Harbinger Of Glory

The staff around the tunnel got to him first.

Hands came out from both sides as Leo walked through, Wigan staff and stadium workers clapping his back and offering quick high-fives as he passed.

Leo returned them all, still smiling from the win.

Above the tunnel, supporters leaned over the barriers, calling his name and holding their phones out.

”Leo!”

”Leo, over here!”

They were frantic with Leo, even fearing for their safety as some of them leaned down almost to the point of their legs hanging in the air.

He stopped a few times, taking pictures with those closest to him.

When one fan leaned too far over the barrier, Leo stepped back and gestured for them to stay where they were before taking the picture from a safer distance.

He had just turned away from another phone when a hand touched his shoulder.

Leo looked back and found one of the league’s representatives pointing towards the pitch.

”Sorry to disturb, but you have a Premier League interview to attend!”

Leo glanced toward the branded booth near the centre circle and nodded.

”Oh, alright. Be right there!”

He turned towards the fans, taking another round of pictures before he turned back toward the pitch, only to find Callum Lang walking in from the other side, apparently one of the last Wigan players off.

Lang noticed Leo heading away from the tunnel and then nodded towards him!

”Where are you going?”

”They want a few words,” Leo replied and pointed toward the interview area.

Lang looked over and sighed.

”Of course they do.”

Lang laughed, looked at it and kept walking while Leo made his way back out onto the grass and crossed to the booth where the interviewer was already in position, earpiece in, looking at him as he approached.

”And here’s Leo Calderon,” she said to the camera, then turned to him with the easy smile of someone who has done hundreds of these.

Leo nodded as the camera re-centred to also focus on him.

”Another man of the match performance from you today,” she said, to which Leo raised his brow.

”Really? I appreciate it,” he said. ”But honestly, I’m not sure it was mine to take. Amos kept us in it at moments in that second half. Carlo’s goal was extraordinary. Reyes, Ezra.”

He shook his head.

”There were a lot of performances today. I’ll take it, but I don’t know if I fully agree.”

She smiled and moved on, asking about the game, about the system, about what Wigan were doing that others weren’t, and Leo answered each one without going further than the question needed him to.

Then she looked at him with the slight pause of someone about to bring something up that they know is a story.

”There is a lot of talk surrounding next week’s return to travel to Manchester United at Old Trafford,” she said, all while Leo nodded beside her!

”Given your history there, do you ever find yourself with any regrets about how things ended? I mean with how you were practically given away!”

Leo laughed, short and genuine.

”Thanks for the question, but with how things are going right now, would you?” he said.

At Leo’s redirection, the interviewer laughed but didn’t answer as Leo continued.

”Look,” he said, ”I don’t carry regrets about it. They saw what they saw, and they decided what they thought was best for their club! What happened, happened. I’m at Wigan, and I’m happy at Wigan. That’s the full answer.”

”And going into that game, what’s the message?”

He thought about it for a second and then shrugged.

”I don’t really have a message. I just want to do the best I can for this club on the day, and that’s it.”

She thanked him and the camera pulled back, and Leo walked off the pitch for the second time.

.....

Outside the DW, the fans refused to leave despite the match being over almost half an hour ago.

They stood in front of the stadium, sang and then danced to one of the club’s very familiar tunes, but their celebrations were muted compared to what happened online!

During the game, the fans of every team Wigan had already beaten had been watching the Liverpool game with varying degrees of investment, and the full-time score gave them exactly what they needed.

DidierTitty: Welcome to the Wigan penitentiary, Liverpool fans. Hope you enjoy your stay. We’ve saved you a seat next to us.

Cybersage: Liverpool fans spent all week telling us Mo Salah was going to have a field day. Three one. Three one!!! And their fraud of an Egyptian King couldn’t even go past Joe Bennett!

psychovardy: Trent was going to control that midfield. Van Dijk was going to deal with their forwards. Alisson was going to be untouchable. Three. One.

ZenonBlack: We lost to them in September, and I’ve been getting grief about it ever since. I would just like everyone to look at that scoreboard one more time.

Coolvamp: The Wigan penitentiary has now processed: Brighton, Chelsea, West Ham, Fulham, Everton, Wolves, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Liverpool. Visiting hours are every other weekend.

The fans had a lot to say, but so did the major media networks!

Merely an hour after the game, they began releasing various articles, and some of the articles didn’t spare Liverpool!

Wigan’s Extraordinary Run Continues: Liverpool Become Latest Victims!

Eleven And Counting: How Wigan Athletic Are Rewriting Premier League History

The Calderon Effect: Inside The Season Nobody Predicted!

Can Anyone Stop Them? Wigan Lead By Six Points with 27 matchdays to go!

The question in that last headline was still something that most pundits and various fans of other clubs refused to accept or talk about.

”It’s too early!”

”It’s just a good start!”

”They’ll reset eventually!”

These words, as always, were still circulating, but for the Wigan fans who had their team being doubted each matchday, they were used to it!