Hillsborough - 20 years later

Reading the SI story again, the thing that always struck me about the Hillsborough disaster is how there were all these fans without tickets trying to get into the stadium. Unless they were trying to buy from scalpers, then what the hell were they doing at the stadium without tickets? The TV was invented by 1989.

 

Seeing if they could get in. Which, obviously, they could. That's just what people did, and to some extent still do. If they can't get tickets, they just watch it in the pub.

(Incidentally, there's virtually no ticket scalping in English soccer, at least not any more. Anyone found doing it would be dealt with extremely, extremely harshly. Not sure about online resales and the like, which some clubs have official outlets for, but you certainly wouldn't see anyone walking around outside a ground holding up tickets and yelling "Who needs two?")

 

You weren't actually at the old Heysel. It was torn down in 1994 and a new stadium built on the same site. From everything one gathers, it was about 25 years too late.

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I did not realize that. When there I was looking around trying to figure out where/why it happened and couldn't really get an idea of where the wall that collapsed was.... and now I know why I couldn't!

 

Some reading for today....

One scar from Hillsborough

Another good article..

A simply heroic effort by a player-manager in a dark time

 

From what I recall, the game wasn't televised. It was being recorded for Match Of The Day later that day, but back then, every single game wasn't televised.

The BBC broke in for live coverage when it was clear something terrible was happening.

 

I saw a two-page spread on Flickr from one of the British tabs of the time that was similar to what SI had, but with a wider view. Very grim stuff. I shudder to think what we'd see on YouTube from this, or Heysel, if this were during the viral video age.

 

That's one thing I wondered about. I was thinking, "Why didn't they just stay home and watch it on TV like most of us who don't have tickets would?"

Even if they game wasn't televised, why were people without tickets trying to get into the stadium? What made them think that they were entitled to watch a game they hadn't paid for?

 

For what it's worth, one of the links on the bottom of the wiki entry about Hillsborough is a transcript of the Sun's coverage, including the infamous "THE TRUTH" story. They don't show the photo, but the description seems to indicate that if it's not this shot, it's very close. And there's a note that four days later, all were found to be alive. But who knows?

http://www.geocities.com/hillsboroughresearch/

 

Saw this on Sky Sports News just now:

The History Channel (UK only) will be premiering "Hillsborough Remebered", on Wednesday.

From their website:

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster, History™ will be paying tribute by presenting a testimonial film to the people of Liverpool and football fans across the land.

On 15th April 1989, Liverpool faced Nottingham Forest in the semi-final of the FA Cup at Hillsborough stadium, Sheffield. Yet in what was to become Britain’s worst-ever sporting disaster, 96 people died, crushed to death on overcrowded terraces.

The events at Hillsborough shattered a community and shook the world of football to its very core. A public inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor concluded that the main cause for the disaster was “failure of police control”. In this incredibly moving tribute, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish speaks about the events at Hillsborough on camera for the very first time. He joins families who lost loved ones, survivors, and players as they discuss what happened on that fateful day.


Unfortunately for us in the U.S., I have scoured the tv listings for The History Channel and History International and can't find it being shown on either channel in the next week.

 

Couple of AP stories, a bit more explanatory for Americans who may not have heard of the disaster. Be interested to see how many papers here have anything noting the anniversary.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AooEQ_r4lqJuZrvNSfEZtzAmw7YF?slug=ap-hillsboroughanniversary&prov=ap&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AhCpc.YCNlwTMb1vJ3Xi9Pwmw7YF?slug=ap-extratime&prov=ap&type=lgns

Second story does point out that things are better, but not perfect.

Interestingly, Cardiff are the only side in the Premier League or the Championship still allowed to have terracing. They've argued to keep it, and they've been given an exception. (Ninian Park is also regarded as one of the least friendly stadiums in the League for opposing supporters.) But they're building a new stadium to open next season, so that'll be the end of that.

 

30k at Anfield today, triple the expected 10k for the memorial ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/15/hillsborough-anniversary-anfield-service

 

It's after the 3:06 appointed time, but I raise a glass in honest memory of 96 people whom I never met. RIP.