What's happening around the world
By Tony Malone (1/12/05)
2) For me personally, the news was very sad. My Dad was a huge fan, being an avid supporter and player at the height of Best's fame and skills, and there are many books, videos and DVDs about him at my house in England. When I decided to write an article about him, at first, like a lot of the journalists who have paid their respects this week, I thought about looking back on one of his great performances, such as the European Cup final of 1968, his glut of goals in an F.A. Cup match against Northampton or the amazing goal he scored during his stint in the North American MSL. Instead, I remembered a quote from Nick Hornby's book, Fever Pitch, where Hornby recalls watching Best in action.
3) "In 1969 I saw George Best play, and score, for Manchester United at Highbury. The experience should have been profound, like seeing Nijinsky dance, or Maria Callas sing, and though I do talk about it in that way sometimes, to younger fans, or those who missed out on Best for other reasons, my fond account is essentially phoney: I hated that afternoon. Every time he got the ball he frightened me, and I wished then, as I suppose I wish now, that he had been injured."
Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby (1992)
4) Hornby, a die-hard Arsenal supporter, was so concerned about his team that he would have preferred to have missed the chance to see Best on the pitch, and the sad thing is that I can understand how he feels. In the late nineties, I watched my home team, Coventry City, take on Manchester United in a league game at our home stadium, Highfield Road. Playing in the United team that day was a certain David Beckham, who had already become one of the most admired and skilful players in the country, and you would expect me to have been looking forward to the prospect of seeing one of England's finest players in the flesh. In fact, I spent the whole game hoping that he wouldn't touch the ball, and when, towards the end of the game, he slipped whilst taking a free-kick, I danced around and cheered and laughed with the rest of the home fans.
5) This kind of behaviour might happen in other sports, but I think it's fair to say that it occurs at its most extreme in football. Certainly, it's hard to imagine this happening to such an extent at a cricket match. Despite the fierce rivalry between teams, the opposing supporters have a healthy respect and regard for each other's star players. A perfect example of this was the rapturous applause that Brian Lara of the West Indies received on Saturday at the Adelaide Oval. When Lara stroked the ball towards the boundary to bring up his century, the mainly-Australian crowd was almost willing the ball to reach the rope, and the run which gave him the all-time test run-scoring record was greeted with a standing ovation from everyone in the ground (and, I'm prepared to bet, from a fair few television viewers as well).
6) The point I'm making is that it is simply childish to miss out on the best a sport has to offer, simply because a great athlete is competing against the team you support. Opportunities such as these do not come along too often: George Best stopped playing for Manchester United at the age of 28, and, although he did return later for stints with lower-level clubs in England, Scotland and the USA, his heart was never really in it. Perhaps, on the occasion of the passing of a truly great player, we should remember what really counts. Please: if ever you get the chance to watch a genius in action, enjoy it, appreciate it and marvel at the experience while you can.
You never know if it will ever happen again.
Tony Malone (27/11/05)