Tuesday, February 07, 2012

KOP CAT!!!



You see, Topps, cards like these actually work in a product like Match Attax. That's because Match Attax/Topps Attax are products no one actually takes seriously. They're meant to be played with, not actually collected.

And just because you don't make Topps Attax on this side of the Atlantic, doesn't mean cards of squirrels won't work in another product collectors don't take seriously: Opening Day for example.

(Topps: Please make all checks payable to "Chris Harris.")

In case you have no idea just what the heck I'm talking about ... Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur played a football, errr..., soccer match yesterday. Spurs are currently 3rd and Liverpool 7th in the English Premiere League table, errr..., standings, and both sides needed a needed a win to cement (Spurs) or get back into (Liverpool) Champions League contention.

(The UEFA Champions League is the highly-lucrative annual trans-European tournament that crowns the best club team on the continent. The top four teams in England get to play in the following year's Champions League, and, just as important, get to cash-in on the $30m in TV money that comes with it. Therefore, finishing the season in fourth place is just as important, if not more so, that actually winning the Premiership, errr..., League.)

The match ended in a goalless draw, but that's not important. In the 11th minute of the first half this happened ...



... and if the guy in the green shirt looks vaguely familiar, that's because it's Brad Friedel, former goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team and current #1 for Tottenham. You probably remember him as that guy who made all those awesome penalty kick saves for the USA in the 2002 World Cup.

By the end of the match the "Anfield Cat" had already had a Twitter account with 20,000+ followers. Earlier today, Topps' UK affiliate posted the mock-up of "Kop Cat." ( is the section of Liverpool's Anfield stadium where the club's most vocal and hardcore supporters, errr..., fans stand, errr..., sit.)

I know most of you don't "get," or don't want to "get," football, and I'm not here to convert you. I'm not even a Liverpool fan (I support Everton and Fulham). But 42,000 voices singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" always sends a chill down my spine.

1 comment:

dayf said...

I damn near chose Liverpool as my Premier league team of choice simply because Pink Floyd put that clip of You'll Never Walk Alone into their song Fearless which is the best Pink Floyd song ever.

Instead I ended up picking Arsenal because of Colin Firth and that cool cannon logo.

What were we talking about again?