TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2018: From The UEFA Champions League to The World Cup

When asked about what he is watching on TV at Times Talks London back in 2014, Damian first talks about the usual suspects including Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Game of Thrones and then adds that on top of his recording list is ALWAYS Match of the Day. And many thanks go to Bookworm for reminding me of a Homeland Fun Fact about Match of the Day! Remember the scene in Homeland Pilot where Carrie notices Brody’s almost jazz-like finger tapping…

source: Showtimesource: Showtime

…it turns out Damian is finger tapping to Match of the Day tune there. You can hear the story from the man himself on the Commentary for the Pilot on Homeland Season 1 DVD and even hear Damian humming the tune for Claire

So, yes, Damian Lewis LOVES his footie!

Damian is a Londoner and currently lives in north London that puts him geographically in the Arsenal zone. But he roots for Liverpool.

source: wikipedia

Damian and I are only a year apart with me being one year his junior. This means we were kids at the same time in different countries with completely different cultures… But when it comes to football… In particular, if you live in a country where football is LIFE, say, in England where Damian grew up, or, say, in Turkey where I grew up, the fans speak the same language! While I do not know how Damian became a Liverpool fan, I have an educated guess!

My dad was a football fanatic. He did not only follow the Turkish league very closely, but also the European leagues and championships. And, in late 1970s, there was one football club that had constant presence in our living room: LIVERPOOL. The club had a legendary manager, Bob Paisley who led Liverpool through a period of unprecedented domestic and European dominance, winning twenty major honors in nine seasons: six League Championships, three League Cups, six Charity Shields, three European Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super Cup. They won EVERYTHING.

My dad liked Liverpool, and easily recruited me as a fan. We cheered for the team together and that is why Liverpool is always a warm reminder of my  childhood. As I grew up, I found out about other things about Liverpool, the city, that made me love it even more: Liverpool is a working class city which is close to my politics, and it gave the Beatles to the world, which is close to my heart. So I have always had a soft spot for its football team.

It turns out, so has Damian… Well… If you were a young kid in 1970s seeing this fantastic football team sweeping all championships and cups in Britain as well as across Europe year after year after year, why would you go and support another? THAT’S WHY, I believe, Damian, me, and many children of our generation became fans!

And Liverpool’s great run at the UEFA Champions League this year was  a TRUE sports highlight for Damian! We were very happy to see his joy which he lived publicly on Twitter and, hey, we were involved at a few key moments, too! 😀 😀 😀

When people want to extend an invitation to Damian for an event or an interview, and when they do not know how to contact his representatives, they sometimes get in touch with us and we forward the invitation to his personal assistant. In March, I received an email from a producer for BT Sports UEFA Champions League who wanted to get in touch with a representative of Damian to see if he would be interested in being part of their coverage at Anfield for the first leg of Liverpool’s Champions League Quarter Final with Manchester City on April 4 with a chance for him to go pitchside ahead of the game and hang out with BT Sports talent lineup that includes Gary Lineker, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard.

The producer would easily be able to find his way to Damian’s representatives without my help, but I was thrilled to forward this message to Damian’s personal assistant!

And the outcome?

Firstly, Liverpool delivered a perfect night for its supporters in a magical atmosphere at Anfield on April 4: Liverpool 3-0 Manchester City with goals by Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane.

Secondly, and more importantly, Damian was there pitchside ahead of the match, and he and Gully, who I am sure will not forget this match for the rest of his life, amet with Gary Lineker, Steven Gerrard (remember Damian’s moment with God?) and Frank Lampard — very big names if you follow European football.

You can see Damian in the video below talking about why they have a great cup team there!

I admit though that the highlight of the evening for Damian’s fans was the post-game festivities, or Damian tweeting with the fans as he and Gully were taking a 3-hour limo ride from Liverpool back home to London. And we, the Fan Fun girls, had our share, too, in the conversation!

Then Lady Trader started it by telling Damian he was on Twitter fire that night. And, lo and behold… [CAN’T FIND HER TWEET!]

https://twitter.com/FanFunDamian/status/981692688406925312

Oh, and, the highlight of the evening for us was that Gingersnap got a follow from Damian! Go, girl!

Damian was in Toronto shooting Run This Town when Liverpool played against Roma in the Champions League Semi-Final. And, may I just say I adore him as a fellow fan? His excitement was all over his tweets supporting his Red Men while he was having his head buried in prosthetics for his role as the former Toronto mayor Rob Ford in the movie.

Well, Damian was not able to go see his beloved Liverpool crushing Roma at Anfield that day, but he was in Kiev to support his Red Men playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League final! And no wonder the video he made and shared on Twitter before leaving to see the championship match in Kiev got extremely popular! It is a definite MUST-SEE to get to know this man better 😀

And while Liverpool did not play its best game and lost to Real Madrid in the championship match, I imagine the trip was still like no other!

To view more pictures from Kiev, please visit our gallery here.

If you are a football fan, there is one event that happens only once every four years that you look forward to: The World Cup. Russia hosted the Cup this year, Lewisto and I were glued to the TV watching football for a month! And while my beloved Argentina did not do well (FYI: I am not from Argentina but I have supported the national team since I was 10 years old. Blame Maradona!) Damian’s England did extremely well, going to the semi-finals for the first time since 1990. But it was France that had the last laugh and won the Cup this year. And it was fun to see Damian sharing his feelings, this time for the National Team, on Twitter!

Shouting at the TV? Oh yeah that is what a REAL fan does!

I was thinking I would never re-visit World Cup 2018 since my team did not even make it to the quarter finals. Well, I was wrong. Because, ladies and gentlemen, we have recently found out Damian is narrating, with Tom Hillier, the FIFA World Cup Official Film! How about that?

For the football lovers among you, there is no release date yet but we will let you know as soon as we find out. Stay tuned! And for the football lovers that follow the English Premiere League, Damian may be in New York shooting Billions but he is doing his best to catch Liverpool matches, too! Good luck, Red Men!

Author: Damianista

Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!

5 thoughts on “TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2018: From The UEFA Champions League to The World Cup”

  1. Ok, I will confess I am not a football fan ( from anywhere, no matter what it is called). I suppose that is the reason I do not understand what Damian is saying, or should I say, singing, in that clip on his way to Kiev. Have listened to it repeatedly but I give up! So, could someone please enlighten me? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Ok, here goes. “Championship finals tomorrow in Kiev. I’m goin’. Thanks to Liverpool Football. The greatest club in the land! World? Yes, why not. World! Salah (adorable mouth trumpet to song Honey, Honey – the Archie’s) Oh Mane, Mane (more trumpet). Amble be firm, you know, but so could Tinio, GO YOU REDMEN”. Amble, Tinio wild guesses. For more adorable mouth trumpet see Homeland S2 E12

      Reply

      1. Thank you, NotLinda, for transcribing! Salah and Mane are two of the best Liverpool players! I love this video so much because it’s all about who Damian is as a fan! Big hugs from Luang Prabang, Laos!

        Reply

      2. Thank you Notlinda and Damianista. It helps to know Salah and Mane are players. I actually did recognize the tune. There are a couple of members of my family who simply do not understand my indifference to the world of sports. I’m just happy they enjoy their favorite teams (as Damian does). Oh, and Happy New Year one and all!

        Reply

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