My Love/Hate Relationship With The Merseyside Derby

I both love and hate the Merseyside Derby. As with all football derbies they are typically fantastic to watch and experience...if you're a neutral fan. If you happen to be an invested fan of one of the competing clubs then a derby can easily desolve in to a shockingly mind numbing experience.

I should know, the Merseyside has left me drunk and crying at 8:30am before and it's also caused me to utter some truly awful things at my poor, defenseless television (and my best friends television as well). What have these poor televisions ever done other than allow me to watch quality football and my favorite shows? Do they deserve this abuse? Absolutely not, problem is when a TV is flashing an image of Mark Clattenburg, it becomes an unfortunate in between and has no choice but to bear the brunt of my anger.

Like any good local derby, the encounters between Everton and Liverpool are generally the highlights of my football calender before they occur and often a lousy nightmare after they are complete. Not always of course. When things get really bad I just remember back to recent glorious results like Dan Gosling's extra time winner last season in the FA Cup 4th Round replay or that wonderful day in September of 2006 when Andy Johnson scored a brace and flashed the 3-nil hand sign in celebration.


What makes Saturday's meeting between the neighbor clubs a bit different, at least from an American viewpoint, is the inclusion of Landon Donovan in to the mix. America's best player has never been involved in a match of this magnitude and never been in an environment quite like what he will experience at Anfield. The history, the pressure and the magnitude of the match should be such that Donovan feels actual weight pressing on him. Sorry, but US v Mexico ain't got shit on this. How Donovan performs likely won't decide the matches outcome but he will have a part to play and very well could put his mark upon this history rich rivalry. A well-time goal or assist from Donovan could make him a Evertonian legend, while a moment of poor judgment could turn his name in to an expletive. No pressure really.

Whatever happens on Saturday, I'll still love the Merseyside derby...and I'll still hate it. I might not have much positive to say about it for a few days after Saturday, but deep down I'll be anxiously awaiting the next one. It's part of what makes football the greatest sport on the planet and what ties the fans to the clubs. It's all about the joy and the heartbreak, the good and the bad; the victories that make us happy and the defeats that make us miserable. Football inspires us, but it's the derbies than define us. I really love football and I really love the Merseyside Derby.

...and hate it.