Norwich City football club has been praised for a video shared on Mental Health Day yesterday (10 October), with fans clearly touched and moved by the message.
Have a look for yourself – it’s really important.
In the video, two football fans can be seen attending games with each other, sitting in the same seats each week in a scene that will be completely familiar to loads of different people in different walks of life everywhere.
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After all, sport is something that at its core brings fans together.
For the most part, even fans of rival teams can celebrate the things that make them more alike than different - once the game has ended, at least.
In this video, the two men sit beside each other every week as regular season ticket holders do, with one man tending to lead the talking, asking if his pal is OK, checking how things are getting on, and generally getting into the football.
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All the while, his mate sits beside him, looking sad and rarely standing up to celebrate or getting too carried away.
Watching the video, knowing it is about mental health issues, you’d assume that the man in the hat was the one struggling with his thoughts, but that’s the twist that makes the video so clever and important.
Text on the screen reads: “At times, it can be obvious when someone is struggling to cope.”
Then, the man in the hat – who has been the more subdued throughout – appears at the seats and delicately places a Norwich City scarf on the seat of his absent friend.
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He solemnly removes his hat and gently touches the seat, as the words appear: “But sometimes, the signs are harder to spot.”
It then concludes: “Check in on those around you.”
It’s a feeling that will resonate with anyone who has ever lost someone like this, and it’s clearly touched the hearts of most people who have seen it.
One comment read: “Just 2 minutes of your day, this video is absolutely phenomenal.”
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Another said: “This mental health awareness video is beyond powerful.
“Amazing work from Norwich City Football Club.”
A third person wrote: “That just upset me, I'm in a similar boat and didn't see that coming and yes I don't show it on the outside.
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“All too often I hear the words ‘you know where we are if you need us’, instead of friends and family just turning up to see me instead.
“That means so much more.”
The video was created in support of Mental Health Day yesterday, and Norwich City were supporting Samaritans.
If you need help call 999; call 111 and select option two; or call Samaritans for free, at any time, on 116 123.
Topics: Football, Sport, UK News, Health, Mental Health
Tom Wood