[The Athletic] Meet Isaac Kearney, the six-year-old Liverpool fan 'just living his best life'

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6083122/2025/01/25/isaac-kearney-liverpool-fan-social-media/

for those of you who cannot read the article due to a subscription barrier, I have summarised it as follows:

• Six-year-old Isaac Kearney was born with Wolf Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting many parts of his body. He had open heart surgery and also cannot walk very far. His parents, Alan and Melissa, are very supportive of him and help whenever they can.
• Isaac is a diehard Liverpool fan. He went viral on TikTok for singing Liverpool songs with his toy guitar in hand. A number of fans online asked Liverpool to make his dream a reality. They responded by sending Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk to surprise him at Northwood Primary School.
• Despite his condition, Isaac is always positive and Liverpool always brings him joy.
• The Kearneys were taken to Kirkby (AXA Training Centre) to watch Liverpool's training. Isaac also had the chance to meet players such as Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté, Harvey Elliott, and Luis Diaz. He also met Arne Slot.
• At the end of his day at Kirkby, he was presented with a full kit and was given the opportunity to walk out with van Dijk at the subsequent game against Manchester City.

here is the video from Liverpool's official media of Isaac and his family's surprise visit from van Dijk and Salah, and their visit together to Kirkby - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfXJtOsLW3I

as an Arsenal fan, I recall Serge Gnabry Sacchi once saying that football was the "most important unimportant thing in life." this is why we call it the beautiful game, because some things are bigger than rivalries and derbies. I cannot stand Salah and van Dijk on the pitch but I will celebrate how genuine they seemed. thank you Liverpool, and thank you to everyone who made this happen.

to Isaac, and everyone else all around the world - you'll never walk alone!!