The decision was made instantly. My son Edward was in Rome for the second leg of Liverpool’s Champions League soccer semifinal on May 2. I was at home in Brooklyn, pretending to prepare for a class, but really watching the game. We are devoted fans of the Liverpool Football Club. We texted throughout the game. Although Liverpool lost the match against Roma, we won the tie over two legs, allowing us to advance to the Champions League final on May 26, when we would face the mighty Real Madrid.

At the Champions final, Liverpool’s first in 11 years, we would have the chance to win the most important soccer competition in the world — yes, the world. Although the World Cup would be starting in June, the top European clubs that compete in the Champions League are, as every serious soccer fan knows, much stronger than any of the national teams. The Champions League is the bigger prize.

Edward and I had to watch the final together. But where and how? We reviewed the options. The game was in Kiev. We couldn’t get tickets. We tried to score passes to watch the final on a giant screen at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium, but the event sold out. What about a London pub? Every bar in the city was going to be heaving with bodies, and we needed to focus on the game. So we settled on watching at my son’s place in Brixton in South London.