I’m here in Motown (Detroit) and I have been a soccer fan since that Brummie git, Trevor Francis, became the first million dollar international transfer back in 1979 when he left Forest to join the Detroit Express.
I have been a mega City fan since about 1995. When I first heard Oasis, I decided that I was going to be a Man United fan like Liam and Noel. Thank goodness I had a good friend at the time who was a Blue (family still in Derbyshire) and she set me straight. I shudder to think that I was almost a filthy, arrogant, glory-hunting, prawn munching red.
Been through a lot with City in the last 15 years. You guys know all the ups and downs, yeah? These days I find myself checking the ESPN Soccernet or Bluemoon every 30 minutes to an hour to see if we have snatched up another transfer, haha. I still can’t get me head around this change. I’m still trying to decide if this means things are truly going to be different, or if we are going to lose to Blackpool in September before destroying Arsenal as per “Typical City” rules…
I have to chime in with a lot of the other Shermans on here – things are very different now in following City in the USA with Fox Soccer Channel or ESPN showing at least one City match every week. It sure beats using Ustream or whatever to find an internet feed. Lord knows how many times I sat through shyte feeds just to see a match. During last February’s Chelsea match, I jumped out of my seat in front of the television screaming like a loon when Carlos slotted in his penalty and my fiancé couldn’t help but laugh at how crazy it all looked.
I work as a brewmaster in a brewpub just outside Detroit, so I have met many, many English ex-pats in the last decade. The three to whom I have become closest are a Gooner, a Sunderland fan and a Filthy, Dirty, Horrible, Pathetic, Prawn Munching, Glory Hunting Red. We have certainly had some fun in those years and I have taken more than my share of abuse as a City fan. Now they are all constantly complaining that we are ruining the game with all these high-priced transfers and buying silverware. Not sure I agree with them. I seem to remember the Filthy, Dirty, Horrible, Pathetic, Prawn Munching, Glory Hunting Reds and Liverpool and Chelsea spending quite a bit of money on transfers in the past.
Speaking of my Brit friends, I would like to pose a question to all Brit Blues on here:
Is it ok to have a “second team”? My Gooner mate always tells me that second teams are a joke and that no true English footie fan does this. I ask this question because about 6 years ago or so, I met a Stokie on a musician’s fan message board and he turned me on to the ways of the Potteries. Stoke were in the Championship then and their ways seemed to mirror City’s (beat great teams – lose to Port Vale) so I made them my second team. I’m not going to stop cheering for Stoke and singing Delilah or whatever, I just want some good ammunition to use against my Gooner mate (who grew up in WATFORD but liked the red kit as a kid).
Anyway, love reading here and spend a bit of time on Bluemoon EVERY DAY. Looking forward to a great season ahead. Onward and Upwards!
CTID,
Tim in Detroit
