Reasons why I love football #1: Billy Sharp

This article is probably a couple of weeks old, but whenever I think of this story, it puts a sad smile on my face. All of us feel very passionately about the game, about winning, about how much we love our clubs or countries, and how we hate football rivals more than the Devil himself. It’s true, in my entire life I can never be friends with some one who is a Spurs fan, no matter how awesome the person might be, or how our wavelengths may match. I am sorry sir, if you are a Spur, we can’t be friends. Yes that’s the passion, and the desire to win. But sometimes things happen in the sport, which make all these things feel trivial. Sometimes you just have to stand up and respect the person, the deed, the occasion, and remind yourself, why you love the Sport so much. Billy Sharp is one such story.

For those who might be unaware of the facts, Billy Sharp is a 25 year old striker who plays for the Championship side Doncaster Rovers in England. On 30th October, 2011, Sharp’s 2 day old son, Luey passed away due to a neonatal illness. Condolences from the football community poured in, and it was widely expected Sharp would not feature in his side’s match against Middlesbrough two days later. However on the night before the match, Sharp called up his manager Dean Saunders and informed him that he wanted to play the match and score for his son and his family. Obviously Saunders could not refuse. Before the match started, all the players and the audience observed a minute’s silence for his son. As it turns out, in the 14th minute of the match, Sharp scored a beautiful volley from 30 yards . Seems like the script of a epic classic film, doesn’t it, There’s more to it. He celebrated by raising his shirt which revealed a message on his vest, “This is for you, son “. A very emotional moment, as fans from both teams cheered for him, and one could see a lot of tears in the audience.

The managers’ reactions, both of them, were even better.

Dean Saunders, the Doncaster manager, said : “Billy rang me on Monday night and asked to play. He wanted to score a goal for his son and his family and I couldn’t refuse. It tells you a lot about the man and what he thinks about the club and his team-mates. I knew what was going on all week and I also know the finer details of what happened, which is worse than you think.”

Middlesbrough manager Mowbray added: “Taking the professionalism out of it, I’m delighted for the boy that he’s scored such a fantastic goal on such an occasion for him. It’s amazing to think for anyone who’s had children the emotional drain that must have been with him – I couldn’t put it into words. For him to score a wonder-goal, your headlines should be there really – a goal from heaven. “

So when your opposition manager states that it was a goal from heaven, you know trivial things like rivalries and competition are forgotten. The story of Sharp makes our hearts feel warm, and remind you why you love the game.

The great Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly once stated, “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”. Well Sir, sometimes it clearly is not !

Luey Sharp, R. I. P.