BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Protestant and Catholic, nationalist and unionist, Northern Ireland stood united in grief Saturday as tens of thousands of mourners said goodbye to soccer legend George Best.
As his coffin was taken from the family home in east Belfast, a silence fell over those who lined the streets of this gritty city where the man whom many described as Britain's greatest footballer grew up.
Attendance at the funeral fell well short of the 500,000 that some had predicted. Nevertheless, the ceremony represented a unifying moment for Northern Ireland. Best, a sportsman and playboy who grew up in a largely Protestant housing project here, was a rare representative of the province, transcending the violence-racked divisions between Protestants loyal to British rule and Catholic nationalists who have fought against it.
"In the eight days since Best's death, Northern Ireland has talked of little else, and the memories of 'Georgie' have united Protestant, Roman Catholic and dissenter in a manner that has eluded all the efforts of church and state," reported the Times of London newspaper.
The crowds of mourners lining the streets and at the funeral were estimated at 50,000 to 100,000. Perhaps a million more people watched the ceremony live on television, making it the largest funeral ever in Northern Ireland, which has a population of 1.6 million, and one of the largest in Britain. For some, the public outpouring of grief in the days since his death at 59 recalled the mourning after the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
Known for his athleticism and good looks, Best thrilled fans for the 11 years he participated in league play, mostly for Manchester United, which he joined in 1963 when he was 17.
But he made as much news off the field -- as a ladies' man, a witty and self-deprecating superstar, and a hard drinker. The precursor to modern-day celebrity athletes such as David Beckham, Best once said he should be credited with taking soccer off the back page, the traditional spot for sports coverage, and putting it on the front.
But in later years, there was an aura of sadness around him too. One famous anecdote had him in a luxury hotel room, surrounded by the remains of a champagne-soaked night, his bed linens strewn with half-forgotten cash as a room-service waiter asked: "George, where did it all go wrong?"
