They like numbers at Manchester United. Fifty million
fans worldwide, 76,000 tickets sold at Old Trafford, £56.5million
for a shirt sponsorship deal, £27million for Wayne
Rooney.
It's all very impressive but it doesn't actually mean a great deal.
So, here's a few more.
In China, there are 650,000 recorded cases of HIV and 70,000 new
cases annually. Sixty percent of people in the most populous
country on the planet believe people suffering from HIV should be
isolated from the rest of society. The same percentage said they
were not willing to work with anyone suffering from the
illness.
These numbers do mean something.
They also explain why a 15-year-old boy 'named' Lan Lan to protect
his real identity, sat next to Ryan Giggs in Guangzhou this
afternoon, looked him in the eye and told him if anyone ever asked
what was wrong with his mother he would say: "She has a little bit
of a cold. It is nothing serious and anyone who says otherwise is
just gossiping."
You see, Lan Lan's mother is HIV positive. Having lost his father
to the AIDS virus three years ago, there was already a stigma
attached to this quiet young chap.
If the rest of the village where he lived had discovered his mother
had the same illness, life would have become intolerable. So they
moved, forcing Lan Lan to leave all his friends behind and start a
new life, so his mother could seek treatment which may help keep
her alive. Lan Lan was told about this less than 24 hours before
Giggs walked into his life.
Also sat round the table was Rio Ferdinand, like Giggs, a
£90,000-a-week footballer, a young man with more talent and wealth
than any normal human being could ever dream of.
But what use is celebrity and status if you cannot do anything with
it? Rio is a lot of things to a lot of people. In this setting, he
is a natural. His sincerity and concern was obvious as he listened
to the story of nine-year-old 'Mei Mei' and watched her draw a
picture of a school she no longer attends.
Mei Mei choked back the tears as she explained how she walked two
hours up a mountain to collect firewood, washed clothes in the
little fish pond near her house, went out to buy food, then cook it
because her mum is no longer well enough to do so.
Fear
Her mum is another AIDS victim. Her father died from it too. Not
even her aunts and uncles have been told for fear of what the
reaction might be.
As parents themselves, Giggs to two young children, Ferdinand to a
boy, Lorenz, who celebrated his first birthday in his father's
absence on July 24, it was impossible for these two Manchester
United players not to be touched by these stories.
When Mei Mei went on to reveal one day she wished to become a
doctor "so I can help people", it was enough to break the hardest
of hearts.
"Manchester United's tours are not just about football or the
amount of fans we have got," said Giggs.
"It is very important, as individuals and as a club, we get
involved in campaigns like this.
"If people look at articles or tune in to TV programmes because
they see our badge that can only be a good thing. We want to catch
people's attention."
One hour may not seem like much but Ferdinand knows how significant
those 60 little minutes can be.
"We want to try and help evaporate the stigma that comes with
AIDS," he said.
"Lan Lan should be able to say exactly what is wrong with his
mother. Why should he have to hide it, or lie about any problem in
his family?
"But the most uplifting thing is that these kids still have dreams
and aspirations. The strength they show is more than many people in
the world who start off with so much more. They refuse to give
up."
Eventually, after completing their drawings and enjoying a few ball
games in the yard of United's team hotel, the two groups went their
separate ways, Giggs and Ferdinand back to the land of luxury, Lan
Lan and Mei Mei to their tragic lives.
The hope is all four remain touched and inspired and their meeting,
however brief, can help trigger a change in attitude desperately
needed in a country which, in economic terms, is maturing so
fast.
"These are my dreams," Giggs wrote on his own drawing of the family
he hopes for in a few years' time. "I hope your dreams and
aspirations come true too."
The words may be simple but they resonate. And eventually, people
must begin to hear.
