Making his Mark
- 16 Jun 06, 12:10 AM
NUREMBERG - Among the estimated 50,000 England fans who were in the city today for the match was Mark Raven, 37, from Sussex (right).
Mark lost the sight in one eye in 1993 after being hit by a rock thrown by Turkey fans in Izmir. Such a loss would have understandably deterred some people from following England again but instead it hardened his resolve to "not let them win".
Amid the fantastic atmosphere among England and Trinidad and Tobago supporters in this beautiful city, Mark told me: "We are the genuine supporters and we were determined to carry on going because I didn't want to give in."
It's partly because people like Mark persisted through the dark days of hooliganism, determined to help change the image of supporters, that such huge numbers of fans are enjoying the party today.
Before yesterday's match there had been 48 English arrested during the tournament, mostly for minor offences.
That's out of a total of more than 1,500 arrests of all nationalities, and 70,000 fans who came to Frankfurt alone.
If that record continues throughout the tournament, that would mark another huge step in England's rehabilitation.
Cheers, Mark.
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Yes, Great Story of triumph over adversity, hope in the face of despair. Winston Churchill's saying of 'Never, Never Give Up' springs to mind!
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Well done Mark, you are a true ambassador for the game.
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Mark - lad - you are a TRUE winner....now for a smooth transition during these wee small hours....who do you think needs to be a winner the most these next three days? I think its the US or Ivory Coast that needs a Churchillian win (funnily enough closely followed by Brazil) THOUGHTS?
Have a vote for fun:
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maybe a better link
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Its good to see people who just love the game as it is.
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Great stuff. World cup is as much a story of travelling fans, as it is of football. And it's great to see ±«Óãtv recognise this.
Cheerio
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What a great story, and it's also pleasing to see that there hasn't yet been any serious trouble involving England fans yet.
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"If that record continues throughout the tournament, that would mark another huge step in England's rehabilitation."
Well said and I agree with you. I have been observing world football since 1982 and I must say that the image of English supporters is better than any other time.
I have just one sad complain against this blog. You seem to be determined not to give coverage to Argentina. If I am not wrong, a significant portion of your readers are from South Asia and in SOuth Asia- it's all Argentina. Even, you can drink tea 33% cheaply if you are an ARgentine fan in Bangladesh (https://www.southasiabiz.com/2006/06/world_cup_football_2006_suppor.html). Please give more coverage of Argentina.
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A"true" fan and one that we're all proud of.
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Let's hope this is the start of a new era for major championships and crowd trouble!
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Good to see Mark is still following England, my mate was at that Turkey game.
There for the grace and all that
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England fans will be truly rehabilitated when good behaviour is no longer newsworthy. Well done Mark and all of you guys n' gals out in Germany, you are also playing your part in making us all proud.
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I'm not really sure about how these blog things work, I was just wondering where Barry Davies has got to? Is he working for Sky or something because him and John Motson are the best football commentators on the planet. I don't have anything against Jonathan Pearce, but I'm afraid that his commentary of Argentina's magic 24 pass goal left a bit to be desired...
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The Soccer & Fans in GWC-2006 weblog contains photos from GWC-2006.
I know it cannot be compared with your huge system, but someone may be interested in those photos too.
So could you put the link in your link section?
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