While everyone was watching last weekend with baited breath to see what was going to happen to Fabrice Muamba, there was a terrible event taking place in Scotland, which really does show perhaps the most horrible contrast of emotions imaginable.
Kilmarnock defeated Celtic 1-0 to win the Scottish League Cup last Sunday. It should have been a joyous occasion, but one of their players, young midfielder Liam Kelly suffered a tremendous personal tragedy, with the news that his dad had died of a heart attack just after the final whistle.
In an instant what should have been perhaps the best day of his life became perhaps the worst. He was seen running up the tunnel just before the rest of his team mates went to collect their medals, and his Dad died a short time later.
Anyone who has lost a parent knows just how horrible it is, especially when young, but somehow it makes it doubly awful given the circumstances. It should have been a joyful occasion, one for everyone to enjoy and- given what happened, it will be forever be tainted, and tainted for the Kelly family in the most awful way imaginable.
Spare a thought too for his team mates. They too – although not grief stricken of course – were unable to enjoy the day as much as they would like. Killie Manager Kenny Shiels even questioned a higher power after the game when he said: “post-match press conference, Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels said: "The dressing room is very despondent and I don't know why the man above sends down these messages to us.
"We are thinking more about Liam than our triumphalism."
Goalkeeper Cammy Bell, a close friend of Kelly, was particularly upset when he said: “"If I could take away my performance I would, if Liam's dad was all right.
The point of this blog, other to send the very, very best wishes of all at Football Business, Football Franchise and Soccer Business to Liam Kelly and his family at this dreadful time, is to say that sometimes we all forget that football isn’t as important as we sometimes think it is.
We all get wrapped up in a bubble. Our teams can be the most important thing to us, our lives can revolve around football – and of course so can our working lives too, but no matter how much importance we place on it, something like this – and perhaps what happened to Fabrice Muamba – does, as Callum Bell said “put things into perspective for me.”
And yet, as we saw last week, the football community can pull together in a way that few other communities these days can manage. The Kilmarnock players wore t-shirts bearing the slogan “we are all with you” before their game at the weekend, but as the Tottenham and Bolton players plan to show their support for Muamba tonight at their re-arranged cup game, so hopefully Liam and his family can find some comfort from that.
Sometimes, as we have been reminded recently, it isn’t just what happens on the pitch that makes football a beautiful game, but equally the “game” part of that phrase is one we would do well to remember.
Kilmarnock defeated Celtic 1-0 to win the Scottish League Cup last Sunday. It should have been a joyous occasion, but one of their players, young midfielder Liam Kelly suffered a tremendous personal tragedy, with the news that his dad had died of a heart attack just after the final whistle.
In an instant what should have been perhaps the best day of his life became perhaps the worst. He was seen running up the tunnel just before the rest of his team mates went to collect their medals, and his Dad died a short time later.
Anyone who has lost a parent knows just how horrible it is, especially when young, but somehow it makes it doubly awful given the circumstances. It should have been a joyful occasion, one for everyone to enjoy and- given what happened, it will be forever be tainted, and tainted for the Kelly family in the most awful way imaginable.
Spare a thought too for his team mates. They too – although not grief stricken of course – were unable to enjoy the day as much as they would like. Killie Manager Kenny Shiels even questioned a higher power after the game when he said: “post-match press conference, Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels said: "The dressing room is very despondent and I don't know why the man above sends down these messages to us.
"We are thinking more about Liam than our triumphalism."
Goalkeeper Cammy Bell, a close friend of Kelly, was particularly upset when he said: “"If I could take away my performance I would, if Liam's dad was all right.
The point of this blog, other to send the very, very best wishes of all at Football Business, Football Franchise and Soccer Business to Liam Kelly and his family at this dreadful time, is to say that sometimes we all forget that football isn’t as important as we sometimes think it is.
We all get wrapped up in a bubble. Our teams can be the most important thing to us, our lives can revolve around football – and of course so can our working lives too, but no matter how much importance we place on it, something like this – and perhaps what happened to Fabrice Muamba – does, as Callum Bell said “put things into perspective for me.”
And yet, as we saw last week, the football community can pull together in a way that few other communities these days can manage. The Kilmarnock players wore t-shirts bearing the slogan “we are all with you” before their game at the weekend, but as the Tottenham and Bolton players plan to show their support for Muamba tonight at their re-arranged cup game, so hopefully Liam and his family can find some comfort from that.
Sometimes, as we have been reminded recently, it isn’t just what happens on the pitch that makes football a beautiful game, but equally the “game” part of that phrase is one we would do well to remember.
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