"Loyalty is the Tottenham supporter who says that he will stop believing in them at the worst of times but is back watching them the next week." Duke
What does it mean to support Tottenham Hotspur?
This is a question that has been bugging me since September 2008.
Once again, a season that has promised so much has ended up in the gutter. Every year, we sense a new dawn, only to find that it was merely Haley's Comet flashing by, leaving the night as dark as ever. One of the biggest spending clubs, they have, for long periods this season, failed to buy even a point as they propped up the rest of the Premiership. Seven Sisters Road, the yellow brick road that leads to White Hart Lane, has echoed with the death throes and wails of many a Spurs supporter, especially this crazy one from sunny Singapore.
I have had to endure taunts (the pick of the bunch was "What's the difference between Spurs and a triangle? At least the triangle has three points." It was so smart that only the great pain stopped me from laughing out loud) and sarcastic words of comfort, especially on Tuesdays when I play at the Cage. I have had to pull chunks of hair out (very difficult, considering the length, or lack thereof, of my hair) while putting my poor heart through horror show after horror show. I have had to look at the league table in the newspaper before and after every game to calculate the possibility of escaping relegation and this happened as early as October!
But here I am, in March, still a Spurs man. Lest you think me sado-masochistic, let me assure me I do not like pain. Not in the slightest. So, why do I keep on hanging on?
Trust me, I have had lots of time to think about it and I think I now know why.
I support Spurs because the pain promises that future glory on the pitch (how far away that future is, I don't know) will taste all the sweeter. I support Spurs because the football they play (at times, it must be emphasised) epitomises all that is good and loved about the game - flair, skill, beauty and the sweet innocence that accompanies men doing what they were born to do. I support Spurs because no other club captures the essence of being human as succinctly. We fail, we tumble, we embarrass ourselves, but we always get up, move on and walk with hope - exactly like Spurs.
Finally, I support Spurs because somehow, she has captured my heart, broken it time and again but yet, inexplicably, just like the magic trick, always returns it to me whole.
