More Important Than Life and Death?

Manchester United and Liverpool go head-to-head again this Sunday. The fixture, played at Old Trafford, is definitely THE league game of the season for any self-respecting United or Liverpool fan. Even the regional derbies, against Everton and Manchester City, respectively, fails to take on the significance of this battle.

It makes sense, as United and Liverpool are the two most successful clubs in English history, with 18 titles each. Liverpool has the better record in Europe and the League Cup, while United is the most successful team to participate in the FA Cup.

Though both clubs are now struggling to deal with the fallout from debt-fueled takeovers by mercenary owners, the game will still be played with nothing less than the usual amount of passion, aggression and fervour of players who know what the fixture means to the fans and the club.

Still, this game also brings out the worst in the fans and is one of the times that I am glad to be an Asian fan, able to appreciate the club while escaping the need to spew bile and venom at rival fans.

Liverpool fans have often mocked the Munich tragedy which robbed United of the Busby Babes. The jeers and cruel remarks are in poor taste and utterly disgusting.

A reference to the Munich airplane crash, where almost the entire United team were killed.

United fans are no better, with their refrains of "96 Scousers not being enough" and references to Liverpool fans as 'waffles'. I recently found out what the two phrases meant and was left feeling rather sickened.

96 scousers is a reference to the Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster, which is still the deadliest football tragedy in British history.

The "waffle" comment is about the same incident, and is a "description" of the men, women and children who were killed when the surging crowd smashed them into the stadium fencing.

YSB stands for You Scouse Bastards. One United fan actually had this replica jersey done. Sick fuck.

Dissing the players, dissing the clubs, mocking the teams' failures - that's all fair game. Take the piss all you want. Bestow pudgy Rafa Benitez with unflattering titles like Fat Spanish Waiter. Call the un-beautiful Gary Neville Rat Face, if you will.

But jeering at losses of life, making fun of unnecessary tragedy - that's just off. Unfortunately, some fans seem to throw all sense out the window the moment they slip on their replica jersey.

After all, despite the competition and the rivalry, football - and any other sport at the end of the day - is just a game. It's not more important than life and death, despite what Bill Shankly may have once said.