On Jan 19, 1977: something truly remarkable happened. It snowed in Miami. It matters not that it was gone within an hour. What matters is that this most unusual event happened.
It was reported that people stopped their cars and emerged from their homes to see the snow in great numbers, many having never seen snow flurries in their lifetimes.
You have to go back to February 1899 for the previous time snow came anywhere near Miami.
There was snow in Liverpool on 15 February 1969. Nottingham Forest travelled to Anfield that day and came away with a 2-0 win thanks to a brace from Barry Lyons (you may well be familiar with the magnificent picture of Ian St.John, Joe Baker and Ron Rees contesting the ball in a flurry of snow.)
(The best source of ownership I can find is @Mirrorpix)
There was no snow at Anfield on a balmy September afternoon 55 years later. (At this point a vidiprinter should spell this number out: fifty-five.)
Back in 1969, Forest played in a rich, dark blue and Ron Yeats was captain – a colossus of a man. Some things change while some things remain the same. This time, Forest sported a light blue number. The passing of Ron Yates was commemorated by the Kop. Ryan Yates was captain – a colossus of a man. There was no snow, some precipitation at the final whistle, but no snow.
It was no fluke. Sure possession, shots, corners, xG and all that, but if you want to go down that road, Forest had two big chances to Liverpool’s one. Oh, and they scored one of their two big chances, while Liverpool did not.
The signs were there throughout the game. Alex Moreno locked Mo Salah in a cupboard. Ola Aina did that thing he does where he nicks the ball from the winger when one on one, then glides down the right wing. One too many passes by the home team drifted out of play. If we could get to half-time…
We got to half-time.
If we could get to 55 minutes…
We got to 55 minutes.
If around the hour mark, Liverpool made a flurry of substitutions, then we could retort with getting our super speedy wingers on the pitch and maybe smuggle a point.
This all came to pass. Textbook stuff.
The signs kept coming. Andrew Robertson got rattled. Poor Connor Bradley was left alone against Callum Hudson-Odoi. We all knew what was coming. Hudson-Odoi knew what was coming. Connor Bradley probably knew it too.
The ball delicately kissed the post and nestled snugly in the net- the most beautiful sight witnessed by any Forest fan at Anfield since 1969.
For so many Reds, Anfield has been a place of undistilled misery. Even when we were good in the late 70s, 80s and briefly in the 90s, we simply couldn’t do anything right on this football pitch.
Listener, if you will indulge a tale of woe for a brief moment, you may well be familiar with that 5-0 drubbing we received in 1988, which has been hailed by some as one of the finest exhibitions of football. Maybe it was, but all I recall is being in a minor car accident on the way there, getting spanked 5-0 and then finding a lovely old parking fine on the car windscreen after the game. Not one of the most enjoyable away days.
But this is just one of many reasons why a win here was so so sweet. The numerous concessions of late goals to Liverpool at the City Ground, all of that stuff, but also, the realisation that this is the kind of thing Nottingham Forest do these days: win away from home in the Premier League, have truly magnificent footballers in the team, occasionally beat the behemoths. (Since promotion, Forest have beaten Liverpool - twice - Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and got a well-deserved point against Manchester City. Beating Stoke away 3-2 on a Friday evening was great and all that, but these are the days.)
Within an hour, the snow was gone that day in Miami. Melted and washed away. But for those that witnessed it, this strange phenomenon which made them giddy with glee, it was a truly special moment.
If you don’t know me, I am the author of ‘Reds and Rams: The History of the East Midlands Derby’ and ‘The History Boys: Thirty Iconic Forest Goals’ (both available in the Forest club shop). I have written pieces for Mundial magazine, Football Weekends magazine, edited two award-nominated fanzines and was a columnist in the Nottingham Forest programme for eight years.
If you do know me, I’m truly sorry.
Share this post