A Captain, a Captain; my Kingdom for a Captain!
There will never be another like him again. Ever. The day Steven George Gerrard puts up his boots, I will forever watch football with an underlying sense of sorrow. I am sure older men who had their own conquering heroes will sympathise. And yet I still think there will never be another like him again. Ever. My kids will grow up worshipping the leather kickers of their day; but I will have to sit them down with disappointment and let them know that those heroes are false idols and that they didnât have the fortune to be alive when a man turned the odds on its head, again and again, playing with destiny like the Gods.
This sounds silly, itâs exaggerated surely, but it was incredible to watch Gerrard battle and take everyone on the ride with him. Liverpool fans have given Fowler the nickname of âGodâ but they got that one wrong in my opinion. Only one player in Liverpoolâs history deserves to be compared to a deity. And if you were to compare Gerrard to a deity; youâd compare him with Atlas. For he held the sky up, the world on his back; so that Liverpool could see more of the glory days. For 15 years, other stars shone in our constellation; but they faded or were pulled away by the stronger gravity of other celestial bodies. All but one star, for 15 years, he fought the forces; he didnât succumb; and if need be he would light the sky himself. He became the Alpha and the Omega, whenever we seemed to need it.
But cruelly, he couldnât control the fates all the time. He is then, just a man. A special kind of man, a leader of men. A Captain. A symbol for others. He followed the path thatâs hard to tread. Itâs more than football; itâs about life. Find a person that is willing to forgo the easy, the immediate, the instantly gratifying and do it tough. Itâs not common, itâs special. This is a long-winded piece to simply say, Steven George Gerrard was special; he was a beacon. If you hadnât witnessed some of his feats and somebody was telling you his stories; youâd think they were talking about a movie. He made us dream beyond what was reasonably possible. This is what real leaders do and the inspiration they sow into our hearts is why we follow them.
Stevie will soon have to put down his sword and the load he has been carrying. He kept the darkness at bay, but the war rages onâŠA Captain, a Captain; my Kingdom for a Captain!
