Remember that day like it was yesterday woke up thinking should I have an haircut, nah not like I'm gonna be on TV... Got breakfast walked the dog got back in had a shower got ready, got the 109 from Wythenshawe to town picked up my nephew just before the shell petrol station on the parkway, we rambled on about the how the game might pan out the anticipation built up we was kinda expectant but knew all about our typical City times it was in our hands. Remember just after we got off the bus to the stadium my nephew piped up that QPR could stay up if we win, as a fellow blue walking to the stadium said "I hope fucking not" he raised his shirt and said QPR fans did this to him that it'll be sweet revenge their demise, his back was all carved up and scarred up from an attack by their fans many years earlier, we thought bloody hell proper wrongun that! We wasn't surprised he couldn't stand them but 80s were a brutal time I guess with hooliganism rampant.
Little did we know how much of an emotional day it'd be, my nephew sat on the tier below both next to the away fans from behind the goal it was a mental day... Not one to eat at the match after Zabaleta's goal I decided to get snack at half time but I missed Cisse's equaliser thinking how's it taken so long to get served and what have we done, from then on the second half just got more and more weird we were poor Barton got sent off, that was cmon now time to push on we'd become introverts on the pitch it was tense and when Mackie scored I just thought what the fuck is this nightmare... This isn't real this is the most typical City shit ever, I'm just sat there trying to motivate myself to cheer us on as time goes on the stress levels are rising, agitated I'm getting this feeling of being sick to my stomach and inside fans around me are leaving even some of the loudest ones couldn't take it, then Edin gets one in the back of the net I get that exact same feeling from when I watched Horlock score in the Gillingham game, just knew deep down we would win from that moment or I'd crazily convinced myself that we would in a bout of frenzied denial, when Balotelli fell over passing I remember seeing the ball come towards us all in the south stand and Nedum Onuoha is desperately racing to the ball he slid then missed as my heart nearly sank, a lifelong blue nearly cost us the league thank god he didn't I always liked him as Kun dashed past him and blasted it into the roof of the net... I was going crazy lhugging others around me ike a lunatic for a solid couple of minutes before just standing there in a daze of shock then soaking it all up we'd done it looking around it was emotional, all those years of rags taking the piss and putting up with their scumbag shite throughout the 90s and onwards all the taunts, those glory hunting bastards a good few who were City fans when I first met them in primary school thus becoming disappointments to their parents when turning to the dark side, it had come full circle and we were being rewarded for our loyalty the bad years and it was about time I could give it them back I didn't cry but was close the sense of euphoria it was just unbelievable, later found out the next day I was on the ESPN coverage thinking why the hell didn't I get a haircut I looked a right scruff but no regrets, personally think they went to me as I was going crazy but by the time the camera panned to me I was stood there in that daze... I later illegally downloaded it the ESPN and sky version's remember seeing myself on the former's coverage (Ian Darke and Steve McManaman) but I've since lost them both, or they're on a broken laptop or spare harddrive somewhere here I'll find them again probs for the best as I'm defo eyesore.
On the way back home from the game me and my nephew walked from the stadium to town singing with our fellow blues, it was an amazing day that he'll never forget or me and I'm not sure it could ever be topped but if it is for us we'll be very lucky.
Just as I dropped my nephew off in Fallowfield my brother rang said there's a party at a club on Oldham street so I got back on a bus toward town, we met at Mary D's thinking we'd stay there a bit they ran out of beer early that evening so we left and partied the night away with fellow blues it was unforgettable time, when we arrived at the club later on the bloke who sat next to me at in the south stand every week a bloke I barely talked was there a proper mad coincidence out of the many thousands at the game, everyone was doing the Yaya Kolo dance and listening to other mint songs throughout the night from 80s-90s Manchester music scene and some dance too, it was an epic day then night until closing time at 2 or 3am I think not sure if the beer was watered down but remember the night clearly, we all drank a lot I'll never forget we partied the next day too surrounded by friends and family, was such a special time to be alive and still is this club is more than just a team of 11 players, it's a way of life for every single one of us and I wouldn't swap any of it for anything it's beyond amazing.