No … it’s not that they’re both past their heyday.
Nor is it that they’re both living on past glories.
It’s not even that they were much better with their old team mates around them.
It’s this. And for some reason, I find it utterly beautiful, albeit in a wonderfully ramshackle way.
There’s something about a crowd singing that gets me every time.
It is – for me – the musical equivalent of how I feel when I watch a movie or documentary about triumph over adversity.
Over the years, I’ve been in many situations where I’ve been there when it happens.
A football match.
A concert.
Where – intentional or not – the crowd take over and lift the arena with song.
And I always stop when it starts and look around the venue with open eyes and open ears.
For me it’s almost spiritual.
I know that sounds utterly wanky, but it’s true … and I am sure that’s part of the reason some people find going to Church such a special experience. Hell, I’m an atheist and I find hearing a choir in full song in a cathedral utterly hypnotising.
But the thing is, whether you experience it or partake in it … the end result is always positive.
That feeling might only last a few seconds, but the energy of that shared moment affects everyone and transcends everything.
Worries … pressure … pain … they all momentarily disappear and everything feels alright.
It’s audio prozac and creates a moment you remember forever.
Which is much better than most ads will ever achieve.
Even after being researched to within an inch of their life.
Probably because emotions make people feel much better than rational arguments.