Football mania in Winchester
Thousands of people are expected to attend Alan Ball's funeral at Winchester cathedral this afternoon. I suppose that's to be expected after the family invited the nation on television...
posted by Whispering Walls at 10:00 am
8 Comments:
Very sad to see Alan Ball pass away at such a relatively young age in rather tragic circumstances.
Winchester is getting in the news more and more these days. It may have been while you were on holiday, but there was that lady police officer who arrested a baddie after he had run her over in a stolen car..
I'm not sure what you are getting at here, Winchester. Shouldn't the 'nation' be entitled to attend ?
He was, after all, a man of the people.
"Bev Hallwood, from Eastleigh, near Southampton, described Ball as "just a lovely person" who chatted happily with fans - a marked contrast, she said, with his modern-day millionaire counterparts.
"He was a people person," she said. "Players today don't mix with the common man. Today's footballers don't compare."
I had to go and see on Google who Alan Ball was. I do not know the first thing about football but I saw a photograph of him on one of the websites. He had a friendly face and looked like a nice man. More than can be said of others players/managers or wives for that matter.
It was shown almost in full on Sky this afternoon. I mean no disrespect and I'm sure he was a very nice, decent man but does the event merit this?
Welshcakes - only a woman could say a thing like that ! I bet you couldn't see what 'all the fuss was about' with George Best either ? Oh, well..
I felt you might be being a little unnecessarily caustic WW.
When England won the World Cup, it was an event which united the nation in a way few other events have in more recent years. Alan was only 20 when he played in that tournament and displayed grit and determination which many of the overpaid players today seemingly cannot be bothered to do, if England's more recent result show anything! His passing united fans from many different clubs in a way not often evident in football stadia these days. It also gave a valuable opportunity for the Church to speak of the more important values of life and point those watching and listening to matters of faith and hope of eternal life. That was certainly the case in the eulogy by Canon St John-Channell. Hence, why not invite the nation to share.
Winchester - I still see no further clarification of your initial comment ? Were you insinuating that the family had not consulted with the Cathedral about this ? I don't think you can make a statement which might be interpreted in that light without some proof, or at least offer some clarification of what you really did mean.
I'd never heard of such a thing before. It is a footballing phenomenon? Was the nation invited to George Best's funeral?
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