Shearah

"And now I see Ince ready for war
Gazza good as before
Shearer certain to score
And Psycho screaming"
--Three Lions '98, Baddiel & Skinner

I actually have an mp3 of that song, England's 1998 World Cup anthem, which I think makes me rather pathetic, or a soccer fan, or both. This afternoon, as I watch the second set of tournament games wind down (on the multiple television monitors in this room, giving me as many games to watch as possible), it's time for a tribute to my favorite athlete not born on U.S. soil (the only ones ahead of him right now are T-Gwynn, LT--the running back, not the crackhead--and big Antonio Gates; I think Sean Avery, born in Canada, is the only other foreigner anywhere near this list). First of all, if the title and the lyrics weren't sufficient, the object of this blog's affection is one Alan Shearer, the so-called "Angel of the North" (don't worry, that's not my nickname for him, that's actually what they call him up there in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne). The reason I've decided to write today is the impending possibility of some hardware heading Newcastle's way for the first time since 1969, the acquisition of which would provide a fitting send-off for the soon-to-be retired Shearer. Here's the situation: after a 4-0 thrashing of Greek side Olympiakos yesterday, the Magpies are into the UEFA Cup semifinals (with three other weak squads), meaning they've got a great shot at winning that bad boy. The other competition in which they're still alive is the historic FA (Football Association) Cup, in which they battle Man United in Cardiff, Wales in a couple weeks. Both are strong possibilities, and winning either one would be a long-awaited gift for Shearer (hasn't won anything since the Premier League in '94-'95) and the fans of Newcastle.
My devotion to Shearer goes way back, well before this recent run of success (eight straight wins since the hiring of Graeme Souness earlier this year), before the purchase of an authentic, personalized Newcastle jersey (Shearer #9) by my roommate upon his visit to England several years back, and even before the record-setting transfer from Blackburn Rovers in 1996. Yes, the obsession with the goal-scoring feats of A Shearer (definitely thought it was "Andrew" for a time there) began with One-Nil way back in the day. Had a little experience with the first version, but the infatuation really took hold with One-Nil '94, in which Blackburn Rovers was the best team and Shearer was their superstar. Completely off the top of my head, I think I can come up with the whole starting lineup: T Flowers, C Hendry, G Le Saux, H Berg, D Batty, T Sherwood, J Wilcox, S Ripley, M Newell, A Shearer. Dang, that's only 10. M Atkins? P Warhurst? S Pearce? C Sutton? D May? I think that's a pretty good recollection, frankly. If I could accurately quantify the number of hours I spent doing various things during my senior year of high school, watching college hoops would rank quite high and playing basketball (practice, games, sixth period, mentry) would also register quite a bit, but I honestly don't think anything would approach playing One-Nil. The legendary evenings of infecting the entire church computer system (Baldi and Kimbrough most definitely included), the five-hour session the night before I left for Young Life camp (meaning I didn't sleep a single minute before departing), the countless Premiership titles won with those lovely Rovers--I always chose the easier route rather than spending 15 years trying to reach the Prem with Stockport Co or some sad squad ("Hey Dell, is 'myopic' good?"). So yeah, One-Nil definitely established Shearer in my mind, and unfortunately we didn't get to see him in World Cup '94 (England embarassingly failed to qualify), so it wasn't really until Euro '96 and England's magical run to the semifinals (Shearer scored four goals in three group-play matches and then converted both of his penalties in the quarters and semis) that he became more than a character on a computer game. I got to see highlights of those Euro games, read multiple soccer magazines (World Soccer, FourFourTwo, etc.) and got a few more soccer games to boot (pun intended). Always England or Newcastle on FIFA, and even tried to buy Shearer on Major League Soccer Manager (which eventually evolved into World Soccer Manager, in which I could actually be Newcastle again)...yes Side, I would rather have Alan Shearer in my squad than Josh Henderson, I'm sorry.
Once he transferred to Newcastle (end of the summer after the European Championship), they immediately became my favorite team, and I chose to demonstrate my support with the authentic jersey, thanks to my roommate Matt, who went to visit his grandmother in England over Christmas break my junior year. I still wear it proudly, even to work on occasion, in an environment quite unfriendly to soccer. I even had a scarf for a little while, but somebody pilfered that during one of the many functions at our apartment my senior year. Oh well.
Okay yeah, he's great, he's evidently retiring at the end of this season, and it would be awesome to send him out in a blaze of glory (thank you Jon Bon Jovi). I'm even thinking about flying out there for a weekend to see him play in one of the final weekends of his career, late April or early May. Serious consideration right now, but it might end up being too expensive, we'll see.
So no sports yesterday and all sports today (though I would offer that Alan Shearer transcends sport); I think I've reached a good balance here. Probably no time to write tomorrow, so a happy tournament weekend to all. Go Bruins.