FUTBOL BRINGS REAL JOY ... AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN WIN

 Every once in a while we are reminded how really important futbol can be … win, lose or draw … to the rest of the world and, frankly, it’s mind-boggling, almost beyond comprehension … to watch people lose it over a game that neither side could claim as its own.

But, lose it they did Wednesday, when season-

long English Premier League disappointment 

Everton, at home, got a goal seven minutes-

plus into added time from JAMES 

TARKOWSKI, his first of the year, to 

turn the place into a madhouse of delirium. “A 

celebration for the ages … This is forever,” 

said the lead announcer for NBC’s America-

only coverage … while officials checked VAR 

for possible offsides … and it 

was oh-so close, but after three minutes that 

must have felt like an eternity to Everton 

faithful, the referee pointed to midfield, 

soccer… sorry, futbol’s way of saying the goal 

was good.

You had to believe no one was more thankful 

than the referee, for to nullify the score 

undoubtedly would not have been taken kindly 

by Everton fans, in particular … who, like most 

partisans in England, have been known to give 

new meaning to rowdy when they become 

displeased by something that happens down on 

the pitch.

One more possession, and it was over. Cut to 

the stands where people of all ages, from a 

little boy in his father’s arms to an elderly 

gentleman pumping his fist in the air 

as well as many holding Everton scarves over 

their heads, could be seen. You would have 

thought this was a World Cup final reaction. It 

should take more than a week to get the smiles 

off their faces.

Did we mention the final score was 2-2? 

Against first-place Liverpool, which hadn’t 

been playing like No. 1, dropping a decision to 

a fourth-division side in an FA Cup match a 

few days earlier.

Nevertheless, it obviously was a big deal for 

Everton, precariously close to falling into the 

bottom three, one-point from dreaded 

relegation, under former coach SEAN DYCHE

 … before well-traveled DAVID MOYES, 

one-time Manchester United coach last seen 

in the EPL in charge of West Ham United, took 

over. 

Now, five games later, Everton has three 

victories (matching what it did under Dyche in 

19 games) and is 10 points from the bottom 

three … and being banished to the lower, less 

lucrative championship league next season.

Also, once-proud Everton considers Liverpool 

its arch-rival. To coin an old, tired but 

otherwise accurate cliché, these teams do not 

like each other very much. To prove it (again) a 

scuffle broke out at the final whistle … 

involving several players … that the young lads 

wearing Everton Pitch Security were hard-

pressed to break up.

Replay appeared to show it began as a one-on-

one between Liverpool’s CURTIS JONES and

ABDULAYE DOUCOURE of Everton and 

quickly drew teammates from both sides. In the 

end, Liverpool captain VIRGIL van DIJK 

pointed a finger at ref MICHAEL OLIVER, 

saying he “lost control” … and Oliver was seen 

showing a red card to whom we weren’t told. 

The TV guys, seen and heard here on USA 

Network, were too busy joining spectators in 

shouting and going slightly bonkers.

“EMOTION OVERFLOWS,” shouted PETER 

DRURY, lead announcer said to be “renown 

for his poetic and passionate style” in a 

network release. “A game with such import in 

… the history of English football ends with 

fury. God, what a climax you would have not 

dared written?”

This was the final Merseyside derby 

(pronounced darby) at Goodison Park. Everton 

moves to a new home field next season … all 

of which made this comeback even more 

special. “It wasn’t a great game … a bit more 

feisty than maybe other games have been,” 

Moyes said on camera afterwards, “but it suited 

us tonight because we had to be more ugly than 

we’d like to be … I felt we had to do 

something to nullify Liverpool, a very, very 

good team.”

It was noted he was smiling, and TIM 

HOWARD, who played for Moyes at Everton 

18 years ago, told us, “He doesn’t smile very 

much.”

Kudos to the network for staying around long after it 

was over, giving viewers a feel of the downright joy 

from the Everton faithful as, in unison, they 

sang/chanted their particular fight song ...clapping at the 

right spots. Only in England … and the World’s Favorite 

Sport.

“That game made me very happy, and not just because I 

played here,” said Howard,  former goalkeeper 

(Everton, ManU, USMNT) now a studio regular for the 

EPL-on-NBC. “That restored my faith in the Derby. 

Nowadays it’s really easy and very nice. This was a 

proper Derby. There’s a lot of hate here. It matters to the 

people in this community … This will live on for years, 

decades … and generations. This a moment in time that 

will stand on its own.”

Jeez, what if Everton had won?

Until next time ...

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