A Closer Look into Why r/Liverpool Matters (2024)

So far, we have examined many aspects of r/Liverpool and from this, our knowledge of the overall community and the individual Kopites who participate there has grown tremendously. This information sets us up to tackle the final pieces of the r/Liverpool puzzle. The remaining few topics include the reasons for the group’s existence, the benefits the Kopites gain from participating in r/Liverpool, and the impact of this participation on the community as a whole. Here, I will discuss these 3 points in detail.

Why is r/Liverpool around?

Whenever you hear about a real-life or online group, a natural initial thought you may have is “Why does this group even exist?”. In the case of r/Liverpool, there are several reasons for its existence and continued presence on the Internet. First of all, the community is alive, even after 13 years, because the beauty of sports is that there is ALWAYS something to talk about. For example, there are constantly transfer rumors circulating around Liverpool and upcoming or past matches that need to be analyzed, which are all sources for endless conversation.

In Chapter 3 of Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch states that many of the first online people enjoyed the difficulty that regular individuals faced when trying to join Internet communities or surf the web. McCulloch writes, “ if the language was a bit rough around the edges, prone to misinterpretations, so much better for keeping out those who didn’t get it” (82). Even now, after decades of the internet, there are online communities with complicated jargon and that prefer exclusivity. However, r/Liverpool is the exact opposite. This group exists so that the fans feel like there is a spot on the internet where they can easily fit in. As you already know, it is quite easy to become a part of the community because understanding basic slang and knowing a few facts about Liverpool is all that it takes to interact there. r/Liverpool purposely functions in this inclusive way because the community seeks to grow and it realizes that this type of ambiance attracts new members.

Furthermore, the subreddit exists so that fans have a place to browse and discuss things, that is not only visually appealing but also extremely organized compared to other sites. For example, let’s compare r/Liverpool with Red and White Kop, a popular Liverpool forum. Although both do well to separate their content into different subsections, r/Liverpool is far more presentable. The front page of Red and White Kop is too wordy, meanwhile, r/Liverpool’s front page is image-oriented and colorful. We can also compare the subreddit with the active Facebook group, “We are Liverpool this means more”. None of the posts in that community are categorized neatly under separate topics and the site has no color schemes.

How do Kopites benefit from r/Liverpool?

In a Forbes article titled, Successful Online Communities address the Primal Urge to Belong, Benjamin Vaughan discusses how people have a deeply rooted desire to feel a sense of belonging and are thus frequently searching for communities to fulfill this want. He goes on to write, “In the case of online communities, the primal urge to belong may be the main reason to stay.” This could not be more true for the Kopites on r/Liverpool. One of the biggest things that Kopites gain from participating on this site is that they truly feel important and appreciated there.For example, when a Kopite writes a post that receives tons of upvotes, it strengthens their belief that their voice matters and that other users enjoy and care about the things that they are saying. A sense of belonging is also experienced by Kopites when a meme, artwork, or craft that they have made and posted receives positive responses. The user, ID1453719, writes after someone posted a drawing of Jurgen Klopp, “I’m not even a Liverpool fan but stumbled across this and just had to comment… it is incredibly life-like and one of the best drawings I’ve ever seen.” The artist, after reading this comment and other very similar ones, must have felt so satisfied, proud, and very appreciated in that community.

From participating in r/Liverpool, Kopites also gain an increase in their overall knowledge of the club, whether it is in the tactical aspect of the game or becoming more aware of Liverpool’s history. For instance, one Kopite recently created a discussion post where he answered any questions that other members had about a new player (Ben Davies), which he had been following for quite a long time. Once the user responded to the dozens of questions about Davies, the Kopites learned a lot about the player and were very grateful to the user for doing this AMA-type post. One user, SadBlacksmith1365, writes, “Hey, mate tysm for posting this. I did not know much about Davies b4 this but after reading all your responses, I’m confident he will be a gr8 signing.”

How does r/Liverpool benefit from Kopite Commitment?

Overall, r/Liverpool has become a very diverse community because so many Kopites with different backgrounds, perspectives, and knowledge are committed to this site. Diversity is a major factor that helps to grow a community because people tend to be attracted to places where there are a variety of opinions and new information constantly being exchanged. r/Liverpool would definitely not be the #1 football fan group on Reddit if Kopites were all in agreement with each other and writing similar kinds of things. Furthermore, the diversity allows all the Kopites to get more value from the community because they are constantly learning new things from each other, as explained earlier with the Ben Davies example.

Final Thoughts

Well, those were the last pieces of information that I wanted to share with you all about r/Liverpool. This was a great experience for me because Liverpool is a team that I enjoy watching and it was fun to interact with the Kopites on the site. Beyond that, I learned many things about Liverpool’s history and I am more equipped to comprehend their gameplay during matches. I hope that you too are able to walk away with an appreciation for the uniqueness of this community and also with a greater understanding of online sports groups in general because there are several overlaps between them and r/Liverpool!