Longevity is a special gift. Not many can say that they made
it to their 114th birthday. One such person is “Miss Susie,” a resident of
Brooklyn, New York. She celebrated her 114th birthday this year at a senior
center, surrounded by family and friends. Well this Monday is Milan’s birthday,
and the club is certainly not going to be celebrating in some senior center.
But it begs the question: What will you be doing on your 114th birthday?
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| If only Herbert Kilpin could see how grown up his baby is now |
On Monday, the party kicks off at noon in Nyon, France,
where Milan is one of 16 European teams in the draw for the Champions League
knockout round. Unlike another Old Lady we know, this will be Milan’s 11th time
in a row to make it to the Round of 16 in 11 times competing. And with league
results and competition thus far this season, we may not be competing in the
Champions League again any time soon, so this party will be even that much more
special.
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| A Milan kind of party |
But that is just the beginning of Milan’s big day. After
learning our fate for the next round in Europe, Milan are hosting a bash at the
San Siro. And when I say bash, I mean it in perhaps more of the violent sense.
Milan host Roma, who are undefeated this season and a close second in the table
to that other Old Lady. So it may resemble more of an execution than a party,
but it won’t be some party in a senior home (no offense, Miss Susie.)
This season has been such a rough ride, but amazingly
qualifying for the Champions League kicked off the birthday
celebrations early. And we also learned the same day that birthday celebrations
will continue to the beginning of the mercato, too, with special guests Adil
Rami and Keisuke Honda set to officially join the party then. I know a lot of
us fans are hoping that with reinforcements like that, the party will only just
be getting started.
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| Milan are also celebrating moving to their new headquarters at Casa Milan |
As if all of this wasn’t great news for Milan’s festivities,
the news that Milan will receive all of the Italian TV rights monies for the
Champions League Round of 16 as Italy’s sole representative at this point was
one of the best gifts I could think of for a 114 year-old. I mean sure, the
exit of that Old Lady and Napoli maybe wasn’t so good for the coefficient
(although Italy will now have four teams in the Europa League, with the final
being held in Torino,) but if anyone could use a little extra cash this season
to help reinforce our squad, it is Milan. So thanks for the birthday gift,
guys!
So what will you be doing on your 114th birthday? I know
what I’ll be doing on Milan’s 114th birthday: partying all day long. For me the
party starts at 3am my time with the Champions League draw, and then literally,
I will be doing Milan things all day long, with the massacre party at
the San Siro with Roma hopefully being the highlight.
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| Party Central |
People don’t often live to be 114, and while it is maybe a
little more common for a football club to enjoy such longevity, Milan celebrate
the big 114 in style… as the oldest club with the most titles in the world
(that’s right Boca, Milan is 6 years older.) Despite the incredibly painful and
mindboggling meltdown of our beloved Milan this past couple of years, Milan do finally
have a couple of reasons to celebrate. So even if Roma crash our party and
rough us up and take all three of our birthday points from us, on Monday, I
will be partying like it’s 1899. After all you only turn 114 once.
This post inspired by all of the
amazing players who have sweat blood for the Rossoneri
Our next match is
Milan vs. Roma
Monday, December 16 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)
The Champions League Round of 16 Draw is
Monday, December 16 • 12noon CET (6am EST)
Stay tuned for a very special Milan Obsession
Podcast on Tuesday!