Quote: Red Tommo "After reading some of the post on here about Rovers fans being scum or laughing
at Longy getting injured. i do seem to remember a large number of Hull FC fans
singing "Die Die Cooke Cooke Die" is that not worse, singing that you hope a
person Dies?'"
Though i do understand your point, i also think there is a world of difference between the two incident.
Cheering a player that gets hit and stays down momentarily is initially fun, harmless and gets the crown going. When it is clear that the player is injured and stays down is when the situation changes and, most of the time, crowds will fall silent in the hope the the said player is ok. It is then common practice to applaude the player when he leaves the pitch to show support.
I thought cheering all the way through this incident was fairly poor from a large number of Rovers supporters on Sunday and was not happy about them doing it when Longy was helped from the field.
That said, it was not clearly ALL of the Rovers fans, so to label them ALL scum or tarnish them all with the same brush is wrong IMO. Also, emotions can tend to run a little higher in the derby games and maybe those fans wouldn't have cheered a Sean Long injury if he played for Sts (doesn't make it right).
Singing a song about Cookie (or any other player) is IMO completely different. Nobody is actually going to kill Paul Cooke and I don't think anyone really wants him to die but it's just a song (tasteless maybe) which someone has thought up, that worked and some fans went with it. Kind of like singing 'Wash your mouth out, son', I don't think anyone is genuinely going to get a gun and shoot the FC/Rovers scum but it's a song that works and fans go with it.
As I said, i am not condoning either incident but cheering a serious injury, which may possibly end Longy's career, is the worst offence of the two in my book. But hey, we don't need to hold a grudge. My Rovers fan friend are now my friends again until derby day next year when we hate each other for one day. That's what makes this sport extra special and why it's NOT football!!