I used to hate Thierry Henry.
How a Tottenham fan learned to love Thierry Henry
Some rivals are too good to hate forever.
Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
I support Tottenham Hotspur, a team that I was drawn to because they're an underdog with a history of underachieving, but while featuring some of the most beloved players in the world. I started doing so after the likes of Ossie Ardiles, Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne were long gone, and I didn't have any idea what I was getting myself into. I knew that Arsenal were Spurs' biggest rivals, and that Henry was one of the best players in the world, but I didn't understand the extent to which watching Spurs blow it against Arsenal over and over and over again would suck.
By the time I got around to watching Spurs, Arsene Wenger had established Arsenal as one of the most successful sides in the world, while Tottenham were a mediocre mid-table team beginning to strive for European places. I'd seen highlights of Gazza and Lineker, and a player I loved watching at the 2002 World Cup, Robbie Keane, had just moved to Spurs. I decided to dive in. This was my team, for better or worse.
As those who follow the Premier League know, it was usually worse. Spurs have qualified for the Champions League and won a League Cup since then, beating Arsenal 5-1 in the semifinal of the latter. Those achievements came after the departure of Henry, arguably the greatest player in the modern history of the Premier League, because accomplishing those things while he was with the Gunners was impossible.
From the time I started following Spurs until Henry’s departure, they never beat Arsenal. Not once. Not in the League, the FA Cup or League Cup. In Henry’s entire Arsenal career, they lost to Spurs just one time, in 1999. He didn’t play in that game, and Spurs only won 2-1, despite Arsenal picking up two red cards.
His dominance was astonishing. He scored double-digit league goals in all eight of his seasons with the club, including 24 goals or more for five consecutive campaigns. It’s unlikely that the Premier League will see such a consistently spectacular five-year run ever again.
I didn’t appreciate Henry’s talents because I was too obsessed with hating him. Partially because adolescent boys tend to be very angry about things and partially because showing how much you hate your adopted team’s rival is part of being accepted as a new fan of that team, I was completely unwilling to appreciate this marvel of athleticism, technical skill and intelligence that made Tottenham look like amateurs every season.
His move to Barcelona gave me license to appreciate him, though it helps that this coincided with me moving out of my parents’ house and growing up a bit. He was brilliant there and watching him score no longer filled me with rage, but a large part of me still disliked seeing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry succeed.
Then he signed on to play for New York Red Bulls, the biggest rivals of my new adopted hometown MLS side D.C. United, where he'd become teammates with Rafael Marquez, perhaps American soccer's greatest ever 'rasslin heel masquerading as a footballer. I had every reason to hate Henry again!
And while I certainly mocked the Red Bulls incessantly, just like every other American soccer fan who doesn’t support them, I couldn’t find that same kind of hatred that I used to have. Maybe it just isn’t inside me anymore, and the hatred I used to feel for Henry was the kind that only horribly depressed and confused 14-year-old boys can feel towards people that they’ve never met before, but something changed.
I liked watching him. He was fun. For the first time in my life, I thought Henry’s wondergoals and superwonderassists were something worth appreciating.
He proceeded to do that for five fantastic seasons. It only resulted in one trophy for the Red Bulls, but it's one more than they had before he showed up. They also beat D.C. in a playoff series for the first time ever. MLS Cup or not, Henry is the player most responsible for killing off 'That's so Metro', a feat previously thought impossible. He turned mediocre English second division striker Bradley Wright-Phillips into the league's greatest goal-scorer. He did all of this while displaying a level of skill that MLS had never seen, and will not see again until Cristiano Ronaldo or one of La Masia's products decides to finish their career in the United States.
Henry combined the best tricks and flicks in American soccer with a consistently effective end product and a relentless dedication to studying his opponents. In American soccer circles, he was just as famous for his knowledge of the league and watching games on MLS Live as he was for being Thierry Henry, the greatest player to ever grace the league.
Maybe I stopped hating Henry because I grew up and learned that there’s nothing more childish than hating people you’ve never met, but I stopped disliking him entirely because of what he’s meant to a sport I love in the country I’m from.
Much like David Beckham before him, Henry came in branded as a prima donna who wanted to collect a fat paycheck in a retirement league, but ended up giving much more back to the league than he ever took out of it. For that, even though I’m a Tottenham Hotpsur and D.C. United fan, Thierry Henry leaves New York Red Bulls as one of my favorite players of all time.
