Science teacher Mr. Matthew Owen has been a supporter of Liverpool FC for nearly his entire life. 

One of his earliest Liverpool memories was watching a game with his dad. “I remember a team in red versus a team in black and white,” Mr. Owen said. “I’ve sort of always associated that with Liverpool.”

One of the early reasons that Mr. Owen loved the football club was forward Michael Owen who played three seasons for Liverpool from 1996 to 2004. When Mr. Owen found out that he shared a last name with someone on the team, his love for the club skyrocketed. “Young me as a kid saw myself within that and that really exploded the fandom from there,” Mr. Owen said.

Even when he moved from England to the United States at an early age, his love for the club remained. “When we moved to America, my grandma and grandpa — to try to stay in contact and stay in touch — would send me newspaper clippings of anything related to Liverpool, to England, or to Michael Owen,” he said. “It was something that I really held onto just as a point of contact with my grandparents … and as a kind of connection with my country.”

In Mr. Owen’s time as a supporter, the 2005 Champions League Final versus AC Milan stands out as one of his favorite Liverpool games. He vividly recalls logging onto the computers at school to stay updated with the game throughout regulation time, the first ninety minutes of a tournament match prior to extra time and penalties. When he arrived home to find the result of the match, he was ecstatic to learn that Liverpool had won in penalty kicks. “I just remember running around the landing in my parents’ house ecstatic beyond belief,” Mr. Owen said.

In 2012, Mr. Owen had the opportunity to watch Liverpool play in person with a couple of his friends. Liverpool came out victorious in a dominant 4-0 performance over Fulham at home. Their seats were next to the section with the diehard fans behind the goal on the right-hand side. Prior to kickoff, Mr. Owen remembers seeing their section singing the team anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as the players were introduced. “It was absolutely amazing,” Mr. Owen said. “It was incredible to just be a part of it, holding up my scarf myself, singing away. It was really cool.” 

Toward the end of the game, Mr. Owen and his friends even got onto TV. “The people in front of us were all wearing Santa costumes,” Mr. Owen said. “They panned over to that part of the stadium and they were trying to get the three Santa people.” Mr. Owen’s family was watching the game live and were able to let him know the next morning that they could see him during the game.

In all his years following Liverpool, Mr. Owen’s favorite player to ever suit up for the club is Steven Gerrard. Mr. Owen loved that Gerrard grew up as a supporter and developed within the Liverpool system. The midfielder played for the club from 1998-2015 and scored 120 goals in Premier League action. “He was a player who, from the central midfield, could just take a game by the scruff of the neck and he could win the game himself,” Mr. Owen said. “He was incredible to watch.”

When looking back on Gerrard’s career, Mr. Owen remembers a last-minute goal from the Champions League group stage as a standout moment of his tenure with Liverpool. Thanks to that 3-1 win, Liverpool was able to slide into the knockout stage and would go on to win the Champions League in 2005. As the current English Premier League season comes to an end, Liverpool stands at fifth and hasn’t lost a match since April 1. While Mr. Owen doesn’t feel like the team has met his expectations, he is pleased with how the squad is finishing out the season down the stretch. As Liverpool heads into the summer, he hopes that the front office can make smart investments that will move the club into a better position going forward.