A Minute's Applause Or A Minute's Silence For The Dead?

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I am most definitely in the camp of "a minute's silence" for dead people. For instance, earlier on Saturday we watched Carlisle play Southampton and - before the game started the whole of the ground (including the Southampton fans and all the players, officials, etc) observed a minute's silence for the war dead of World Wars I and II and subsequent wars after that. It was impeccably observed by everyone (and made me want to cry, which is what a silence is supposed to do) so it begs the question..why do some dead people have a minute's applause instead? I hate it! People can be quiet for a minute, it's not impossible. On BBC Radio Cumbria a guy called Derek Lacey used to commentate on Carlisle games for years. Unfortunately, he suffered a massive stroke and died last year before the season started. He had always maintained (in commentary) that he didn't like dead people being applauded as a mark of respect, he much preferred the minute's silence. At the time George Best had died and he thought it was in bad taste that everyone was applauding all over the country instead of paying their respects to George with a dignified silence...so what happened at Carlisle's ground the first game of the season after Derek's death? You guessed it! A minute's APPLAUSE, apparently requested by his daughter or something. I wasn't there at the time but John told me about it and he refused to applaud, just stood there with his head bowed as that's what Derek would've wanted. I would've done the same. Why can't the dead be respected in a minute's silence? What's this applause all about? I think it's extremely naff and should be banned forthwith. What are your views on this?