大象传媒

Good morning.聽 It took me a little while to get up to speed with how to behave at a football match.聽 Where we sit, there鈥檚 plenty of choice language, a deal of advice shouted to various players and to the referee and the occasional, 鈥淲ell done, son.鈥澛� We鈥檙e not in the singing part of the ground, but it seems to be OK to join in some of the chants even if you鈥檙e the only one on the row.

When any group of people get together, there鈥檚 custom and ritual 鈥� and football鈥檚 no different.聽 It takes you a while to learn the hymns and then even I blush when I realise what the words are.聽 We are supporters of a team, but also have to learn who we (in inverted commas) 鈥榟ate鈥�.聽 There are historic reasons which go back into the mists of time.聽 Of course most people don鈥檛 actually hate certain opposing teams, we only hate them in a football sense.

But there鈥檚 another powerful collective memory which unites people and today Manchester United supporters remember particularly the Munich air crash of February 6th, 1958 when 21 people died including seven promising players on their way home from a European cup match.聽 Among the banners spread out in the Stretford end is one that reads 鈥淔lowers of Manchester.聽 We will not forget.鈥澛� It hangs there among the chants, the roars, the whistles and the groans.聽 Loss is something we live with one way or another.聽 Perhaps the raw nature of grief mellows, but not always and remembering with others has some measure of reassurance and comfort.聽 Football tragedies have their own particular poignancy and football fans and their families grieve together and alone.聽 In the midst of the questioning and bewilderment of grief, a prayer for today.

God who loves us, send down into our hearts that peace which the world cannot give, and keep us in love and charity.聽 Amen