Sir,– Paul Scanlon's letter (March 14th) on the merits of being a fan and having an involvement in football and the sport being much more than a trivial pursuit rings true. He explains that his participation in the game from a young age has enabled him throughout his years to transfer what he has learned into his everyday life.
Football reflects life, and perhaps that is why it is so endearing to fans the world over, and to even the casual onlooker.
Like life, a football match is set to a clock. In the duration of the time permitted you have a whole host of incidents and events and a wide range of emotions and feelings. Like life, the match will have victors and also-rans. There will be success and failure, disappointment and elation. There will be controversy and cheating. Justice and injustice, merited achievement and underhand tactics. There is tragedy and celebration. Like life, football is unpredictable and exciting. Intriguing and interesting. It has idealistic supporters and others in denial. The supporters in the stands reflect society watching every move to see what happens next. Some supporters will be drunk, some will be violent. Some will be family focused and enjoy the occasion the best they can. We watch and we are curious, which defines us by nature.
Trivial, no. Enriching, yes. Like life. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL REDMOND,
Clongriffin,
Dublin 13.