What it’s like being a Tottenham Hotspur supporter

Previous Cup Final defeats

Yesterday’s loss to Manchester City was unsurprising and, based on the run of play, a fair result. So it didn’t cut as deep as some of Spurs’ previous cup final losses. Most of us, in truth, expected to come up short against the Goliath’s of world football.

We can ruminate about how Ryan Mason struggled to cope with Pep’s tactical genius; we can complain about how Mason left Tanguy Ndombele and Gareth Bale out of the starting team; we can hurl miasma at Mason for starting Harry Winks, who hasn’t played an integral part all season.

But let’s call a spade a spade. We simply aren’t good enough to get one over on a team of City’s calibre, even in a one-off where “anything can happen.”

Though when you become accustomed to falling short on grand occasions — whether in FA Cup semifinals, League Cup finals, pivotal Premier League matches, the Champions League knockout stage — you become numb in defeat.

Seeing a team you’ve supported for over 30 years lose in a final will never be easy. Such defeats are still painful, chipping away at your very fibre.

But it’s not yesterday’s defeat that inflicts the most pain and hardship. It’s the realization this collective of players will never win a trophy together.

More than likely, to some degree, the current squad will be dismantled. Too many players’ futures are in question. There are a disproportionate amount of unknowns, including who the new manager will be, whether Harry Kane will stay, and what about a bevy of other players whose futures are uncertain (Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, Gareth Bale, Sergio Reguilon, Serge Aurier).

I go back to the 2-0 Champions League Final loss to Liverpool as the most devastating moment in an era for Spurs supporters. Everything changed after that loss, including the eventual demise of our beloved manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The feeling resembled closely when your heart shatters in the aftermath of a relationship you poured everything into. Until Tottenham exorcises those demons and wins the Champions League, supporters will be forever scarred, especially remembering the Fairytale run that led them to Madrid.

Seeing the deterioration since that decimating loss has been as torturous as the defeat itself. Daniel Levy then made the disastrous decision to hire Jose Mourinho, a decision as flawed then as it is now.