Recently, on my way home, I heard a sound that sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing. Like something out of the dawn of history, and maybe not heard in Manchester since Caractacus fought the Romans .... Well alright, slight exaggeration, since the last time a German team came for a football match.
It was the massed ranks of the Bayern Munich football fans marching through the city centre, and chanting a battle cry!
I say battle cry because it was unified singing, and without a doubt was a song of conquest or victory.
A loud repetition, of the same anthem .... it echoed off the walls of the high buildings and could be heard on and off throughout the city, long before they hove into my view. It reminded me of the Zulu chants in the movie of the same name, when they could only be heard through gaps in the hills. Or in this case, the gaps in the cities urban canyon walls .... Until suddenly they emerged in their thousands.
Maybe, the General Varus and Roman soldiers in the Teutoberg forest, would have heard the same sounds as they fought a final last stand, in any event it was something else.
Sadly I didn't record it on audio or video, or I would have posted my version of it, but I hope I have given you a pen portrait of a small, but dramatic moment .... and someone has at least posted a version of the chanting from their march on YouTube, so although not as I heard it, its something of the effect.
Oh yes, in case your wondering, it was a prophetic chant, as their team won 1 - 4 against Manchester City
It was the massed ranks of the Bayern Munich football fans marching through the city centre, and chanting a battle cry!
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| Bayern Fans Chants Like A Primeval Echo |
I say battle cry because it was unified singing, and without a doubt was a song of conquest or victory.
A loud repetition, of the same anthem .... it echoed off the walls of the high buildings and could be heard on and off throughout the city, long before they hove into my view. It reminded me of the Zulu chants in the movie of the same name, when they could only be heard through gaps in the hills. Or in this case, the gaps in the cities urban canyon walls .... Until suddenly they emerged in their thousands.
Maybe, the General Varus and Roman soldiers in the Teutoberg forest, would have heard the same sounds as they fought a final last stand, in any event it was something else.
Sadly I didn't record it on audio or video, or I would have posted my version of it, but I hope I have given you a pen portrait of a small, but dramatic moment .... and someone has at least posted a version of the chanting from their march on YouTube, so although not as I heard it, its something of the effect.
Oh yes, in case your wondering, it was a prophetic chant, as their team won 1 - 4 against Manchester City
I imagine that it was a little scary; any crowd I find imposing, but one which is chanting and therefore unified, would make my "fight or flight" response wake-up. The fact that the chant was in German wouldn't go unnoticed either - apart from it being the language of all the baddies in all those WW movies, it's not the warmest or softest of tongues.
ReplyDeleteDid the football club pay for the police presence? I don't see why the tax-payer should - just another example of capitalists taking advantage of the public purse.
The clubs only pay for policing at the grounds .... The councils have to pay for the street police.
DeleteNot totally fair, but then what would be? 1 mile or 5 miles from ground? Or 1 hr after the game or 5 hrs later? They have to draw the line somewhere.
Policing inside the grounds goes without saying, the line hasn't been drawn there, it was left there. The councils need to take better control of public funds.
Delete1 mile around the grounds for 1hr sounds fairer to me.
It wasn't 'scary', it was adrenalin boosting and primal .... as for the policing argument, I guess it also applies to political parades (no payments from the organisers for this .... this includes hunt saboteurs, the TUC and all others) and other sports as well.
DeleteOther policed events are infrequent and/or relatively rare.
DeleteI can't agree with the last comment - as 'Deep Thought' might have said; 'Sorry but thats only relatively true'. Rugby matches are weekly and between League and Union, & mirror a football season. Cricket is May to September, & political rallies 'large & small' occur in many cities, but are not reported on at national levels.
DeleteI agree Anonymous : all regular revenue-generating events which require policing should contribute.
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