Applause on 31 mins...

[sidders]

Can I just remind you of my original post?
This is getting silly. Without meaning any disrespect, what is the point of 5,000 people clapping 31 times to reflect the age of someone dying who they have never heard of?

Now those of you who think we should all be beaten into submission, please reflect on what I actually said.
I think setting up a fund for his fiancee and daughter would make so much more sense. It would be respectful and downright useful.

[jackal2]

Can I just remind you of my original post?
This is getting silly. Without meaning any disrespect, what is the point of 5,000 people clapping 31 times to reflect the age of someone dying who they have never heard of?

Now those of you who think we should all be beaten into submission, please reflect on what I actually said.
I think setting up a fund for his fiancee and daughter would make so much more sense. It would be respectful and downright useful.

I'm with sidders on this one.

I don't doubt that people who clap at particular minutes of football matches or create shrines with candles or attach padlocks to bridges or put flowers by the side of roads have the best of intentions in expressing their sympathy to the bereaved and/or remembering those lost, but in some cases these gestures can begin to get over-used and stray into mawkish sentimentality.

Other posters are also correct that it is ultimately up to the individual what gesture they choose, but I agree with Sid that there are perhaps other far more useful ways to respect someone's memory and actually turn a sad situation into something positive. A private donation to a fund may not be as 'visible' as everyone clapping for a minute at a football game, but it would probably achieve more.

[BigFatPie]

Can I just remind you of my original post?
This is getting silly. Without meaning any disrespect, what is the point of 5,000 people clapping 31 times to reflect the age of someone dying who they have never heard of?

Now those of you who think we should all be beaten into submission, please reflect on what I actually said.
I think setting up a fund for his fiancee and daughter would make so much more sense. It would be respectful and downright useful.

Why not both? If you don’t agree with a minutes applause, you don’t have to join in.

[piratescotty]

Why not both? If you don’t agree with a minutes applause, you don’t have to join in.

Exactly. They’re not mutually exclusive. I’ve donated £50 to his funeral fund, I also intend to commemorate him in a sentimental way at a place he loved to visit, Meadow Lane, at a specific moment in time so that others that knew him can do the same and also to remind others that there are things bigger than football.

And Jackal, I am a nihilistic atheist so you’d be hard pressed to find somebody less spiritual than me. But that’s not the point, granted this sort of thing could get over used. But do we get to the 30th anniversary of Hillsborough and question the minutes silence as it’s getting boring and overdone? On armistice day do we finally get to one year and say enough is enough?

Also, if we are struggling to get some people to clap at a football match for 60 seconds how easy do you think it’s going to be to get those people to part with their cash for somebody they don’t know? Sure a donation would be much more useful, but if I go around Meadow Lane on Saturday and ask the fans to clap or donate I know which the majority would pick!

[jackal2]

And Jackal, I am a nihilistic atheist so you’d be hard pressed to find somebody less spiritual than me.

Same here!

Also, if we are struggling to get some people to clap at a football match for 60 seconds how easy do you think it’s going to be to get those people to part with their cash for somebody they don’t know? Sure a donation would be much more useful, but if I go around Meadow Lane on Saturday and ask the fans to clap or donate I know which the majority would pick!

I'm sure the majority would just clap, but the funds you would raise from even a small minority who were willing to donate would still do more good, say if they were donated to the charity of the family's choice.

Like I said above, people should do what they feel is right, and of course they will, but I think the point sidders is making is a fair one.

[Elite_Pie]

In my opinion there are two separate issues here, and both are in danger of getting a bit lost. The first is whether a bloke and his family who very few of us knew deserves our respect and sympathy. The answer is simple - of course they do. It's a heartbreaking story which shows just how cruel life can be. The second issue is whether a footy match is the place to show this respect and sympathy, and I don't think it is. An official tribute before the game is ok, but not during a match, because football just doesn't work like that. What if it gets to the stage where we are asked to do this minute's applause two or three times during a game? It would all become pretty meaningless. I've been a Notts fan for 48 years, but I would hate the thought of asking strangers to applaud my memory when I'm gone simply because I supported the same club that they do.

[The-Mac pie]

Why you ask
Because he was a fellow notts county supporter who has stood by and supported our beloved club
Shoulder to shoulder eh
It’s all about opinions but sometimes I think some folk just eat humbugs for a living

[piratescotty]

. What if it gets to the stage where we are asked to do this minute's applause two or three times during a game? It would all become pretty meaningless.

You really think it would get to that stage? It’s not every week something tragic like this happens to a young supporter of a relatively low-supported club.

[Elite_Pie]

You really think it would get to that stage?

Who knows? It's something that seems to be on the increase. I'm not trying to suggest for a minute that your mate isn't worthy of a tribute, just whether part way through a football match is the time to carry it out.