I notice yet another long drawn out tribute to George Best on TV this morning.
Why does the (footballing) world continue to be so obsessed with this guy? OK it's sad that he didn't live to old age, but everything he did was self induced.
He died on the same day as Britain's World Rallying Champion, Richard Burns, who at just 34 years old, succumbed to a brain tumour. A clean living, dedicated sportsman - a world champion - who gets struck down with an Astrocytoma at a tragically young age is virtually ignored from any mention outside of his own sport yet some over indulgent, self abuser is just worshipped everywhere, especially by people whose only memory of him would be the gaunt, pissed-up figure on Sky TV.

It's a bad world when we hero worship someone who typified selfishness and over indulgence.On one of his many convictions for drink-driving , he could have easily killed somebody, maybe wiped out a child's life perhaps?

I agree. four hours of blanket coverage for his funeral was ridiculous. He was a great footballer but that was all he had to offer to the public that mourned him so visibly.

Difficult subject to approach this one, but in a similar situation that you end your comment on..how can can I put this..there was a truckload of supporters for the intoxicated killer of our nipper, and only seven of us. It was very intimidating.
That said, George amazingly kept himself out of any offence apart from alcholism, and remains iconic as a result.
Thats a very new subject actually, on this board, "Celebration of Anebreation", (is that how you spell it)?
Oliver Reed was another favourite public intoxicated person.
However, the Liberal leader was not!
I will be very contoversial here, and point out, that the world does need these people that will do odd things due to alchohol, however, it absolutely gutted me, when Mr Best was done for drink driving after the liver transplant.
You just cannot help some people, and I am sure he would have agreed with me.
Bless him anyway, he was a figure that I grew up with.

George Best was a great influence in my early life, and in the lives of many of my friends. It also seems that he was able to bring Catholic and Protestant Northen Irelanders together in peace, even if only temporarily. He touched millions of lives and was far more than just a footballer.

I watched his Funeral a while ago, but didn't see the coverage of the Memorial Service as I was watching other things at the time. With the number of TV channels, and choice of other forms of occupation, nobody was forced to watch any coverage of George Best.