Last Sunday morning during the Liverpool-Arsenal 3rd Round FA Cup tie at Anfield, you would have noted that the opening 6 minutes of the tie was played against a backdrop of fans sitting on the Kop terrace holding up a mosaic spelling 'The Truth'. To those of you who are absolutely clueless about it, do not fret, I will explain.
On 15th April 1989, thousands of the travelling Kop visited Hillsborough stadium for the Semi-Final FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 96 did not return.
So, last Sunday, singing their hearts out, and chanting incessantly, ‘Justice for the 96’, the Liverpool supporters were appealing for the justice they felt for those who lost their lives during the Hillsborough tragedy, but never received any. The inspiration for the idea came from the organisers of the newly launched “Reclaim The Kop” or RTK for short, campaign.
You see, part of Liverpool FC’s uniqueness is its famous Spion Kop, which is steeped in history and tradition. For the past few years, it was noted that there was a decline in the high standards of support at Anfield. Alarmed by this the fans decided to form an action group in a bid to help re-create the famous Anfield atmosphere of old by reminding the latest custodian and younger fans of some of the Kop’s basic principles.
With the campaign steadily gathering pace, the first ever Kop Charter was drawn -up and on - 1 January 2007 – it was officially declared that the campaign to 'Reclaim The Kop', well and truly open. To have a better look at the Kop Charter, go here. Yes, even you Man Yoo fags can go and have a look.
The call for justice for the families of those who died is under Charter #6.
We may have lost the tie to 3 soft goals as our defence went to sleep on each occasion but as I’ve mentioned before; the Kop is unique. It is one-off. We innovate, and the other supporters follow. If there is one thing that sets us apart as fans, it’s this battle-cry and ritual, our hymn of triumph, and occasional defiance of pain. It is our anthem; You’ll Never Walk Alone.
3-1 down in a cup tie, with barely a few minutes left on the clock, we continued to proudly sing, we sang it slowly & loudly and with heartfelt emotion, right to the end, scarves held high.
I am proud to call myself a Liverpool supporter for the last 21 years.
11 comments:
You are so right about kids these days. They do not know the history of these clubs. They make fun of tragedies like Hillsborough. They support whatever club that happens to be at the top of the league - changing alliances just when the going gets tough.
Did you notice the strange absence of Manure fans these past two years? Now that Manure's leading the table, all of a sudden, you get lots of these little Manure fans, popping up like mushrooms everywhere.
I never knew football could be so deep...
sometimes you are so clever, i want to give you a hug.
seriously though. this is a bleeding good read.
it's not so much how long you've supported a club. it's how much passion you have for the club. passionate enough to dig into its history. passionate enough to keep on believing even when times are bad. passionate enough to remain a a loyal supporter, instead of just a mere fan.
YNWA!
Very informative post :) So I can go home, act pandai and ask the man (who is a Reds fan as well), "You know about the 1989 Hillsbrough incident or not?"
Heh. It's not hard keeping the passion burning eh? Football is probably the only game in the whole world which gathers so many people together, and with so much passion and love for the beautiful game.
Go Liverpool!
anttyk:
glory hunters comes from all walks of life.
i got a mate who supports everton and although we slag each other off most of the time, i hv a healthy respect for him as he's stayed true to his allegiance for more than 10 years.
elina:
oi! where hv u been? wat hppned to ur blog? comeback!
lily:
heh. for me i don't need to dig into our history.
i lived it! :P
doreen:
...and we still hv ppl saying it's a game with 22 grown men chasing a leather ball around the pitch.
angel eyes:
yay 2 u too! :p
eezwany:
maybe u could think of a witty song to slagg of the opposition, considering that you're musically inclined?
remember, we make fun of rival fans by being original. that is the kop style. :p
That is a great post, 9. And it is true about the "kids". I mean I consider myself a "kid" and I am disappointed that all the Liverpool fans I know - guys or girls - my age are just not interested to know much about the history. Some even asked me if our Liver Bird is a FLAMINGO! I was so shocked when I went to college and started meeting all these people who called themselves passionate Liverpool fans and the next thing I know, they think the Liver Bird is a FLAMINGO!
But it is extremely heartening to know that there are some Malaysian Liverpool fans out there who care and who know enough. Thank you so much for posting that, 9.
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