You are so right. Spurs fan for over 50 years and thankfully saw a lot of success in my early lifetime. My son who is coming up to 30 has seen one trophy. Season ticket holders, seen some fantastic games and results but nothing has come close to how i felt in Bilbao with my son.
Fans are trying to debate with me the value of that trophy. Trying to convince me it’s the same, or even somehow less meaningful than Ramos’ League Cup. That I should blank it out, ignore it, focus only on league form and league position. That I should be critical. That I should “see through it”. That I should focus on the bigger picture.
But I’m sorry, it’s utterly pointless having that debate with me.
Because a couple of weeks ago, I was stood inside the San Mamés stadium in Bilbao. I was hugging my best mates, tears rolling down each cheek. I was hugging strangers - strangers who were also in tears - completely overwhelmed by the moment. Surrounded by people who were experiencing exactly the same thing as me.
Pure, raw emotion. Joy. Relief. Disbelief.
The feeling that something had just happened that we’d spent years doubting would ever happen again. Something we’d almost written off. Something we had convinced ourselves was gone.
And then suddenly, there it was. Ours.
It was happening to us.
This is real.
Tottenham have won the UEFA Cup.
Unbelievable. Unforgettable.
That moment. Those moments. The bedlam after the goal. That 15 minutes of joyous singing at half-time, was that belief, from us! Through to those minutes after full-time - that will live with me until the day I die.
And I don’t care how good or bad the league form was. I don’t care what position we finished in. I don’t care where, in their minds, these people prioritise league form, or how they view success, or what they want to compare it to. I don’t care.
Because that was one of the greatest moments of my life.
That is football. That was everything football is supposed to be.
Say whatever you want. Debate it all you like. But no one will ever change how I feel about that night. I’ll take it to the grave.
Park the rumours, the debate, the faux ITK, and just breathe it in, one more time.
Tottenham Hotspur 🤍