Once again this evening I was reminded why I don’t like football.
A small group of enthusiastic football fans managed to delay perhaps a thousand people trying to leave the platform at Paddington Station this evening. I missed my train home, as I am sure did many, many others.
We heard them coming. The tuneless bellowing that passed (for them) as singing. The “football supporter kit” they each wore - jeans, leather boots, and thick jackets accompanied by short haircuts, sneers, a strutting gate, and the kind of camaraderie they really shouldn’t have been very proud of.
As they passed on the stairs, the entire walkway was flooded with the smell of alcohol.
Being honest, the first time I heard their screams and shouts I thought a fight had broken out, or somebody had been pushed under a train. No. This was their singing.
Where do these people come from? Do they live normal lives, or were they created in test tubes to be obnoxious wastes of space? At what point does wanting a sports team to do well translate into dress like a thug, drink all afternoon, bellow at people, and act in as threatening a manner as possible ?
I felt sorry for the people on the platform with children in tow. Quite how they might have either shielded them from the yobs, or explained their behaviour is a mystery I will no doubt have to learn at some point. I will face these situations in the future with young children to protect. Perhaps that’s when I find out how strong their resolve might be - when a parent draws a line in the sand and dares stand up against them.
I have a great faith in people though - the normal people, like you and I. I have a feeling that had any one person stood against the thugs this evening, the entire thousand would. Of course, the thugs rely on the crowd to not band together in order to exert their influence - without it, they are just a stupid group of immature idiots.
There. I feel much better for getting that off my chest. That and the realisation that most people who live in London blindly follow football purely so they can involve themselves in conversations about it with their peer group. Whatever happened to being an individual?