The Toffee Lounge: Three Questions for an Australian Blue

Evertonians, look into your heart and ask yourself one simple question: “How do you characterize yourself as a fan?”

Are you the Fanatic? You know the ones you see on the broadcast, the colorful men and women in the stadium wearing face paint and kissing unsuspecting victims celebrating the football on show?

Or maybe the Admirer? that guy with the pictures of his favorite player decorating his workstation and the back of the shirt he’s wearing right now. Ok, maybe it wasn’t a simple question, but worth asking anyway.

With that, let me introduce myself - I’m Adam and in this new feature I’ll be sitting down with some Everton fans from around the world and get to know them, and finding out what makes their Blue hearts tick.

Also, when I ask you why you’re a fan of the Toffees, if your first answer is “I’m a big Sam Allardyce fan and stuck around after he left” then we can’t be friends.

To kick this off, I sat in the spotlight myself as the first interviewee and enlisted my lovely wife to interview me about the club I love and the club she knows nothing about even though I try so hard to get her to watch the games live, which usually kick off at around midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).

As our young daughters need constant attention (who would have thought!) I have constricted this interview to three questions though I will have a more streamlined approach for further entries.

Heidi: “Adam, are you sure you want me to ask the questions?”

Adam: “Yes dear.”

I won’t count that one.

Heidi: “Ok. Why did you choose to follow soccer when its not an integral part of the Australian sporting culture?”

Adam: “I didn’t write soccer, I wrote football but anyway, the Australian codes never truly interested me as a sports fan. Rugby League for example is simply 1700s battlefield tactics with a modern twist. You know when two lines of infantry simply take pot shots at each other? Well it’s the same thing but the soldiers are 150 kilo monsters who simply run forward, get tackled then do it again and again. Football or soccer is a tactically driven, methodical game which involves having the right pieces in place with the right set of skills to overcome an opposition who like you is tactically proficient or more so. In short you need to think”

Heidi: “Hmm, I follow Rugby League Adam. Alright, why Everton then?”

Adam: “Are you reading my questions? Or making your own up? I can work with that. Well I chose Everton because of its historical achievements within and outside the UK, and not to mention as an Australian I am not constrained by the ‘support where you live’ mentality. I got to pick any team I fancied and I wanted a team I could believe in. A team with highs and lows, wins and loses and a team followed by a die-hard fan base.”

Heidi: “Makes sense but what about premierships? You know my Rugby League team has won multiple right? Just saying. They are important yes?”

Adam: “Of course, winning a league is important but not the most important by a mile. If I see a team, manager and support staff working hard towards a single goal and giving 100% then I’m a happy man. Also, you picked Melbourne because you had a crush on the fullback. Not the premierships!”

Heidi: “Excuse me! I….’

I will stop it there for obvious reasons.

Hopefully you have gained an insight into who I am when it comes to supporting Everton. I want a team who works as one and works hard. I am here for the lows *cough* 2017/2018 *cough* and I’m there for the ride that is #winning.

You may be different, or you may be the same, it really depends on you and I want to hear all about it. If you're interested in discussing your love of the team that calls Goodison home then please let me know.

Please note, no Adams were harmed during this interview.