People who follow football clubs, me included, can sometimes get carried away. In fact, there is a common phrase that football is their 'religion'. I saw one person walking around university with this on their top: 'Football is my religion and Carrow Road is my church' (Carrow Road being where Norwich City play their football). Idol worship is rife in this celebrity culture, including that of footballers, but here's a story of a real footballing hero that people should look up to.
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| Adam Black. Courtesy of thisisleicestershire.co.uk |
Stuck down in the trenches of 1918 France, the Allied forces endured a five hour barrage of missiles from the failing Germans, including around one million shells. When the Germans came after what was left of the bombed soldiers with flame-throwers, Adam Black, a twenty year old from Stirling in Scotland, single-handedly saved the trench that his battalion was in. This 'conspicuous gallantry' earned him the Distinguished Conduct Medal and he returned home known as the footballing soldier.
Two years later, in 1920, his skills playing football again earned him a contract with Leicester City and, playing at full-back, he helped them win the Second Division title and come runners up in the top division, Leicester's highest ever finish. He made a record breaking 528 league appearances for the club earning up to £8 a week!
Let's not get so carried away with the millionaires of football in this day and age and, especially this week, remember those who risked everything to give others, including us, a future.
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