A day that will never be forgotton by all Reds - April 15th.

Nothing brings people closer than a celebration or a tragedy. We celebrated league titles on open top buses through the city centre of Liverpool, and of course who can forget that chairman Mao speech by Bill Shankly after we LOST to Arsenal in the FA Cup.  And in recent times, note how scores of Liverpool fans celebrated with one another after the unforgettable 5^th European Cup win which enabled us to keep the cup, FOR GOOD!

One thing that bring more people across the globe together, is not the trophies we won, it’s not records we hold, it’s not great players we had/ have, although we cherish those, in my view, the one thing that Liverpool fans have over fans of all other clubs is a bond; a bond that started on one fateful day, 21 years ago, in Sheffield. Hillsborough is the home ground for Sheffield Wednesday and they were hosting the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The game was just 7 minutes old when a stampede at the Lepping Lanes End, caused by crowd mismanagement by the police, resulted in the match being abandoned, and 96 of our fellow fans, our brothers and sisters and uncles and aunties if you like, all Liverpool fans, gave their lives for supporting the team they have come to love and be passionate about. Yes, I am talking about Hillsborough tragedy, and it is my belief that this has brought the fans closer, especially in dealing with bad times or when the team is not doing well because what could be worse than going to watch a football match and returning in a body bag?

Having experienced that first hand, just last week, when I lost a dear aunt to cancer, I understand how the tragedy has brought the club closer, as an entity, how it has brought the fans closer, and how the club recognized the role this tragedy has in the history of our club, to the point that the eternal flames were added to the club badge. Just as how my aunt’s passing made me reflect on things I usually don’t think about and how it brought our family closer together, is how Hillsborough gives us that bond, as fans all over the world come together as one to support the club, and now today, in paying respects and mourning the 96.

Today, marks the 21^st anniversary of the tragedy and today should be the day we put aside our petty differences, our disappointments of this season, over the chase for 4^th place, over the opinion we have over our players, the manager or owners (this might be a very big ask), and remember the 96 instead.

In times like this, where everyone, especially the newer, younger fans are obsessed with supporting the fancier clubs, or the club whose strip looks nicer, or who’s on top and how we are struggling to finish 4^th, perhaps should put all that aside, at least for a couple of days, and reflect on the 96. Think of what we would do if we made that journey to Anfield, and stand in front of the Hillsborough memorial. I know what I’d do, I would put a MyRAWK T Shirt on it, and tell them that they will never walk alone, for they are our brothers and sisters, and they will forever be in our hearts. And they should be, for they are part of the history, the proud history of Liverpool Football Club.

In this day and age where so many so-called fans don’t bother learning the history of their club and some even change clubs like how they change clothes, it is important for the true supporters to instill this in our younger fans, to tell them that, Liverpool Football Club is more than the 18 league titles, 5 European Cups, 7 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, 3 UEFA Cups and 15 Charity Shield wins. Yes, we should cherish these victorious moments, moments that made supporting the club proud. It is for this same moments that drew passion from the fans and supporters, which resulted in them taking the short 63 mile trip across town to Sheffield for the match against Nottingham Forest. I am not blaming the success of the club that caused the tragedy, but that this is part of the club’s history that we should all know, embrace and understand; that Liverpool FC is not just about winning, it’s THE people’s club, no matter how much the Tesco Club down the road keep telling us that they are the people’s club. We are the ones who display the mosaics on Truth Day, where the Kop was singing nonstop for 6 minutes right after kick off, to show the world that despite whatever reported by The S*N, the 96 were the real victims of the tragedy.

Speaking about The S*N, for those who are not in the know, immediately after the tragedy, they published news reports that spread lies about the tragedy, accusing Liverpool fans of not respecting the dead, doing many despicable acts to fellow fans who were lying on the ground, dead or injured. Till today, many fans still don’t read that piece of printed processed tree bark, and I make it a point to ignore all news from the same source on the net and articles taken from it that are published in our very own The St*r. I would urge all fans to learn about the lies spread by The S*N and how the government of the day  generally laid blame on the fans despite many coming out to admit that they should take the blame for their role in the tragedy. Recently, there are more reports about Scotland Yard coming out and apologizing to the families of victims and confess their mistake in failure to control the crowd as well as using wrong tactics / method for crowd control, resulting in the tragedy.

I am not asking you to become an extremist, or hate a certain people or group because of it, but because of the importance of this event to our history, to perhaps learn a bit more about it and remember that apart from the success, there are things like this that keep our feet on the ground. Also, during times like this, we could put aside how we feel about the team, the performance, the criticism of certain players, the questionable tactics by the manager, the squabbling owners, the finances and other things about the team that we care about, because 15^th April of every year, the focus should shift from the team, to the people who made the team who and what they are, the supporters.

Justice for the 96!

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Jonno ®