I know not a single person that was taken away 27 yrs ago. I was 13 but a devout red, travelling to games when we could afford from Peterborugh with my family.
My first trip to the Kop was for the first memorial service.
I cannot say I have been directly involved in the fight for justice, but by God I have fought against anyone that refused to accept what was the truth. And I have been subjected to the vile abuse from morons outside grounds across the country. We are not muderers, we are fans of the best club in the world, rooted in the best city in the world, where looking after each other is bred into the people there.
I must feel a fraction of the pain that those brave people who have fought so hard for their families, us as fans, and the underdogs throughout the country. But I do feel some pain.
As I watched abide with me I was close to tears at the dinner table.
My 5 yr old son asked 'dad why are those people singing'
I replied, because they are remembering lots of people involved in an accident.
To that he asked ' was it a hurting accident or a toilet accident!' What we call not getting the to the loo in time!
I burst into laughter, tears actually rolled down my face.
The love I felt for him and his younger brother should still be the love that those families should be having, but their loved ones went to a footy match and never came home.
My boys are yet to watch the Reds, but undoubtably the tragic events of hillsborough have made the experience of taking my beloved to a match a very different experience to those that went in 1989 were subjected too. They will buy their tat, their flags, I'll even have my phone out to take pictures. But the most important thing is we will all come home, and I thank those lost to the families for that.
YNWA
