Forget the disappointment of this morning's titanic struggle at The Bridge. We tried, we lost. Life goes on. But fer 96 souls, life certainly did not go on 20 years ago in what was supposed to be an afternoon of exhilarating footie.What should have been a great day out fer those Kopites witnessing arguably the best Liverpool team of all time turned into tragedy at the dilapidated Lepping Lanes stand at Hillsborough just before the FA Cup semi between us & Forest.
Till today, many pertinent issues remain unanswered as well as many grieving families having no closure on this horrible episode. Me recalls watching the chaos unfold on telly but was none the wiser to the events until the casualties were reported the next day. It was sickening to think that an afternoon out fer footie would end like that.
Events like this (& the recent tragedy in Ivory Coast) put the game we all love into perspective. So while many of us are still licking the wounds of this morning's defeat, spare a thought fer our fallen comrades & their families.
Yer all invited to post yer thoughts & tributes in the comments box.
ps: Fer those to young to remember or indeed would like to read more, go to http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6083159.ece (just one of the many links recounting the horrors of that fateful day).
pps: Also see http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/i-was-a-witness-to-the-needless-death-of-96-football-fans-the-memory-still-sickens-me-1668852.html
ppps: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/the-big-question-will-liverpools-sense-of-injustice-over-hillsborough-ever-be-resolved-1668823.html
pppps: To feel the pain & loss, read the letters at http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N163817090414-2359.htm. Tears to me eyes.
25 comments:
I'm having a hard time keeping my emotions in check and hide my welling eye in me office after reading the stories on LFC.tv
As a reminder to the injustices done to the victims, their families and us the fans, head on over to http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/hillsborough/images.html to put faces to the names of those who perished in this senseless tragedy.
Have put up my own tribute on thoughts on this tragedy up on my blog. I just can't get over the fact that any one of us, had we had the chance to watch the match live in Leppings Lane, Hillsborough could have ended going home in a body bag.
I remember the match against Forest like yesterday. I was getting comfortable as the match was in it's early stage when I saw what I thought was a pitch invasion. Even the Forest fans accros the pitch thought so too as they started hurling abuse. It was only much later was it obvious that something was wrong as fans were being carried on to the pitch and there were scenes of people giving some of the unconcious CPR. It was something unbelievable especially when were had not yet recovered from the Heysel tragedy.
96 brave fans lost their lives. We can put the blame on the police or the stadium stewards. But the truth of the matter is that they gave their lives for LFC. That is how we should remember them. It also puts things into perspective. We get so caught up with our lives & our achievements that we forget how fragile our lives are.
To the people of Liverpool who lost a father, mother, sister, brother, cousin, child, friend, You'll Never Walk Alone.
Walk on! Walk on!
tears were welling in my eyes when i read the tributes on the website.
I saw the game live on TV here and initially i thought hell, here we go again ala Heysel..but when i saw people climbing over the fence, running to pull away advert boards etc...knew something worse had happened. Didnt realise the extend until it was reported in the news the next day.
For the 96 and their families, we will never forget you. YNWA
1989, I was only 9 and not even a Reds fan yet. Heck I'm not even into football back then.
Nevertheless, my heart goes out to the 96 who lost their lives on that fateful day.
You'll always be in our heart.
I remember watching the events unfold as they happened on telly and it was absolutely shocking and 20 years down the road, we still have not been able to bring closure to this horrific chapter in LFC's otherwise proud history. Don't know if Bala remembers, but about a week after the tragedy, both of us had black armbands on for a week in remembrance.
Will be saving a silent prayer & having a moment's silence at 11.06pm tonight.
Justice For The 96! Walk On...
You'll never walk alone!
i still remember watching the news on that fateful day.
tragedy to football.
tuan/tuan & puan puan FFs skalian,
now, now, a lot of yu must be wonderin' why the hell this self-alienated-by-force-of-nature of a spurs fan is busting his own chops in this post. it may be true, it has got shit all to do with me; at least not in mind and body - but definitely in the
soul man.
much like the other brethren of liverflock, i was pinned arse to floor sprawled in front of ma old crisp beatbox of a philips telly. crisp: because it one of the few things that survived the massive fire that swallowed me house the previous year; and
beatbox: becasue literally yu had to either first a) beat the hell out of it with yer bare knuckles on the its top, then b) follow-on through with a gentle carress of the inner palm.
so i'll cut the crap.
it was me and ma old man, and my bro. lazy floorpotato footie fan count: 2 spurs fan & 1 reds fan (me younger bro). pining to see one of the few events that use to highlight our dreary existence down south in jb. that too, hate to admit this, thanks to the old SBC fogeys. that time kira no astro la. and down south we were kinda lucky to have sporean tv, to the point they even started televising the semis.
what was i doing watching it? as i said it was a highlight of the week, plus if the reds had lost guess who would be IN ma bro's face all week? i was a tad immature back then as compared to now :) also, i was a huge fan of forest's back line; particularly "psycho" man...loved his curlers during freekicks and des the walker. yeah, true, i was also silently big on some of the skills the reds had going on for them that time. overall good stuff, and good footie.
then it happened. honestly, that heysel vibe started tugging me again. not again, i said. there goes another europe again, i said.
then i saw what unfolded before me, the vulgar depth of the situation began to haul me in.
i stopped ribbin' ma bro. ma old man started cursin the police and god knows what else form of footie management.
and ma bro, an 13 year-old or somewhat during the time (already a fan for the last 7 to 8 years of his life) -
cried.
that's the first time, i saw him
cried for anything red. no correction, the 1st time was in 89, but it was nothing like this.
first a whimper then the floodgates broke.
he'll probably kill me now if he found out i was tellin folk
about this. but, i could relate to it. and there was no ribbing that evening. no constant reminders.
just plain shocked silence. what happened that day was not farkin football. it was a human tragedy.
that hopefully does not ever seen the light of the farkin day. even if yu're a gooner :)))
will reserve my shitty comments on gNR in respect of this posting.
cheers mon.
appreciatively,
moz.
j or ji: TQ! Nice to see a manc who knows when its time fer solidarity & a show of support. Yer words alone show yer not like the rest of dem mancs. Kudos!
Bernard: Yeah. Wearing black today.
Isa: At least the spectre of hooliganism has slowly disappeared from the game.
JonC: And yet the recent fiasco at Ivory Coast game shows how little things have progressed in many parts of the world.
Kopite78: Remember reading an article by a survivor of Hillborough who said the events that day forever changed his perception of the game . . . and that it is just that . . . a game. Certainly not one worth losing yer life fer.
Afif: Events that day are central to who we are as Kopites.
fer some reason, i've got "that joke isn't funny anymore" playin in ma head now, as i thumbed through the
tribute pages, especially one by kenny d.
later dude.
moz: This affects us all.
And this semi was in 1989, eventually we won the postponed game before beating everton in final.
Double however did not materialise tahnks to a certain michael thomas.
I was newly married and living in New Orleans in April 1989. I would not hear of Hillsborough until seventeen years later, so my sorrow is more distant, less immediate than those who lived through it. The thought of those fans, most of them so young, moves me nonetheless.
I've posted my Hillsborough thoughts on my blog.
i remember the incident still and the souls shall be remembered.
can't say more.
my heart is with you all.
Balaji: - i still remember the day...was a saturday...just came back from my auntie's house in jalan ipoh..
switched on the telly and they showed the incident on the news...
15 april is also the day the world lost Joey Ramone...
I was not aware of this incident till the day the internet started dominating the world. This explains how ignorant was I and the media didn't even bother to publish anything till recently.
However, like what King Kenny has said, the 96 will always be in our heart and will never be forgotten.
Uncle: ... the words of those who survived Hillsborough esp that on LFC.tv well I have to admit had me all teary ... hopeless softie that I am.
Pretty much the same when it comes to MUFC fans remembering the Busby Babes and 23 who perished in the Munich Airport tragedy on the 6th of Feb 1958.
But it is clear, that no matter the length of time, the pain of the loss never subsides.
In the spirit of sportsmanship, to good football always! God Bless those who perished and may authorities be firmer in implementing measures to never repeat such loss of lives.
I think we shd not only pay tribute to the 96 but also the hundreds who survived but have physical and mental scars which will remain with them forever.
Sad Moment.
YNWA
It was a heart breaking tragedy and you are right that it is events like this that put things into perspective.
I think we all should remind ourselves of unfortunate events like this more often to keep our perspectives right.
Football is not all about winning. Some other teams might think winning is everything but not Liverpool Football Club.
That's why I have been supporting this club and will always do. It teaches me so many things beyond football. It's my life guide!
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
An insight on how badly this affected King Kenny & why he walked out on us:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/mediawatch/drilldown/MW14546090415-0036.htm
Also see: http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N164023090415-1935.htm
Loads of emtional articles fro survivors, ex-players etc at official website.
Mate, have to respect the blue half of Liverpool as well, a number of them attended the service in Anfield, including David Moyes.
Also The Bhoys made their presence felt as well and they placed their Justice banner on the hallowed turf of Anfield.
RIP 96
lets hope miracle happens this season.
devotee, im putting your blog in my page.
JFT 96 smiling down us on.
priory of jenin: cheers mate. will return the favour.
becky: They always will me thinks as long as Kopites keep their memory alive . . .
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