Reds/Blues unite..

On Tuesday night (BT time), we played Toulouse at Anfield for the CL qualifying match.. and Liverpool FC paid a moving tribute to the murdered 11 year old young Evertonian Rhys Jones before the match starts, Everton's theme song Z-Cars was played.. juz like it was 18 years ago,when Evertonians sang You’ll Never Walk Alone at Goodison Park after the 96 Red fans died tragically at Hillsborough...

the rivalry between Evertonians and Liverpudlians in football terms is very strong, but other then that, all of them are still people from the same city, Liverpool..a typical family from Liverpool can be split down the middle with half supporting the blue and the other supporting the Reds.. but that doesn't make them less of a family.. one thing I admire about the city of Liverpool is the people are down to earth, passionate about footy but will never lose their sight on humanity issues..after the Hillsborough tragedy, all the Liverpool people mourned together, no difference between Red or Blue..

I only wish that less violence will happen in this lovely Liverpool city where majority are such nice, warm people..I think that in England, Liverpool has always been something like a "distant cousin".. its not a glamourous city like London,its not rich and hip and it does not help that with many such crimes happen, there is further disruption to the image and lives of the innocent people in Liverpool..like what the writer in the following article said, hopefully Rhys Jones's "senseless death can have some meaning in the fight against gangs and gun culture" in Liverpool.
I visited Liverpool in March and one can feel the rough edges of the city, its natural, unpolished, unpretentious and passionate but I certainly think brutal crimes like this do not befit this lovely city.. the city has to move forward and rejuvenate and hopefully in years to come, this will be a city where the people are still as scouse as they are but live better lives then they do now, cos they deserve much much better ..

===========================================
Tearful scenes as city unites
Aug 31 2007
By Sam Johnstone, Liverpool Daily Post

NOT since the horror of Hillsborough have Liverpool and Everton fans been so close, and it’s sad that it’s taken the murder of an innocent young lad to achieve it again, but the scenes at Anfield on Tuesday brought tears to my eyes.

It was a fantastic gesture to play “Johnny Todd” before the Toulouse match, and thanks must go to those supporters who proposed it, and it was great for the club to agree.
Looking at some of the message boards the majority of supporters were in agreement with the gesture, but there were one or two who didn’t want the Everton anthem played.

I’d like to say that I can understand their feelings – but I can’t.
There are things that happen that transcend football rivalry, and this was one of them.

what better way for supporters, players and staff of Liverpool FC to show their support for the Jones family than to acknowledge that the Red and Blue rivalry is only skin deep at times than to play the tune that Rhys loved so much?

The reaction was about the City of Liverpool coming together as one once again, and hopefully this will be the impetus to make the derby a friendly rivalry again.
I come from a family of Reds and Blues, as I’m sure a massive amount of supporters do in the city, and this, for me, was another great example of how we bear times of tragedy together, rather than apart.

Rhys Jones’s death was heartbreak for us all, regardless of our allegiances, and I’m proud to support a club that puts aside rivalries when it really matters. Like all Reds I’m praying that Rhys’s murderers are caught and punished, and that his senseless death can have some meaning in the fight against gangs and gun culture in our city.

The respect shown at Anfield shows that as a city we stand by each other in times of need, and the love shown to the Jones family was genuinely given.