Friday 24 August 2007

United by grief

Legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once famously commented: "Football isn't a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that." He was talking friendly bollocks, of course. And no doubt, if he was alive today, Shanks would have been among the first to honour the memory of 11-years young Everton fan Rhys Jones, who was (appallingly and incomprehensibly) shot dead in Croxteth the other evening. It's gratifying to see that even the deepest sporting rivalries can be put into perspective by a tragedy like this. The sight of red and blue scarves entwined is a heartening in the midst of loss. It would be wonderful if it could happen more often - but without the spur of pointless violence to get us to see how trivial our differences really are. [Pic: courtesy of the BBC]

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