When NZBC first posted a tribute to George Best on 30 October, it didn’t look as though he’d survive the day, let alone four weeks during which he was to enjoy a brief, almost Lazarus-like recovery. Perhaps sensing that it would be bad form to speak ill of the dead, the hacks were swift to dismiss Best while he was still hanging on. James Lawton of the Independent claimed Best was “guilty” of a wasted life, which to me doesn’t sound all that far removed from the “righteous indignation” of which he accuses those who said he hadn’t deserved a liver transplant. Others said he’d been in the “dead box” for years. One called him a waster and the “patron saint of drunks”. Characteristically, George wasn’t listening. His struggle over the last month was as wilful, unpredictable and captivating as the rest of his life. But he’s gone now, and pretty much everything else I have to say about my first hero is here.