Why football and real life aren’t always so different

By Rich Laverty.

Everyone talks about remembering where they were during the Lockerbie Bombing, or Hillsborough, or the fall of the Berlin Wall. For people my age, it’s MJ’s death and 9/11. But two more dates stick in the memory for me, the 6^th and 7^th July, 2005. I was at school, an eager student waiting to hear in anticipation whether or not London would host the 2012 Olympics over Paris. There was no Twitter; we didn’t even have phones that had great internet as we awaited news from parents and teachers that London had indeed won.

Back then, it seemed a world away but almost three years have passed since the Olympics and I ended up missing the whole thing. I was working/travelling in Australia for two months, something else that seemed a world away in 2005. Less than 24 hours later, the mood around the school changed entirely. Terrorism was nothing new, even as a 10-year-old, four days after my birthday I remember coming home and seeing coverage of the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York all over the news.

At 8.45am, we were sat happily in registration; all was well with the world, the excitement of the day before still firmly etched in the mind of every child inside the school that day. As we returned after break just two hours later, I still haven’t forgotten the look on my teacher’s face that greeted us. The radio was on, London had come under attack, and three bombs had detonated around the underground system as well as another on a bus in Russell Square. For all its faults as a nation, it was 24 hours that summed up the United Kingdom, how we rose up and faced adversity head on, despite the terrible loss of so many innocent lives.

February 6^th, 1958 needs no introduction. 23 people died as Manchester United were flying back from Belgrade, via Munich, after a European Cup tie. Eight of them were players from within the Theatre of Dreams. A club that, like our great nation did back in 2005, faced adversity head on and rose from the ashes in 1958. Coincidentally, Manchester City were the visitors to Old Trafford in 2008 for the 50^th anniversary of Munich. It was a truly bizarre yet unique spectacle as the home side walked out in a plain red kit with no sponsors and no names on the back. As the whole stadium fell silent, it was a reminder that football can unite together just as the country did three years earlier in July.

Ten years on, United won the European Cup themselves under Sir Matt Busby’s guidance. Ten years on from 7/7, the United Kingdom have indeed held their home Olympics and put on a superb show for the rest of the world. It was a rare moment where the eyes of the world were on the nation for all the right reasons and there’s no doubt our athletes did us proud. Football can be a getaway from real life for many people, whilst not perfect, it is almost a parallel universe disconnected from the world and an outlet for fans to go and cheer on their side every single week, but in reality, the two aren’t as disconnected as we think. Each year, as we look back on the events of 7/7, the country continues to unite for a short 24 hours, just as football, particularly Manchester, unites on February 6^th to remember those who died in Munich, or later dates for Hillsborough, or Heysel and any other tragedy that has struck football down the years. Because like 7/7, they were human tragedies rather than just football tragedies. In the end, both United and the United Kingdom fought back and overcame their respective tragedies.

The current events of the world in recent months in Glasgow, Sydney, Paris and throughout Syria make you reflect on the finer things of life that bring joy to so many people, football is a perfect example and once again this week 75,000 people will crowd into Old Trafford as their side face Burnley. For a brief 90 minutes, they will be closed off from the outside world ready to cheer on their team once again, but reality will never be too far away.

Follow @RichJLaverty

Read more from Rich Laverty here.