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George Best Dies...In Other News, 24hr Drinking Now Available

M

mpw

Guest
Original poster
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
Anyone else see the irony in George Best dying today as 24hr Drinking becomes legal?(in the UK)
 
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. :p (at the irony of it, not his death itself, just re-read and realise that my post might cause offense, so just wanted to clarify).

But still No sympathies at all I'm afraid.
 
mpw said:
Anyone else see the irony in George Best dying today as 24hr Drinking becomes legal?(in the UK)
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Yes indeed, sad day..... but 24hr drinking would have taken him anyway!

Massive talent.......
 
iGav said:
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. :p

No sympathies at all I'm afraid.
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Yes, I agree to an extent but not as much as to actually LAUGH at his death.

Yeah, that's just not funny I'm afraid. :rolleyes:
 
i can never understand why all the media attention round mr best's death ?

sounds like he had many problems with drinking - but if that was someone you know who had drink issues would they get the media attention ?

yeah so what if he was an old master at football
 
liketom said:
yeah so what if he was an old master at football
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To people of a certain age, he was like the David Beckham (in terms of fame) of the day... why shouldn't this be in the news?
 
liketom said:
i can never understand why all the media attention round mr best's death ?

sounds like he had many problems with drinking - but if that was someone you know who had drink issues would they get the media attention ?

yeah so what if he was an old master at football
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yeah but

princess diana was only some woman that married a prince
so what if reagan was an old president
so what.................. you get the idea

Sure, he had a drink problem, a condition which you cant just 'give up', he was also widely loved and a great man that was as big for the worlds largest sport as pele or maradonna.

a tiny bit of respect for his grieving family might be nice.
 
EGT said:
Yes, I agree to an extent but not as much as to actually LAUGH at his death.
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I wasn't laughing at his death, I was laughing at the irony.
 
Blue Velvet said:
To people of a certain age, he was like the David Beckham (in terms of fame) of the day... why shouldn't this be in the news?
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the media was swarming outside the hospital waiting for last orders to be called , that what i find odd

fame for his talent- yes - fame for drinking him self to death -no
 
liketom said:
fame for his talent- yes - fame for drinking him self to death -no
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I don't know - people always seem fascinated by flawed, self desctructive talent.

Personally I am quite sad that he's died - he lived just around the corner from me and we used to see him quite regularly out and about. Despite his problems, a lot of people had a lot of affection for him. My thoughts go to his family.
 
Blue Velvet said:
To people of a certain age, he was like the David Beckham (in terms of fame) of the day... why shouldn't this be in the news?
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I guess I must be a person of a certain age.Best was a footballing genius,and while Beckham is a very good player he isn't in Best's class.He stopped playing first class football at 26 for gods sake,such a waste of talent.And yes I'm sure he'd laugh at the irony.
 
Peterkro said:
I guess I must be a person of a certain age.Best was a footballing genius,and while Beckham is a very good player he isn't in Best's class.He stopped playing first class football at 26 for gods sake,such a waste of talent.And yes I'm sure he'd laugh at the irony.
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I said 'in terms of fame'. Relatively speaking...
 
liketom said:
i can never understand why all the media attention round mr best's death ?

sounds like he had many problems with drinking - but if that was someone you know who had drink issues would they get the media attention ?

yeah so what if he was an old master at football
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George Best is not getting attention because he had a drinking problem.

You've got to understand that Best was perhaps the greatest footballer ever, at least Pele thought so. He was a far, far bigger phenomenon than any footballer today. He all but invented modern football by himself. He was the original rock star footballer.

But it's not just about being a sporting superstar, he was also a cultural icon in the same way the Beatles were, or Bob Dylan. Would you be surprised if they got media attention on their death beds? I mean they were just musicians.

And to say he drank himself to death is accurate but misses the point that he was an alcoholic. It's a disease, not just a lack of will power.

My favourite George Best quote:

"I spent my money on fast cars, fast women and drink - the rest I just squandered."
 
munkle said:
And to say he drank himself to death is accurate but misses the point that he was an alcoholic. It's a disease, not just a lack of will power.

My favourite George Best quote:

"I spent my money on fast cars, fast women and drink - the rest I just squandered."
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because i'm not an alcoholic i could never understand the pain of going through what he had to.

if it is a disease - then it would not be his fault that he got that drink problem


but... i'm not gonna rant on why i hate the media's coverage of this - like you say he was a ikon to the sporting world and will be missed.

and your quote of him hit's the nail on the head :"I spent my money on fast cars, fast women and drink - the rest I just squandered." i kinda like that quote
 
is it just me who is sick of the news coverage? yes it is sad that he has died but its not even as if he is royalty. on the 1pm lunch it was mentioned 6 separate times. a tadge uncessecary i do believe.
 
George Best = Football Legend, but not a legend.

Though he did have some amusing quotes.

The guy loved his drinking though and you have to balance his condition of alcoholism with the fact that he did actually just love getting pissed:

"I gave up drinking once, it was the worst 20 minutes of my life."

it's a 100% devastating experience when someone you love, especially someone in your family dies so my regards do go to his family for their loss. But it is hard to be sympathetic to him as a person for drinking and his health and if I'm right in remembering, he would have shunned anyone who did so.
 
mpw said:
Anyone else see the irony in George Best dying today as 24hr Drinking becomes legal?(in the UK)
Click to expand...
Totally agree with that.
But its the family of the person who donated their liver I feel for. It gave Best an extra 3 years of drinking...
 
Aye i noticed that too. todays been full of contrast. Mr. Drinker himself dies, 24 hour drinking starts. Mr. Drinker dies, my cousin brings her new born baby round.

well ok 2 contrasts :)
 
I don't have much sympathy for George Best as he had a good "innings" and I wouldn't mind having a fraction of the life that he lived, but the point being is a football legend died yesterday and he will be missed for his contribution to football and that only, in my eyes, as an avid football supporter I will respect his footballing skills today with the minute silence but be jealous of his lifestyle and ironically have a drink after the game and try to pull ;) (wether we win or lose)
 
russed said:
is it just me who is sick of the news coverage? yes it is sad that he has died but its not even as if he is royalty. on the 1pm lunch it was mentioned 6 separate times. a tadge uncessecary i do believe.
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Slow news day. You can tell because they talk about "In a week, don't forget, it is the Kennedy's sister's brother's uncle's cat's birthday!" and then they don't cover that event even. :rolleyes: :)
 
munkle said:
You've got to understand that Best was perhaps the greatest footballer ever, at least Pele thought so.
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Best at his peak was certainly up there with the likes of Pele, Maradona and Cruyff – it's just a pity that he's going to be remembered more for his drinking than his football skills.

Mind you, I agree totally with what evil_santa posted – it's a pity that having a liver transplant didn't act as a final wakeup for him to change his ways...
 
I've posted a short video clip of Best in action here for anybody who wants to see a legend in action.




(Forgive the look of the site, it's going through a bit of face lift at the moment)
 
Jaffa Cake said:
it's just a pity that he's going to be remembered more for his drinking than his football skills.
this wont be the case, sure it will be known, but the reason he is being remebered is because of the man and the player he was.

it's a pity that having a liver transplant didn't act as a final wakeup for him to change his ways...
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yeah, i agree but it is a really hard thing to get over. i dont think he had too much choice in it.
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Some of you people are sick.
Have a look around the internet and see the hundreds of pages of tribute to this man. See the pages were people can send in their own personal tributes. Read them - read about the qualities of this man and stop being clouded by media stories during the past 30 years.
Do any of you know how much he has done for charities ? Have any of you read anyone who had a personal encounter with him and had something negative to say ? Do any of you realise how he was the only person who could bridge the religious divide in northern ireland. This was a special special man, never mind the greatest footballer the planet has seen. He was iconic.
George Best had one character flaw - he liked a drink.
And as for not deserving a second chance (liver transplant) - do you think that other people awaiting liver transplants are all angels, ready to drop in from heaven to collect their new livers ? They have plenty of character flaws too. Georgie Best didnt intend to drink again - his illness was stronger than him. And who deserves a second chance, if not a man who gave hours of joy, not just entertainment but pure joy to millions of people around the world ? Doesn't such a person deserve a chance ?

Not news worthy ??? What is ? Becks and Posh ? Modern day footballers who are overpaid, overrated and srop to the floor at merest of tackles ? B list celebrities ? Suicide bombers ? Politicians who will lie to get your votes ?

Mohammed Ali hasnt boxed for over 20 years, do you people also think that his death wouldnt be newsworthy ?
Just because something is current doesn't necessarily make it more interesting or newsworthy !

Condolences to his family.
Thanks for the memories George
RIP
 
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