Although I've supported this club for over 20 years and have family roots in Manchester, I am an American and therefore, admittedly, look at this issue a bit differently than most of the rest of you. But here are my thoughts, which you can take it or leave it.
It's pretty obvious to anyone that success breeds more fans. There's a reason why the biggest clubs in the world are the most historically successful… Real, Barça, Bayern, Liverpool, U****d, etc. And just like the worldwide fans of those clubs, some will be casual and some will be Blues until their dying day. However, I think there is an idea amongst the legacy Blues that this is still the same club playing in Division Two. It's a romanticizing that I, as a New Yorker, have heard plenty of when some talk about NYC in the 1970s. But just like how NYC has turned into Disneyland and a playground for the rich, Manchester City have become a global brand that just won the fucking treble. Some Blues, especially those who were there during the darker days, want to actively fight against this. But no matter how you look at it, that battle has already been lost. It's fighting windmills.
City are one of the most successful clubs of the 21st century and now have sister clubs all over the world, from my hometown of NYC to Uruguay, Australia, India and beyond. The club has been fully globalized. And I fully understand how that has rubbed many legacy supporters the wrong way. We were always the plucky underdog, everyone's second favorite club, the ones who were considered the proper Manchester club that plays in Manchester and has a proper local fanbase. Many of us remember when City were begging us to buy shit shirts and shit pies in order to stay afloat. That's a core piece of our identity, an identity has shifted dramatically since the money came in. And now City have fans everywhere.
Maybe it's because I help run the supporters club chapter in NYC, but I believe in welcoming everybody in. When I first started going to The Mad Hatter (RIP), everyone there was so warm and welcoming. They didn't gatekeep or make me feel less of a fan because of my lack of a Mancunian accent. We were all Blues at the end of the day, and that's all that mattered. I try to remember that every time I walk into our new home, Amity Hall, and do my best to make sure everyone who comes in has a similar experience as I did. To help foster a community of Blues.
Our supporters' club started in 2007 with seven people. Now we have over 300, and had to work with four separate bars to account for the over 750 people who came to to watch the Champions League Final with us. Most of the people who showed up, I have never seen before. But those people are going to support City regardless, which is why I believe that if we take these newer fans under our wing and really show them the culture surrounding this club—especially the history—they will become proper Blues for life. The who, what, where, when, or why should be completely irrelevant, because it all comes down to one thing: would you rather see someone walking down the street, anywhere in the world, wearing red or blue? I know what my answer is.
It's inevitable that we will get an influx of newer fans with our success since Sheikh Mansour bought the club. But we should welcome them with open arms and show them the ropes. Introduce them to the culture of the club before they change it themselves. Ingratiate them into the community and teach them what it means to be a Blue—the history, the songs, the humor—everything that makes City, City. I truly believe that we will lose our soul as a club if we don't.
And to any Blues out there that doubt our level of support, I offer an open invitation to watch any match with us at Amity Hall whenever you're in NYC. I have a feeling you will be surprised. And, having watched the Champions League Final with the supporters' club in Seattle, I have to say this: 12:30pm kickoffs are at 4:30am on the West Coast of the US. The 5:30pm kickoffs are at 9:30am. And they watch EVERY match. That, right there, is dedication, and they have all my respect for that.
Apologies for the essay. I'll close with a quick observation. I visit Manchester every year to see friends and family, and find it a bit rich that so many of the people telling Americans to support their local club are the same people I see around Manchester wearing hats and shirts of US teams. (Just saying.)
