The Emotional One.
This weekend has quite possibly been the most emotional of any sporting weekend I have ever been alive to witness. From Football, to the Grand Prix, to the USA, every event I saw had a deeply emotional back-drop. What it left me with though was a great sense that no matter what anybody says, sport brings people together. Whether it be as large as a nation, or as small as a family, sport, much like religion in some parts of the world, is something that people can turn to as a mutual common ground. It relieves burdens and promotes unity. All in all, sport is a wonderful tonic to life.
Liverpool FC - Fresh off the back of the Hillsborough Inquest findings that Liverpool fans were not to blame for the deaths of 96 of their own supporters in 1989, Liverpool have had their own tribulations on the pitch this year. Without a win domestically, and desperately short of attacking options, they look a shadow of not just the team of the halcyon days gone by, but the team of even five years ago. With two competitive fixtures this week, they had a lot to deal with. First off, a trip to Austria to play Young Boys in the Europa League group stage. In the first game of the campaign, it was vital that Liverpool got a win, and they delivered, just. Having led 1-0 through a comical early own-goal, then 2-1 at Half Time, Liverpool's young team were suddenly on the back foot just after the break, conceding two goals in quick succession to be 3-2 down. However, Young Boys tired, and Jonjo Shelvey scored a smart brace to eventually secure a 5-3 victory for the Reds. Though a vastly inexperienced side, there was still cause for concern, particularly with the defending from set-pieces. However, a win on the road was vital, and it'd be the result, not the scoreline or the game-play, that was most vital here.
Sunday then finally saw the most eagerly anticipated match of the season (as it still is in my opinion) between Liverpool and Manchester United. Talk pre-match was of respect in search of 'Justice for the 96'. Sir Alex Ferguson even wrote an open letter to each United fan saying how the sickening chants regarding Hillsborough and Heysel had to stop. Likewise, Brendan Rodgers came out and said he hoped it'd be a new era of 'respectfulness' between the two clubs. In the ground, 96 balloons were let off in the stadium, and fans held bits of card to represent the words 'Truth' and 'Justice'. Even the side-show that was the Evra/Suarez will-they-won't-they handshake was almost consigned to memory, and then firmly put there when the two shook, teaching Terry and Ferdinand a thing or two. You could really get the sense that both clubs were doing their utmost to maintain the accord, and to some extents they succeeded. However, events on the field would lead to their being a change in the atmosphere at Anfield. Contentious refereeing has been a sore point for many a fan recently, and here was no exception. Jonjo Shelvey was harshly sent-off for a lunge on United centre-back Jonny Evans while Liverpool were firmly in the ascendancy, even though it look like half a dozen of one and 6 of the other. Either both or neither should have been sent for an early bath, but as it happened, lady luck had deserted Liverpool. Even with 10 men, Liverpool took the lead through a man fit of scoring such an important goal at such an important time for the club. Steven Gerrard emotionally pointed to the sky in memory of his cousin who died at Hillsborough after he scored in the time of 45:51 (anyone good at maths might see an interesting fact there). It wasn't to last long, as with their first real effort of the game, United's young Brazilian full-back Rafael curled in a sublime shot from just inside the box which eluded Pepe Reina, and went in off the far post. It was a goal of class that United had been lacking up until that point. Then another contentious decision finally sealed Liverpool's defeat. Antonio Valencia went down in the box after a challenge from Glen Johnson, though it looked as if Johnson never touched Valencia, who was on the way down before Johnson had even reached him. Up stepped Robin Van Persie, and United had a 2-1 victory secured. After the game, reports of some Liverpool fans performing aeroplane gestures to the United fans taunting them about the Munich disaster, who responded with chants of "You're always the victims", marred what had been a game based on the basis of respect. Still the result left Liverpool in 17th, and even though it's early in the season, it's still a dangerous place for them to be.
Formula One - The Singapore Grand Prix - To be fair, this was a fairly dull race in my opinion. It only became interesting after Hamilton retired from the lead, leading to chaos from the restart. It was the pre-race tribute to Professor Sid Watkins that really caught my eye. To a casual fan, some may not even know his name, or what he did in/for F1, so I'll keep this short. Sid Watkins was the head of the on-track medical team from 1978-2005. During this team, he is accredited with not only saving the lives of various drivers, such as Gehard Berger, Mika Hakkinen, and Rubens Barrichello to name but a few, but also vastly improving the safety of F1 in general. It was fitting therefore that leading his tribute was former driver Sir Jackie Stewart, who himself lobbied for better safety throughout his time in the sport. Not only this, but the plethora of current drivers who paid tribute to him was fantastic, it really showed the world how this man touched generations, who in turn have much to be thankful for. As for the F1 title race, it's still wide open. Jenson Button may be too far back, but stranger things have happened. Ferrari might not have the quickest car, but it's proving to be the most reliable, having not retired all season with mechanical difficulties, something that has hampered the Red Bull's and McLaren's in the past two races.
NFL: Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots - What a game this was! A rematch of the painful AFC Championship game from last year, where the then-Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a last second 32-yard field goal to send the Patriots to the SuperBowl, this one did not disappoint either. Fiery from the outset, the Ravens got off to a slow start and found themselves 10-0 down within the first quarter. Then came the man of the hour (or 3, it was a very long game). Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, whose 19 year old brother Tevin had been tragically killed mere hours before game-time, caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Joe Flacco, to somehow to pull the Ravens to within 2 points at 30-28 down going into the final 4 minutes. Smith's achievement was made even more incredible by the fact that the Ravens left it up to him to play, and at the start of the match, he was seen visibly crying on the side-lines. It was a big performance from a young man who had so much on his mind other than the game. Then came the real drama's. Several contentious calls from the replacement referee's (please Roger Goodell, sort this situation out, even Barack Obama tweeted that it needs to be resolved!) gave the Patriots the ball at the half way line with 3:30 to play. However, for the first time in the match, the Ravens defense held firm and forced the Patriots to punt. Flacco had to engineer a drive with 2 minutes to go to lead the Ravens from the 18-yard line to within field-goal range. On the first play, Flacco connected with 3rd choice wide receiver Jacoby Jones to take the Ravens to the 43 yard line, just outside field goal range. After Flacco was almost intercepted with an ill-judged pass to primary wide receiver Anquan Boldin, and facing a 3rd and 9, he launched a ball down field to Jones again. The pass fell incomplete, but the pass interference was called on Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty, taking the Ravens to the 16 yard line and a field goal attempt to come with 2 seconds remaining from new kicker Justin Tucker. After the Patriots called a time out during his initial kick, which went straight through, he stepped up again. This time, however, he shanked the ball, and it sailed high in the air. Nonetheless, the ball stayed true enough for the ball to travel just inside the posts, according to the referees, though the Patriots were incensed as they deemed that it had gone wide. There was no review option for the Patriots though, so the ruling on the field stood, giving the Ravens a 31-30 win. In the dressing-room afterwards, Smith gave an emotional tribute to his fellow team-mates, saying that they'd "made this a lot easier to deal with". With the victory, Ravens go to 2-1 and play the divisional rivals Cleveland Browns on Tuesday night.
Hopefully emotions will be more in check next week, and we can just focus on the sport, which is what ultimately, everyone from the fans at Anfield on Sunday, the teams in Singapore, and Torrey Smith in Baltimore wanted to do this time around. I shall leave you with a quote from Smith himself, which he said on his Twitter account regarding the death of his brother. Though not sport related, it still bears true to us all. Thanks for reading.
"Be thankful for your loved ones and tell them you love them... This is the hardest thing ever"
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