Thursday, November 20, 2008

America's sports Bible covers the 1971 FA Cup final

This is why I don't hide my extreme devotion to following football. Acquaintance at work yesterday, older guy about 50, brought in the May 17, 1971, Sports Illustrated for me to check out. We had been chatting earlier this week how he was going to send it to his brother-in-law in England, who is a big Arsenal supporter. My guy at work mentioned how there was "something with Liverpool" in it. I had asked him to bring it in before he ships it overseas so I could check it out.

Well, I get into work yesterday to see on my desk that Sports Illustrated, in its early 1970s pomp, decided to go full out and immerse itself in Arsenal doing the double over Liverpool in a thrilling final. In the near future, I'll get the article typed up and posted, and I'll also figure out why the incredible pictures from it are not uploading properly to the site. Despite the '71 final being a down moment for the Reds, it's a glorious moment in Arsenal's history, and Match Pricks is nothing if not a collaborative effort celebrating football. When you see the pictures, you'll realize the scanner didn't do the old magazine copy justice. In your hands, the photos leap off the page. Just stunning.

Anyway, just wait until I get the article up. Classic 20th century American sports writing takes on the FA Cup, the North-South divide in English football, Shankly, the whole bit. Great stuff.

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