“Spellbound” is perhaps the best word we Americans have of describing the look upon the faces of George Gillett and Tom Hicks, Liverpool’s new American owners, as they soaked up the final moments of their first Champions League triumph at Anfield, bathed in the overwhelming drone of the club’s signature anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The British have another word for it: “gobsmacked.”
It was captivating stuff even on television, as every pair of Liverpool-supporting hands were raised visibly, scarves held aloft like banners, singing loudly enough in unison to nearly drown out the voices of the ESPN commentators.
The Times’ Oliver Kay, witness to the enthralling event, recalls seeing Steven Gerrard issue the thumbs up to Gillett as the team performed its post-match cool down. The American responded in kind by mouthing the words “Thank you,” before later telling reporters that the evening had been “like nothing I’ve ever heard or felt before.” For Gillett and Hicks it was their first visit to Anfield since buying a 62 percent stake in Liverpool about a month ago. It was certainly an experience neither will ever forget; one that Kay says makes previous comparisons of the club to the Boston Red Sox look (forgivably) naive. Separately, he questions how the club could ever leave Anfield in the wake of the otherworldly atmosphere produced there that night.