‘I had two goals when I was ill: Walk my daughter down the aisle and go to Goodison. It was magical’

Everton have played at Goodison Park since 1892, but the men have just two matches remaining at their famous old home. 

A move to the new stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront will follow. So, to mark the final few weeks, The Athletic has a series of articles and a special podcast to come.

This is the first of those as Everton and their fans across the world prepare to say goodbye to the Grand Old Lady and 133 years of history.

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Mike Goetz was finishing a tour of Goodison Park when the reality of what he was experiencing “finally dawned” on him.

“I got a little overcome emotionally and foggy-eyed,” he tells The Athletic. “When my friends asked if I was OK, I told them it was beautiful and couldn’t believe I was experiencing it with them.

“Having made the goal to come when I was diagnosed, it was surreal. I’m a little overcome right now just thinking about it.”

Goetz’s story is unique and inspiring.

A 56-year-old college soccer coach from Louisville, Kentucky, he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small B-cell lymphoma in March 2019.

The early prognosis was not positive and the fact he was already suffering with another degenerative condition, in multiple sclerosis, added a further complication.

“The doctor said: ‘I’ve been doing this over 20 years and I don’t know what I’ve just seen’. He told me he’d never seen this presentation in 40-something years of practice and that he could find only four documented cases like mine, with zero survivors. They subsequently wrote a case study on it.

“I was really, really sick at that point of diagnosis and it had some gastrointestinal involvement, which turned out to be very rare. I was so depleted, I was losing, like, a pound a day.”

Goetz, however, had two goals and was determined to make them happen.

The first was to walk his eldest daughter, Emma, down the aisle. “When I got that diagnosis, Emma and her now husband were over in the UK and Ireland. They went to Liverpool and were sending me all kinds of pictures from Goodison. They went to Everton One (the club shop) and bought me some gear.

“They got engaged over there. And so I’m just like: ‘Damn it, I’m going to walk her down the aisle. I don’t know how, but that’s my goal’.”

A “close second” on Goetz’s list was attending his first game at Goodison, the home of his beloved Everton, in its final season.

“I nearly died in that run-up to beginning treatment,” he says. “But you start looking at life and you’re assessing things and you’re just like: ‘What have I not done? What would I like to do?’. And, you know, a close second was going to see Everton at Goodison.

“Alongside Cole and Matthew, my fellow founders of our local supporters’ club, the three of us were just like: ‘We’re going to make this happen by hook or by crook’.”

Goetz’s last round of treatment came in December 2022, after which he was given the all clear. He credits his doctor, Terry Hadley, for coming up with “the regimen — 18 months of oral targeted immunotherapies followed by two years of maintenance infusions — that ultimately saved my life”.

Goetz has been an Everton supporter since the early 2000s, identifying from afar with the “grit” of then-manager David Moyes’ teams. When he saw the North American Toffees group were planning a final trip over to Goodison, he seized his chance.

Alongside his fellow Everton Kentucky founders, he was part of a group of around 100 supporters from across North America who took in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in March. Planning for the trip started last October.

“Even though we had a lot of tough times as a family, I honestly think more good came from all of this than bad. I couldn’t have dreamt it (the trip) would be as good as it was. I’d watched it for more than 20 years and you kind of get a feel for what it’s like. The significance of it being the final season, too, was humbling.

“The club recognised that it was going to be our last opportunity to be at Goodison and rolled out the red carpet. They played Z Cars when we walked down that old-style, last-of-its-kind tunnel and I was like ‘Wow, I’m here’. It was truly magical.

“I was buzzing for days when I got back and my wife eventually said: ‘Can we please stop talking about it?!’. It was what I always dreamt it would be like.”

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As a long-time member of the Premier League and one of England’s most storied clubs, Everton has a sizeable fanbase in places such as North America and Australia.

Many supporters, like Goetz, have taken the opportunity to make the pilgrimage to Goodison for one final time before Everton move to a new state-of-the-art facility on Liverpool’s waterfront.

Not every trip has gone entirely to plan.

Ben Hawthorne, from Sydney, Australia, had planned a three-week visit with a view to taking in Goodison’s final Merseyside derby, but describes feeling “shattered” when the game was postponed at short notice because of adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Darragh.

“I’d recently been made redundant, but I had some savings, so I figured there was no better time than the last season at Goodison,” says Hawthorne, whose dad grew up in nearby Ellesmere Port.

“The cost of the trip is hefty, not to mention the travel involved. I’d had the heads-up I’d be finishing up with work, so I kept money aside and made the most of my trip by spending three weeks in the country.

“It meant so much to finally visit Goodison in its final season. Watching it on TV in the early hours of the morning for so many years gives you an idea of the atmosphere, but nothing compares to being there in person, especially from the sketchy heights of the Top Balcony (the main stand).

“The only issue was that the derby was cancelled. I was shattered when confirmation came through. Normally, when Everton news trickles out, I’m in a different timezone. But being in Liverpool at the time, I watched my chances dwindle by the hour. I understood why the game was cancelled, though. The conditions were horrible.”

Not all was lost, however. Hawthorne, who had never visited Goodison before, managed to take in the home games against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the latter a decisive 4-0 over what was then a relegation rival.

There were trips to other major Everton haunts, such as the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and the lock-up tower that adorns the club’s crest.

What made the trip so special, according to Hawthorne, was the “combination of the matchday, the surrounding area and most importantly the passionate people who gather and enter Goodison,” he says. “I was welcomed by so many — we really do have the best fanbase.”

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For Matt deLisle of Providence, Rhode Island, a Goodison derby always seemed tantalisingly out of reach.

A long-time Everton fan who had attended matches, deLisle had begun to believe his dream of being in attendance for a game against fierce city rivals Liverpool was jinxed.

The 34-year-old had booked a trip to take in last season’s derby, only for it to be moved because of Liverpool’s participation in cup competitions. Like Hawthorne, he had booked a trip over for December’s Goodison derby when Storm Darragh struck.

“It honestly just chalks up to bad luck more than anything,” he says. “I’d been to a couple of games already and the derby was the one thing I wanted to experience before the new stadium.

“So I was like: ‘OK, if I’m gonna do it, it has to be now’. I booked the trip, got in early for the December match last year. I got lucky. A gentleman called Ian from Boston found me on X when I posted about it from the Everton Rhode Island account and asked if I wanted his ticket. He didn’t ask for anything for it.

“I saw them play Wolves and we obviously looked really good. I was excited. I woke up in the morning, saw the news and was just like: ‘You gotta be kidding me’. So I ended up going down to see them play Arsenal in London and flew home kind of disgruntled.”

Despite the setback, deLisle would not be deterred. Encouraged by a friend, who sent him $300 and told him he had to try one final time, he booked another trip to Liverpool for the rescheduled game. The money from his friend covered his hotel and Ian once again came good, reaching out to offer his ticket.

When Everton captain James Tarkowski thundered in a 98th-minute equaliser at the Gwladys Street, all the setbacks and upheaval suddenly felt worth it.

A thunderbolt from Tarkowski! 🚀#EVELIV highlights are out now ⤵️

— Everton (@Everton) February 12, 2025

“If someone offered me to go to another game, even one of these last two games, I’d probably say no, because to have that be my last Goodison experience is all I could ever ask for,” deLisle says. “My voice was gone 10 minutes into it.

“Obviously a big win would have been great, but just being in there for that kind of rollercoaster ride and then just the absolute pandemonium at the end was unbelievable. I’ve got goosebumps just talking about it because everyone around me was going crazy.

“I was basically in the front row behind the wheelchair positions. Other fans nearby climbed over and were celebrating like crazy with the people in the wheelchairs. My energy was just way too high. I don’t think I got to bed until like 2 or 3am.

“It was just such a great experience and I’m so lucky that it worked out the way it did because it just made that build-up even more special.

“To be over there twice, not have it happen, finally make it, think that we were gonna end up losing and just have it end like that was more than I ever could ask for.”

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When it comes to making that final trip to Goodison, everyone has their own story.

After the December derby was postponed, Everton club captain Seamus Coleman invited 15-year-old Australian supporter Mackenzie Kinsella, who had used all his savings on travelling 10,000 miles for December’s fixture, to meet the squad at their Finch Farm training ground. Coleman subsequently paid for Kinsella’s flights so he could be in attendance for February’s 2-2 draw.

Then there is the tale of Canadian supporter Peter Creer.

Creer booked a trip to attend a derby in 2020, only for the Covid pandemic to strike. Four years later, he tried again, but Liverpool’s FA Cup participation meant that game was rescheduled.

Creer was due to be in attendance for this December’s derby, only for that to be postponed, too.

Finally, in February, he got his wish, attending the dramatic 2-2 draw, secured via Tarkowski’s late goal. He estimates he has racked up some 40,000 kilometres making his dream of witnessing a Goodison derby become a reality.

The meaning of limbs as @Everton tie the match with a stunner from Tarkowski. @RBMersey #EVELIV pic.twitter.com/nnOI6yj60a

— Peter Creer (@evertonincanada) February 14, 2025

These are the lengths supporters will go to as they seek to play a part in Goodison’s historic last chapter.

Saying farewell feels essential but elicits strong emotions.

“Goodison is special because of the way it makes me feel at home and yet I really can’t take it with me,” says Rob Vera, an American Evertonian who lives in Oklahoma City.

“But there is something about it because I’ve been so many times. And that was why I was so emotional when I walked out. That final time, I really felt the finality in a way that is very unique.”

With the help of his wife, Mandy, who had given him a gift card to use for his final trip to Goodison, Vera took in Everton’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in January.

The reaction of former Everton striker Richarlison at the end of the latter struck an emotional chord. The Brazilian had spent long periods after the match had ended walking around the Goodison pitch, taking it in for one final time.

In those moments, he and Vera were coming to terms with the sense that this place, which has for so long felt like home, will soon be a thing of the past — at least in this guise (Everton are exploring the possibility of using Goodison for women’s team games).

“I watched Richarlison walking by himself, just staring off with that 90-mile look, and I thought in a weird way, I get how he’s feeling and he gets how I’m feeling,” Vera says.

“When I walked out of there, the first thought I had was about my grandparents’ place in this little town called Beebe, Arkansas.

“It was another sacred home that was destroyed by a tornado. And so I suddenly had this place that was sacred to me and yet it only lives now inside of me, it’s gone.

“This all sounds very grand, but it is hard to overstate what Everton and getting to spend time at Goodison has meant to me in terms of feeling like I was more than just a consumer of sport, that I was truly part of something that mattered.”

Vera estimates that a trip costs somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000. It is a considerable expense, but one deemed worthwhile for the memories it helps create.

The problem was getting home. A journey that was meant to last around 13 hours ended up taking two days because of disruption at Atlanta airport brought about by bad weather.

At one point, he found himself walking through the city, in the early hours of the morning, looking for a place to stay after his first hotel cancelled. On the way back to the airport the following day, he saw another flight cancelled, before eventually returning home 24 hours later.

“For as pitch-perfect as the trip itself was, I have never had a worse trip than that,” he says. “After I returned home, I was sick for several days. Bad fever, felt awful, but every time, I kept thinking to myself, this is the sacrifice I made for David Moyes to get his first win back at Everton.

“Despite how harrowing it was, zero regrets because I wouldn’t trade that final match at Goodison for anything. I hope as many people (as possible) got to Goodison in this last season. Boy, there’s nothing like it.”

(Top photo design: Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic)

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