Let me elaborate a little. A few days ago I was watching the Edinburgh derby between Hibernian and Hearts. I joined the action about thirty minutes in. By half-time Hibs were up two-nil, and three minutes into the second half they added a third.
Now this is the thing that got me thinking. You see, with their team top of the league, and forty-two minutes plus stoppage time remaining in the game, several Hearts fans left the stadium, convinced that their team had already lost. It got me thinking even more when Hearts scored their first goal about half an hour later, and as their remaining fans roared them on they bombarded the Hibs goal, eventually scoring a second in the last minute of regular time. Hearts went extremely close in the seventh minute of stoppage time, the last minute of the match. But as time ran out they succumbed to defeat against their local rivals.
So, with the game over I began to wonder what those Hearts fans who had left early would have made of their team’s spirited comeback, a comeback that almost salvaged a point. I began to wonder if they were true Hearts fans, if they were true football fans.
I’ve seen it time and time again over the years, whenever a team goes behind, and it seems that all is lost, their fans desert the sinking ship instead of staying behind and supporting their team. I imagine what could have happened to those teams if their players had stayed behind to urge them on in a fightback. Would their hearts (no pun intended) have been filled with pride as their faithful urged them on?
In conclusion, my question is this. Are you a true football fan if you bail on your team when the going gets a little tough?
No comments:
Post a Comment