It's only a game

As the great Bill Shankly once said “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that”. Even as a Man Utd fan I still respect what Shankly did as a manager, however sadly he was wrong. Football is just a game.

I love football as much as the next person and during pre season I feel like my life is empty. I’ve been a mascot for Port Vale and shed tears over United; I love the banter that happens in football. I loved it when Roy Carroll dropped the ball against Tottenham and was so far in the net even the fishermen of England felt the ball. I argued that it never crossed the line even though I know it did, winding people up and singing “we’ll do what we want”. However I take it as much as I give it and being a United fan from Stoke, believe me I get it. So why do I think Shankly was wrong?

It is only a game, I still go work on Monday as do the majority of football fans because football is a working class sport. We live for Saturdays whether we’re playing or watching but nothing winds me up more than when I hear songs about the Munich air disaster, that really makes my blood boil. There’s simply no need what so ever. 

On that terrible day in 1958 there were no Man Utd players on that plane, there were no Man City fans there were simply human beings who had all come together for the beautiful game. Twenty three people died that day including the ex Man City goalkeeper Frank Swift. Do these sick idiots who sing the songs at United fans realise that? There were a total of 10 people who weren’t affiliated with the club who died that day, again a stat that always gets lost.

Another example of why the football is only a game is the tragedy of Hillsborough. On that sad day in 1989, there was 96 Liverpool supporters killed, there were 96 people who supported Liverpool, they were people first, Liverpool supporters second. I’ve loved the last few season watching Liverpool struggle, they are our old enemy but I would never dream of making any sort of jokes or chants regarding what happened on that day. Innocent people died that day and hope that one day there will be justice for the 96!

Racism is another reason, I can never understand how “supporters” can cheer foreign players one week then shout racial abuse at them the minute they put a national shirt on. I’d love to know how the human mind works because this baffles me, we all bleed red blood regardless of our colour, and personally the minute we kick racism out the better.

At the end of the day nobody should hear chants about disasters or racism. These players and fans are human beings and the minute people recognise this, the game will become even more beautiful.

Thank you for reading