An utterly beautiful, surreal and bittersweet night.
As others have said, it felt like the end of an era walking down those stairs tonight. At the same time, I feel tonight is the first time I've been truly able to appreciate it all - not just the last 2 years, but all of it, all of the last 9 years... from that moment standing in the rain at the away end at Stoke watching us get relegated League One to that full-time whistle tonight - it now feels like one complete "era".
Not just the football but everything - I was 18 back then, leaving school and home for the first time - I've lived in 4 different cities since then - all the moments I've shared with my friends and family or on my own - watching Robert Huth head home the 3rd against ManCity last season on my own in a pokey room with a hole in it I was living alone in at the time on a dodgy internet stream is somehow now as romantic as being at the game.
Bizarre random tidbits I remember over the years - Marty Fryatt's 2 late goals against Bristol Rovers and celebrating over a Bristol Rovers fan I once knew but haven't seen in 8 1/2 years, Chris Wood's hat-trick vs Bristol City when I was convinced we were going up before we collapsed that season and bragging to my housemate (still one of my closest friends - but a Liverpool fan) that we were going up. Jack Hobbs, Michael Morrison, Wayne Brown and Bruno Berner becoming an excellent Championship back 4 more than the sum of its parts, Yann Kermorgant and Anthony Knockaert's penalties, DEENEY, Yakubu going on this bizarre bastard scoring run despite being the laziest player in history (besides maybe Jermaine Beckford). Matty Fryatt's lengthy run vs Newcastle. Andy King's goal against Cardiff in some made turn around in the play-offs when we thought we were out of it, Andy King's late winner against West Ham to start the great escape, Andy King's late winner against Plymouth in some obscure Champiomship match long consigned to completely unnotable history. Vardy and Nugent's godlike Championship strike force that even kept current Championship top scorer Chris Wood out the side. Vardy's 11 in a row. The 5-3 vs ManUtd with Vardy's performance still probably the single greatest individual performance I've ever seen from a Leicester player.
Anthony Knockaert scored about 3 of the best 5 Leicester goals I've ever seen - all against Huddersfield in the same season, the beautiful, erratic, tempremental little magician - remember the first few games he played it was clear he was a completely different kind of player to anything I'd ever seen at Leicester before. Then Mahrez cane and was even better! His goals against Chelsea, Watford, Swansea and a sweet free-kick in the Champions League. The annual 4 putting goals past Derby rout we had going in which Nugent would inevitably score as he always did against Ipswich and Burnley and him chasing squirrels round against QPR.
Lloyd Dyer against Bolton, Drinkwater the best player in the Champuonship thundering one i against Watford. Marc Albrighton the beautiful big nosed Brummie bastard with our first ever Champions League goal and the winner against Seville.
Robert Huth was maybe the most important signing of all. Him and Morgan will go down inlegrnd, so many important goals against Spurs, ManCity, ManItd, Southampton, Seville etc. Danny Simpson proving everyone wrong turning himself around and becoming a consistent rock at the back, Kasper's penalty saves vs Seville and also a last minute one against Boro in the snow. Fuchs - probably the best full-back and free signing I can ever remember. Leo's last gasp goals against West Ham and causing an earthquake against Norwich, Okazaki - probably the most bizarre footballer I've ever seen, I still don't know what quite to make of him but he's endlessly loveable. Kante, Cambiasso, Steve Howard, Wasilewski, Matty James, Ritchie De Laet, Benalouane, Paul Gallagher, Ritchie Wellens... I'm sure I've left many names out of the actors who've all played a role in this.
And of course Nigel Pearson, Claudio Ranieri and Craig Shakespeare who've all played a huge role in all this.
It feels like the end of an era, but what an era, so many moments tinged with my life for different reasons. What a ****ing performance that was, gave me goosebumps tonight. Love this ****ing team. Wouldn't want to support anyone else.