Meet the Members: Charlie O’Brien
This story is part of an ongoing series of posts introducing you to LFC Tampa members. Read Charlie’s story of how he became a Liverpool supporter and at the end, he answers some questions that show his unwavering passion for Liverpool Football Club.
I became a Liverpool supporter back in 2010, during the horror show that was the Roy Hodgson era.
That was my first experience with supporting LFC, so I think that goes a long way in explaining how enjoyable the last few seasons have been for me, and why I never get too down even after losses — things were so much worse back when I first started following the club!
Anyway, I have played soccer since I was probably five years old, and I still continue to play in competitive men’s leagues to this day, so the sport has always been in my blood. I never really followed the Premier League all that closely growing up though, and the lack of TV coverage was probably as big of a reason as any.
Before the 2010 season I decided it was finally time to pick a team to support. I did a bunch of research and Liverpool quickly became the only choice — I was immediately enamored with the club’s rich history and tradition, but also didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon of a team that was at the top at the time. I also love the color red and I’m a huge music fan (so the Beatles connection with the city of Liverpool resonated with me). I love old, historic stadiums like Anfield, and also had a recent personal beef with the owners of Manchester United (see one of my answers below for more on that!), so Liverpool’s hatred of the Mancs was also an obvious draw. All those things combined made my choice of which club to support an easy one, although the early returns were far from great.
I obviously can’t claim to be a long-suffering fan or anything, but trudging through those awful early years as a new supporter has only made me appreciate where the club is at nowadays even more. I can’t wait for us to finally start winning big trophies again and get the club back to its rightful perch as the best team in the world.
I joined LFC Tampa when I lived right across the street from MacDinton’s, back when that was our home base, so it was an obvious decision to join the club and walk across the street to watch matches with the group. Since then, I’ve followed along as we moved to Four Green Fields and now I watch matches with the crew at Pokey’s.
I am also proud to have created a monster in the form of my wife, Casey. She was never a huge soccer fan before she met me, and is now a board member with the supporters club and probably a bigger LFC fanatic than even I am!
Together, we’ve fallen in love with this club, the players, and our manager, and we recently made the pilgrimage to Anfield for the first time. Needless to say, we’re hooked for life, and any kids we have will be instant lifelong supporters the moment they’re born as well. Up the Reds!
What is your definition of success for LFC this season?
I’m answering this on March 4th, so it’s a little interesting to answer this question at this point in the season. We’ve obviously have the top-four spot locked up, which would have been the bare minimum acceptable result this season as far as the league goes. Now that we’re a point behind City after the Everton draw, the title is still well within reach, and we still have it all to play for in the Champions League with the second leg at Bayern still to come. At this point, I’d define success this season more in the context of the Champions League. If we come up short to City in the league, it’ll be incredibly disappointing, but there’s really no shame in finishing second behind that team. We’ll be right back in the hunt again next season, so I’d really like to see us make another run to the Champions League final. If we were to finish second to City in the league, but win #6, I’d take that in a heartbeat.
Name a Liverpool player you loved but feel is/was never appreciated?
Raul Meireles. He left for Chelsea, which really hurt, but I’m quite partial to zany knuckleheads with great beards (for obvious reasons). I loved watching him play back in those years when there just wasn’t much else to get excited about with Liverpool.
If Jurgen Klopp was asked to describe you in a press conference, what would he say?
I’d like to think he’d see a bit of himself in me! Calm and laid back in most interactions, and loves to laugh and goof around, but with a deep competitive streak and a real fire that typically only shows up on the pitch. Just ask my men’s league teammates…
Have you ever met a current or former player?
Yep, a handful, actually. My wife Casey and I were extremely fortunate to meet a number of players in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last year during the preseason tour. We got to be up close to Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, and a bunch of other players as they came off the bus. We also got to meet Jurgen Klopp and got our picture taken with him.
What’s your favorite thing about gamedays with LFC Tampa?
The thing I enjoy most is just sharing the passion for Liverpool with a big group like ours. I’m just as comfortable watching by myself (where I can scream whatever I want at the TV uncensored), but it’s hard to top the atmosphere watching a big match with a group of other people who are just as crazy for Liverpool as me.
You’re down 2–1 with 15 minutes to play have one sub to make and on the bench you have any fringe player from Liverpool’s past available. Who do you put into the game and why?
Dirk Kuyt. Talk about a burst of energy off the bench and a knack for scoring important goals.
What is your favorite LFC chant/song?
I’ve become quite partial to Virgil Van Dijk’s new song, since I’m also a defender and I wear #4 on the pitch, and that line is a main part of the song. But as for more overall, team-based songs, it’s hard to pick against Allez, Allez, Allez.
Strangest place you’ve had to watch a match?
I watched the League Cup final against City in 2016 on my phone while waiting in an ungodly long security line at the Denver airport coming home from a ski trip for my bachelor party. I was ridiculously hung over, stuck in an airport security line, and we lost in penalties — it was awful.
