When Sports pales into insignificance...

[EvertonBroncos]

Slightly long but I think you'll be glad you read it. 5 years ago in my home city of Liverpool, an 11 year old boy by the name of Rhys Jones was shot and tragically killed. Like myself, Rhys was a massive Everton fan. There's always been a long standing rivalry between Everton and Liverpool, however the rivalry has always been somewhat of a friendly one, but I digress. The whole city was shocked and deeply saddened by the killing. Everton's team visited the scene to pay tribute and lay flowers, but Liverpool FC absolutely outdid everyone with what they done. Everton's signature tune "Z Cars" has been associated with the club for decades now, it's one of the most famous songs in what we call football. In tribute to the young lad, Liverpool played Everton's song in their stadium. There were a few eyebrows raised by other fans, thinking it wouldn't go down well, but deep down all Everton and Liverpool fans knew it would be observed absolutely wonderfully. Here is this video, you will get goosebumps, some of you might even shed a tear watching it, because I can never watch it without getting a lump in my throat:

This is the reason I will never "like" Liverpool FC, but will always respect them and their fans for what they done, it was an absolutely remarkable gesture. To top it off, the way Liverpool's fans sang their song, "You'll Never Walk Alone", to Rhys' parents was truly fitting, because they never did walk alone.

RIP Little Rhys

[Peanut]

Thanks for sharing that.

I know some soccer fans get a bad rep so it's good to see things like this.

[CanDB]

Lovely tribute EB.

Not sure I have ever listened to that beautiful song without being moved. Hearing all those fans singing along added a sense of community and spirit.

[EvertonBroncos]

Thanks guys. It's weird Can, I always hate hearing that song because it belongs to Liverpool, when it comes to football at least. When Everton play Liverpool at their stadium I always whistle as loudly as possible to try and drown it out. But when it comes down to it, it's a song that means a lot to the city. After the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, Liverpool fans brought this banner to Goodison Park:



and at subsequent Hillsborough memorials you'll see things like this, an Everton fan holding up a Liverpool scarf:



It's just remarkable when you really sit and think, we all love sports, and we all treat it like it's the most important thing in the world, but in the harsh reality, compared to the death of 96 football fans, or a little boy on his way home from football training, sports mean absolutely nothing, the important thing is that fans display unity and support one another.