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Now, I'm probably going to annoy a few people now, but it has to be said.
George Best was not god's gift to mankind. Admittedly he was an impressive footballer, but he threw it away with the partying and the women and the drink. After that he basically drank his life away. He was given the opportunity to redeem himself with the liver transplant, but still hit the drink hard.
He was selfish, and should have dealt with the consequences, instead of denying someone else the use of that liver in order to enhance their life.
The minutes silence in football grounds across the country yesterday was excessive, as is the huge coverage that the press has devoted to George Best.
Contrast that with the almost negligent mentioning of the death of Richard Burns, who succumbed to the brain tumour that he had been fighting since 2003. You wouldn't have known that he was the youngest winner of the British Championship in 1993, and indeed the only Englishman to win the World Rally Championship in 2001.
End of rant.
George Best was not god's gift to mankind. Admittedly he was an impressive footballer, but he threw it away with the partying and the women and the drink. After that he basically drank his life away. He was given the opportunity to redeem himself with the liver transplant, but still hit the drink hard.
He was selfish, and should have dealt with the consequences, instead of denying someone else the use of that liver in order to enhance their life.
The minutes silence in football grounds across the country yesterday was excessive, as is the huge coverage that the press has devoted to George Best.
Contrast that with the almost negligent mentioning of the death of Richard Burns, who succumbed to the brain tumour that he had been fighting since 2003. You wouldn't have known that he was the youngest winner of the British Championship in 1993, and indeed the only Englishman to win the World Rally Championship in 2001.
End of rant.
Imprinted on your mind by MuppetLord at 1:19 pm
7 Comments:
I completely agree with that rant ML. Well said!
He completely abused his status as a football legend- he only got that liver transplant when he did, ahead of thousands of others, because of his fame. The cult of celebrity went a tad too far with him, methinks.
ML: Your point is taken but some things should be said in his defence. Alcoholism is a disease not a lifestyle choice. As far as I know he did try to battle the drink with various therapies including dilsulfiram implants in his stomach. Definitely non-trivial! And remember he died of infections due to immunosuppression caused by the anti-rejection drugs -something that can happen to any transplant recipient.
Imogen: Is it established that he jumped the queue to get his liver? This is a serious charge if true and shouldn't occur on the NHS. However I've no idea how he came by a donor. Given that he was a long established alocholic, it's reasonable to assume he'd been in dire need for a long time.
I also agree with your comments ML - definietly not a rant in my opinion.
Mad Dog: regardless of the specific fine details of his death, the fact of the matter is there was/is way too much coverage of him. His death is being lamented because he was a role model ? He was a pillar of the community ? He saved lives ? He did what exactly? Kicked a ball around - pretty well admittedly, but he was just a pop-icon from yester year.
For goodness sake its been over 30 years since he kicked a ball - soociety would be so much better off if we did not show defferential adulation to such hollow inividuals
Anonymous: When GB was in his prime he was very, very entertaining because of his on and off field antics (I know because although I hate to admit it, I'm from the same generation). Although he was a flawed character he was much loved. I can't judge how much media attention his passing received in the UK as I no longer live there but press coverage of such events tends to be over the top on both sides of the Atlantic.
I get the impression from the numerous articles that have been printed over the past few days, that it may have been an element of disease as well as a lifestyle choice.
By numerous articles, just check and UK paper and search for George Best....you will find loads. A little over the top though.
Indeed it's a complex topic. I do note, however, that George Best is an anagram of "Go get beers". See site for details...
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