Loyalties sorted

Good moment to re-engage in the blog now when Milan and Spurs are preparing for round two in the worst clash of my long football watching career. A life that may have been full of suffering, disappointment and sorrow, but which was always simple: when Örebro, Milan and Spurs play, I support them.

Until that happened that I have feared would happen ever since Spurs beat City in May last year and qualified for the Champions Leauge qualifyers.  Suddenly two of my three planets were in the same orbit. A collision between two worlds seemed inevitable, and it felt more like a confirmation of what was predestined when live from a Maldivian water villa I watched them be drawn together .

I have had the question a few times since: who do you support? The answer is of course both. The harder question is who would you prefer to win? That one I could not really answer until somewhere halfway into the first half of the first leg. Before the game, this was the best reference that I could make:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ9bht5H2p4

I realise now that was borderline distasteful and I think I have found a more suitable analogy.  I will come to that soon.

When the game started I initially had a terrible headache and I for a while I think I suffered from an emotional short-circuit. When Gattuso tackled Jenas I wanted to shout "no freekick" and "freekick" at the same time.  It was weird.

But as the game progressed, my emotions started to get themselves together.  I wanted Milan to win.  The logic of it made sense in a backward way.  Milan were the favourites and played at home but they played tentatively (no press), uninspired (no creativity in the midfield) and ugly (Gattuso and Flamini had that kind of a day). Spurs were the new kid on the block, happy to be there but determined to give it a go.  If I was neutral, it would have been natural to support the Yiddos.  But it was then I realised I didn't.  And so when Zlatan made a sloppy pass, Lennon started a counterattack, avoided a crazy tackle from Yepes and served Crouch I was sure where my true loyalties were.

And there, somewhere, the right analogy appeared: I have one kid.  That's Örebro and I will always stand by my kid no matter what.  Spurs and Milan are like to nephews from two different siblings.  Spurs is the oldest one (I started supporting them before I started school, I thought they were called Tottingham and I thought it was a cool name), the one I first got in contact with but who did not grow up in my vicinity.  From time to time I even had some problems getting along with the parents (the self-righteousness of the Premier League).  Milan arrived in my life a bit later, somewhere around 1985, but grew up in much closer contact with me.  We therefore have much closer memories.  The jury is still out on whether the closeness or the success is really what decided how my symphathies swung, but swung they did so that when my two nephews faced each other I found myself wanting the for the moment less attractive one to go through a bit more.

So, loyalties sorted.  Doesn't make next Wednesday a bit less dreadful.  Just a bit less confusing.