It helped that my best friend growing up – Liam Murphy – was a diehard Manchester United fan along with his entire family. I revelled in the rivalry and thoroughly enjoyed the back-and-forth bragging rights that would occur. Although in those days, it was mainly a one-way street with me taking the brunt of most of it.
This didn’t bother me, though. Even as a young boy, I understood that Liverpool was my club and whether we were fighting for titles and Champions Leagues, or finishing mid-table, I would have to deal with it and continue to support my team every time they stepped out onto the pitch.
I played a lot of football myself growing up and did so right up until I started playing music with Amble. I even managed a few Sligo Rovers trials in my day, though Gaelic football often got in the way of things and, to be honest, I could never choose which sport I loved more and that was always going to be frowned upon in both sports. It is one of the only things that I regret about Amble. It is my inability to continue to play sport at a competitive level as it brought me the most fulfilment of anything in life prior.
My first time going to Anfield was a day I will never forget. My dad took myself and my brother over to see Liverpool play Manchester City in 2011. We drew 1-1 with [**Charlie Adam**](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/info/charlie-adam) scoring and [**Mario Balotelli**](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/info/mario-balotelli) got sent off. We sat pitchside and I even managed to get a brief appearance on Match of the Day that night… well, my right shoulder did, but still – what a moment!
I have been to Anfield many times since and every single time, no matter what stage of life I’m in, I return to my younger self. I’m always giddy with excitement and it’s the pure joy of what the next 90 minutes could bring.