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 You'll never walk alone English fans unite in memory of Hillsborough tragedy
Posted: Thursday April 15, 1999 06:10 PM
There are some events in life you want to recall, and others you remember whether you want to or not. Those of a certain age will always remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, when John Lennon was murdered. While more recently, the death of Princess Diana will have left an indelible mark in the minds of many. One such dark event is the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. Thursday is the 10th anniversary of the fateful afternoon when 96 football fans were crushed to death during an FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The anniversary has recalled painful memories for many of the families and friends of those who were killed, while highlighting the disgraceful state of affairs that has resulted in some of the relatives still awaiting an answer as to why the tragedy occurred. That said, what the anniversary recalls in a positive sense, is the public unity that was found throughout Britain and particularly in the football world, in the aftermath of the tragedy. As someone who's been privileged to report on soccer in many parts of the world, it's impossible to divorce the image of the English soccer from hooliganism. To those of us who know of course, that's a rather dated image, with a few regrettable exceptions. Indeed the assumption of people who don't know about the Hillsborough tragedy might be that it was caused by crowd trouble. It wasn't. In fact watching the terror unfold all those years ago it was apparent that the fans in the stadium threw team loyalties to the wind, as they battled to save each other, tended to the injured, and commiserated with those whose friends and loved ones were lost. That feeling, which I encountered as a reporter during the days that followed the disaster, continued throughout the season and beyond, as English football and its fans united in mourning for their collective loss. A decade is a long time of course, and this week's memorial services apart, much of that sense of community has dissipated. However, it shouldn't be forgotten. Hillsborough was a tragedy that ironically showed the English football fans at their best. And for those who would glibly dismiss all English supporters as mindless hooligans, remember, divided they may stand, but united they fall.
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