{"id":7739,"date":"2021-02-21T12:12:32","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T12:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorted\/?p=7739"},"modified":"2021-02-22T08:42:25","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T08:42:25","slug":"keep-football-in-its-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runyourownwebsite.uk\/sorted\/keep-football-in-its-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep football in its box"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Is the beautiful game is in danger of becoming something it was never meant to be \u2013 a replacement for religion? A concerned Hugh Southon ponders the question.
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THERE'S VERY little said about my football club that takes me by surprise after a lifetime of following West Ham United.<\/p>\n

But I do remember my eyebrows rising just before the Hammers left Upton Park and a long time supporter looked at me and said: \u2018It's not right to be moving from the club's church.\u2019<\/p>\n

Church? That was a reminder that to many the game has become a religion often bringing with it a tribalism and intense hatred, which can perhaps prove a tad difficult for believers.
\nA better man
\nWest Ham plays a very large role in my life as the owner of a website, which has attracted more than 250,000 followers.<\/p>\n

As a football journalist, I was fortunate in getting to know my hero, Bobby Moore. For a period of my career, I even found myself ghostwriting columns for the man.<\/p>\n

We became kind of friends and the bi...<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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