It doesn't matter if you are a fan of Liverpool, or even a fan of the EPL. The tragedy of Hillsborough should never be forgotten by soccer fans, beyond the tragic events that cost 96 fans their lives on April, 15th 1989 the suffering and search for justice continue 23 years later.
Now I know some of you probably don't remember or may not know much about what happened, in brief:
On April 15 1989, 24,000 Liverpool fans travelled to a football match. 96 never returned. Over 20 years after Britain's worst sporting disaster, we want the world to see the faces of the fans whose hopes and dreams for the future ended that day.
Collectively they've become known as 'The 96' but to the families and friends they left behind, they were simply a dad, a son, a brother and a sister; a cousin, an auntie, an uncle and a grandad; a boyfriend, a husband, a soul mate and a best friend.
As the wife of one of the supporters who never came home so eloquently put it in a letter published on this website on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, "To the world my husband is one of the 96, but to me and his children, he was always our number one."
To those who didn't know them, the fans who died at Hillsborough that day may just be a number of names etched into the Hillsborough Memorial marble.
24,000 tickets, 23 turnstiles, two criminally overcrowded pens, 96 dead and 766 people injured - numbers alone don't even begin to tell half the story of a disaster that has shaped Liverpool Football Club and the fans that will forever follow it.
I remember the day well, I was a very casual soccer fan at the time, I was stationed in Germany and had just started attending matches on weekends with a couple friends. I remember the morning after as headlines and news broadcasts around the world started talking about the tragedy, and I remember how much of what was being said in the hours and days after the events was simply wrong. I don't think I ever watched a Liverpool match before that day, but I now consider myself a fan of the team and a large part was the way that the community of fans came together to support the families of those who lost people that afternoon, and the way that a city demanded the truth and fought for justice. It has been a long struggle, and now more than ever the real events of that day are closer than ever to coming to light, If you want to know more you can start by watching this video.
You can find some great information on wikipedia, and some touching videos on youtube and other places, be careful because to this day there are a number of people who still try to play loose with the story and facts of that day, to turn the blame onto the fans who were the victims.
Tomorrow will mark the 23rd anniversary of that tragic day, and as they have each year Liverpool will have a memorial service, you can watch it live on their website along with a number of tribute and informational videos.
Justice for the 96