Harangue the DJ

My father used to travel to Charlton games on the same bus as the players, but these days footballers are remote from their fans, secure within luxury cars and behind high gates of exclusive residences.

So when one of these demi-gods descends from Mount Olympus to talk to Joe Public in the street, it makes headlines. Yesterday, Chelsea star Frank Lampard took the unusual step of ringing up a talk-radio station in London to attack the host, who had labeled him 'scum' for leaving his girlfriend and children, who recently moved out of their family home into an apartment.

I support ABC (Anyone But Chelsea) on the field, but like most fans, was touched by Lampard's candor, proof that those overpaid scoundrels we love and hate in equal measure are still human beings.

- Sean O'Conor