One Day Has Come: Spurs Are On Our Way To Wembley

As I sit at my keyboard listening to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", I slowly come to grips with the magnitude and magnificence of Tottenham Hotspur's soul-stirring 5-1 triumph over the Hated Arsenal Scum in tonight's League Cup semifinal at Tottenham's White Hart Lane stadium.

While The Scum fielded an understrength team (whether as a sign of contempt or out of a desire to see their younger players perform against fully-motivated competition), the fact that Tottenham had failed to beat The Scum in 21 straight attempts, and that a berth in a cup final to be played at the renovated 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium was on the line produced an electric atmosphere that penetrated even the remotest outposts of Spursdom.

For years, I wondered what I would do if and when Tottenham finally beat the Scum. Would it be champagne? Public singing of the song whose punch line is "Shoot the Arsenal Scum, Shoot the Arsenal Scum", or merely quiet reflection.

But tonight, thanks to four magnificent Tottenham blasts by Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon, Robbie Keane and a clinical last second strike by the elegantly named Steed Malbranque, which along with a comical self-inflicted goal by the inept Scummer Nicklas Bendtner produced the final 5 goal tally, I have my answer--capturing the magnificence of the occasion here on the blog.

The gamewatching experience was relatively sedate here in Delft--I went to my usual local pub and encountered another wayward Tottenham soul, a fellow returned from Thailand who was complaining about the cold. I was wearing a Tottenham scarf and my 1999 vintage Tottenham Away jersey--from the season when Tottenham last won the League Cup...and last beat the Scum.

I was half watching through the first half, where the two goal margin left me 'cautiously optimistic', as the handlers at the White House are wont to say. But after the third goal, a sense of belief set in. I started waving my scarf around intermittently as if I was one of the fervent throng at The Lane. Another goal goes in, and my body temperature rises and anticipation sets in. We've been taking it from these sons (and daughters) of Vishnu-knows-what for the better part of a flipping decade, and Justice was finally on the horizon.

The fourth goal leads almost to complacency, until a strike by Arsenal's talented first-string striker Emmanuel Adebayor brings the total to 4-1 with a fair amount of time on the clock. Presumed joy gives way to the kind of expectant angst that typefies most of a Spurs supporter's continued existence until the waning moments of gave a sense of relief among the rabid, scarf waving legions preparing to sing lustily over the corpse of their vanquished foe. Finally, the last-second cannon by Malbranque sealed the deal--and a scene of joy unlike any experienced recently at the Lane ensued, with Keane doing a dance at midfield, players piling onto each other, and 36000 singing as one to the tunes of Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur and the ever-topical Spurs Are On Our Way To Wembley (the original version is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCXdlxZ5RiM).

A key ingredient to Spurs' revival has been new manager Juande Ramos. While I was outraged by his selection and his replacement of previous manager and fellow Hague-area resident Martin Jol, Ramos has brought sharp tactics and restored the confidence of Spurs' leaky defense--and has not had a team of his lose a match in an elimination cup in over a year, a record continued with today's electric win.

Merry, an Arsenal fan I work with sneered when I suggested we had a chance tonight. She said "yeah, you Tottenham fans think 'one day, we'll beat the Arsenal'. Hell, you even have a manager named 'One Day'!"

Merry: Today, we have beaten the Scum. Today, we have claimed our place at Wembley. Merry, One Day Has Come!