historical accuracy, stats, or some encyclopedic deep dive in these lines. I’m interested in the phenomenology of football—that damn emotion. That exact feeling that gives you chills when you see your club carving out a chance, and how quickly it vanishes after a missed shot or explodes after a goal.
This is a nod to those times when info was passed down verbally. When the only "click" was the one happening in your head. Back when information—and the junk alongside it—was way harder to find.
Why football? For me, it started with listening to the old-timers tell stories—it was inspiration, a way to escape home during those first away trips, even if my uncle would kill me for leaving. But those stories were mythic to me, stronger than any beating I ever took or gave. And how could they not be, hearing about how Nottingham and Preston played a match back in the 1800s with a score of 11 to 8? Two men missed their train, and the boss of the sawmill bought Preston's best player right before the game just so he could play for them.
Or when the late OG used to brag about his theory on why the players at Atletico Madrid wear those striped red and white jerseys. He’d start with some laborers from Sunderland who stormed the club and wore those shirts. Those same workers used to regularly haul various cargo to Southampton, a major port. During breaks, they’d play football with the dockworkers, and a few years later, they founded Southampton. They grabbed the idea for the jerseys. Of course, goods from those ports went all over the world by ship, but the most common route was Bilbao. And then, a few years later, history repeats itself: Athletic Bilbao is born. Then the late OG would triumphantly conclude that students from Bilbao studying in Madrid founded Atletico Madrid—naturally using the jerseys from Bilbao. And just like that, the circle closed.
The evolution of the game, the rules, the formations. Like when the Scots beat the Englishmen in a massive derby in the heart of London at the start of the last century, which sparked the idea of passing the ball to one another. Before that, tactics were basically what you see on kids' playgrounds today: everyone just chasing the ball.
All of this created a magical world for me—one I started living in from the stands and around them, though nowadays it's mostly in front of the TV. Times have changed, and football is different. But I pass my story down to my kids just like those jerseys were passed from Sunderland to Madrid. I take them to matches, providing the foundation for the only thing that actually matters: that raw emotion from the beginning.
Take care.
Before you keep reading, let me be clear: don't come looking for historical accuracy, stats, or some encyclopedic deep dive in these lines. I’m interested in the phenomenology of football—that damn emotion. That exact feeling that gives you chills when you see your club carving out a chance, and how quickly it vanishes after a missed shot or explodes after a goal.
This is a nod to those times when info was passed down verbally. When the only "click" was the one happening in your head. Back when information—and the junk alongside it—was way harder to find.
Why football? For me, it started with listening to the old-timers tell stories—it was inspiration, a way to escape home during those first away trips, even if my uncle would kill me for leaving. But those stories were mythic to me, stronger than any beating I ever took or gave. And how could they not be, hearing about how Nottingham and Preston played a match back in the 1800s with a score of 11 to 8? Two men missed their train, and the boss of the sawmill bought Preston's best player right before the game just so he could play for them.
Or when the late OG used to brag about his theory on why the players at Atletico Madrid wear those striped red and white jerseys. He’d start with some laborers from Sunderland who stormed the club and wore those shirts. Those same workers used to regularly haul various cargo to Southampton, a major port. During breaks, they’d play football with the dockworkers, and a few years later, they founded Southampton. They grabbed the idea for the jerseys. Of course, goods from those ports went all over the world by ship, but the most common route was Bilbao. And then, a few years later, history repeats itself: Athletic Bilbao is born. Then the late OG would triumphantly conclude that students from Bilbao studying in Madrid founded Atletico Madrid—naturally using the jerseys from Bilbao. And just like that, the circle closed.
The evolution of the game, the rules, the formations. Like when the Scots beat the Englishmen in a massive derby in the heart of London at the start of the last century, which sparked the idea of passing the ball to one another. Before that, tactics were basically what you see on kids' playgrounds today: everyone just chasing the ball.
All of this created a magical world for me—one I started living in from the stands and around them, though nowadays it's mostly in front of the TV. Times have changed, and football is different. But I pass my story down to my kids just like those jerseys were passed from Sunderland to Madrid. I take them to matches, providing the foundation for the only thing that actually matters: that raw emotion from the beginning.
Take care.
