I watched that Soccer Stories documentary last night.
A brilliant, yet harrowing piece of storytelling. Absolutely compelling viewing.
A few points that grabbed my attention.
Firstly, Hillsborough was a disaster which showed the worst, most inhuman side of some "men" whose behaviour doesn't really warrant them being called men. From Middup spitting out his bilious lies from a mouth that was just a small part of a face exhibiting nothing but hate and contempt of football fans, to Duckenfield with his arrogance, his criminal incompetence and his selfishness in lying to cover his own back. Then there's Patnick and MacKenzie, the peddlers of defamatory slurs which the dead, their families, the survivors and a whole city suffered from for 27 years and still, despite the inquest results, still continue to suffer from til this day.
But, amongst that sea of shit, the documentary shines a light on some beautiful, kind, determined people full of admirable qualities like kindness, caring for your fellow man, integrity and an unnerving fighting spirit.
We all knew who they were beforehand anyway, like the fans who took the role of the emergency services when those whose job it was to help either froze or were totally overwhelmed by the situation. Then there's obviously all of the families of the 96 who've fought and fought and fought in the face of numerous obstacles put in their way. They are the bravest, most determined people I've ever known about. I don't know them personally, but I respect, admire and love every single one of them.
But, a particular two people jumped out at me from that documentary.
Phil Scraton - I've seen his name mentioned on here and was aware of his role in the HIP. But, I didn't really know that much about him. What an absolutely wonderful human being. A man full of intelligence, fight, determination. A man of class and integrity. And one who simply said no, this isn't happening, you are not getting away with this. He dug and dug until he found those smoking guns. He's an integral part of why the fight for justice is where it is today. If I ever met him in person, I'd just like to shake his hand and say "thank you". If said encounter was in a licenced premises, he wouldn't have to put his hand in his pocket all night.
The next person is Margaret Aspinall. What an unbelievably strong woman. There's a part in the documentary where she's talking about waiting for the coaches at Lime Street to return from Hillsborough. And she waits. And waits. She's convinced that her son will be on the last coach. She just wants him to be okay. And she just wants to hug him. But, well, we all know what happened. Watching that bit broke my heart. I'm a 37 year old man. 6 ft 2. Big lad. I cried. Like a baby. Just so, so sad. And, if that was my son, I think it would've broke me. But, not Margaret. It motivated her. It gave her positive anger. And fight. She's just such an inspirational, loving woman and mother. If I ever met her, I'd just like to give her a big, massive hug. Amazing woman.
The second part of the documentary which jumped out at me was a section which showed camcorder point of view footage of the view people would've had once Gate C was opened and they were allowed into the stadium courtyard. There it was. Directly in front of them. A big, open tunnel. With a "Standing" sign above it. The camera then panned past a staircase, a small fence, round a corner, and showed a further entrance to the Leppings Lane terrace.
Who wouldn't have just headed down that tunnel straight in front of you? The one marked "standing"? The one that you'd presume led to a terrace with ample room to stand in purely because it was still open? If I was there on that day, I'd have gone down that tunnel. It was what fans did back then - "let's try and get behind the goal". Show that footage to a load of fans from the terrace era, and 9 out of 10 of them would've done exactly the same thing. The decision to not close that tunnel was an utter disgrace. Plus, it just goes to show, especially to all those who still cling to the fallacy that it only happened because it was Liverpool fans, that Hillsborough was a disaster that was just waiting to happen and could've easily happened to any club.
I've gone on a bit here, so here's my final point. I'll start it with a small caveat. This is in no way a defence of South Yorkshire Police. I largely despise them for what they did on that day and in the following 27 years. And what they continue to do even now. But, that documentary also shows that some police officers, the rank and file, did the best they could on that day. They didn't fail to discharge their public duty. They were also let down by their chief's. They were also caught up in the conspiracy of lies afterwards when their statements were "sanitised" without their knowledge. I just felt it right to acknowledge their best efforts as Hillsborough also appears to have scarred them too, through no fault of their own.
I'll watch this again when it's on BBC with the additional footage. I hope lots of people watch it. Particularly those who still cling to the fan blaming rhetoric. They can't possibly do so anymore if they watch this.
