The Liverpool Community Spotlight: David Gore

Welcome to the very first edition of Spotlight, a new series designed to highlight some of the community’s newest writers. The team will also focus on some of B/R’s most loved regulars and discuss their history. 

The Spotlight team will search for up and coming writers who are new to the community and try to lend a helping hand by putting them on to Bleacher’s very own world football stage.

The series will not only be taking some time out for the regular authors who are already established on B/R, it will also be talking to the hard working community leaders and the unsung editors who spend a great deal of time maintaining the quality of Bleacher Report articles.

If you have found a new Bleacher creature that has captured your imagination, then Spotlight can offer you the chance to find out much more about your favourite writers—from their earliest memories as a football supporter right up to news about their next article.

Introducing…

Merseyside born, David Gore, has been a member of Bleacher Report for three months, quickly moving up the community writer rankings with many heartfelt articles that have mostly been Liverpool based.

His perspective on football can connect with the reader on a more personal level—with a hint of humour that will definitely produce a smile.

David is certainly one of the Liverpool Community’s most knowledgeable writers when it comes to talking about his favourite club and their history, but he can just as easily discuss anything that is football related, with the same passion.

His first two articles are warmly written and straight away they show David’s passion for the club and for football. His first contribution, ''The City and Its Club'' highlights some history behind the city of Liverpool itself, whilst, ''The Song'' gives an insight in to why the famous Anfield Anthem has a special meaning to him.

His optimism for Liverpool and their current season is clearly evident throughout his time on Bleacher, especially when you read through his positively driven articles entitled: "The New revival of Liverpool", "Liverpool FC: Could it be?" and: "The season so far"

Reading through some of David’s comments on other people’s work, you will be provided with polite and factual responses that will no doubt make him a firm favourite in the community.

The Interview

Spotlight:  Welcome David and many thanks for taking some time out to participate in this edition of Spotlight, it is certainly one the team have been looking forward to doing.

David Gore:  It’s my pleasure, thank you for asking me.

SL:  I’m sure the readers will already know that you’re a Liverpool supporter, but what was it that first got you supporting the club?

DG:  I first became a Red through birth I guess, I was born on Merseyside and my whole family is Liverpool red so I was always destined to join them. Plus I started out in the 80's, so any kid would've been drawn to the great forwards like Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush.

SL:  You mention two of Liverpool’s greatest players, Dalglish and Rush: Are they your favourite Liverpool players?

DG:  My all-time favourite players tended to be attackers when I was younger, but as I've got older, I've moved further back in the team. The first hero I had was Ian Rush, and I will always remember thinking he used to look like Super Mario.

Then it was Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, and now Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina. I suppose you develop more respect for defenders as you mature and watch more football.

SL:  Like most kids, you got into football at a very young age: what are your earliest memories of supporting Liverpool as you were growing up?

DG:  My earliest football memory isn't a very happy one. I was six years old when I saw the Hillsborough disaster on TV, and, although I was too young to freeze the images in my memory, I never forgot the atmosphere in my house on the day. I think I grew up a few years in 1989.

SL:  I imagine someone of that age would certainly see life differently after such an incident; it is definitely one of the lowest points in the club’s history.  

Moving from one of your worst experiences of football on to a happier memory: What would you consider to be the best game you have ever attended?

DG:  The best match I have ever attended, weirdly, wasn't actually a Liverpool game. It was 2001—the season we later went on to win the treble—but back in February, I was up north with my folks, visiting my sisters. My brother-in-law suggested, since we had nothing to do, that we should go down the road and watch the FA Cup tie between Tranmere and Southampton at Prenton Park.

I agreed, and we went down with another friend, who, like me, is a staunch Red. We got tickets on the gate, then had some friendly banter with some Tranmere fans who were all top lads. By half time, Southampton were winning 3-0 and we were all wondering what we were doing there.

By the final whistle, Tranmere had won 4-3, and two Reds and an Arsenal fan had screamed themselves hoarse before hugging everyone within reach. Cracking atmosphere and a great match, one that I later thought of when, in 2005, I saw the greatest game I've ever witnessed.

SL: Sounds like a great night of entertainment, one thing the FA Cup is world famous for. The Tranmere win certainly does echo one of the greatest games in Liverpool history, Did you think about that match during the Istanbul game?

DG:  At 3-0 down against Milan in Istanbul, the first thing I thought of at half-time was Prenton Park, and, unlike my dad who I was watching it with, I was full of hope. If Tranmere could do it against a team two leagues above them, why couldn't we? As it happens, Rafa, a relative unknown to me and most of the Liverpool fans, turned out to be a legend in the making, and the rest is history.

SL:  I think Rafa won some lifelong fans after that game; it will always be one of the best nights of my life, second only to my son being born of course.

You appear to be a big supporter of Rafa and all he has done for the club so far, some of your articles show great support for your manager and the team this season: Do you have a favourite article that you have written from the ones you have published on Bleacher?

DG:  My favourite article I've written would probably be "The New Revival of Liverpool FC", mainly because of all the positive comments I got—which always help me move forward—and the hope it gave me as I was writing it.

The one that meant the most to me, was a short one about the Liverpool song, You'll Never Walk Alone. Simply because it was written in the days after it was played at my grandfather's funeral, so it was written out of emotion for the old "hymn".

SL:  It definitely appears to be one of your most passionate articles to date, I imagine it would inspire other writers with emotion as they read it: Are there any writers on Bleacher who have inspired you or caught your eye with their style of writing?

DG:  Favourite writers on Bleacher would have to be Willie Gannon, mainly because he always provides a good, well-composed read. Recently I've been reading some interesting stuff by Michelle Alves, a lot of which has been making me smile—especially some good articles about Steven Gerrard lately.

SL:  Well David, Spotlight would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time during this interview and congratulate you on your contributions to the Liverpool community, here on Bleacher Report.

DG:  No problem, I hope that it was all useful for you.

That concludes the first edition of The Liverpool Community Spotlight, the team hope you have enjoyed listening to David Gore and finding out a little bit more about the man behind the articles.

If there is someone you would like to Spotlight, send their name along to the team. If you prefer, why not write your very own Spotlight article and help other Bleacher readers to find out more about their favourite writers.

The Liverpool Community Leader, Barney Corkhill has reached a very impressive 250 articles for the Bleacher Report. Congratulations are in order for a great contributor to the site and Barney has a few words of his own for his fans and followers.