Wall Street Journal article

Fanny Fart said:
Dyed Petya said:
I'm not wrong about any of it, you moronic f**kwit. Polls don't make a city bigger, they show it's more important, and I'm arguing that while B'ham may have a bigger population, there's a lot more to the issue than simply the number of people who happen to fall within an arbitrary set of boundaries. Please come back and argue when you can f**king read and when you've managed to advance your IQ past 30.

Manchester is the 9th largest city in the uk, but no doubt it is looked on as the second most important


The problem with that is Manchester the borough isn't really the "city". In the real world Manchester includes Trafford, Tameside, Salford etc. In terms of the urban sprawl/conurbation Manchester is pretty much equal with the West Midlands in terms of size and is more densely populated. There is no way it is 9th in anything other than arbitrary administrative terms.
 
m27 said:
Not only did my Dad support United he played for them as well before being being released at 17. He's the same age as Nobby Stiles. All my family are Salford Reds so it looked inevitable I would be. However, my Dad had never gone regularly to games because he was always playing on Saturdays so when he took me to see United in 1984 when I was 8 years old it was the first time he'd been for years. We went a few times but I didn't enjoy it, even at 8 years old I realised the people sat around us were dicks. They were abusive (I'll never forget one bloke abusing Billy Garton all game eventhough Garton was a young Salford lad fresh in the team) and arrogant. We went a few times more but we both didn't enjoy it and my Dad kept commenting on how it wasn't how he remembered.

Then one day he suddenly decides to take me to Maine Road to see City v Oxford United, it was still the 1984/85 season. I instantly fell in love. Despite all the United games I'd been to being sell outs and about 24000 being at City in a 2nd Division game the atmosphere was great and the people proper funny. I even liked how Maine Road looked and was obsessed with the masses of bodies stood on the Kippax (we were on Platt Lane). Not only did I love it my Dad did as well and we hardly missed a home game for the rest of the season and the Charlton 5-1 game was the happiest day of my short little life.

From then on, United were gone from my life and, more brilliantly, my Dad's as well!! Fast forward 25 years and my Dad has his season ticket next to mine and he hates United almost as much as me! He has got some stick from family members and, in normal circumstances, I would say you NEVER change clubs....but I think this is a beautiful exception to that philosophy.
quality story mate.
 
vonksbignose said:
Wonderful, wonderful stuff!

My dad's a red, as is that whole side of my family, but he fucked off when I was 3, & my mum's side were blues. My grandad took me to my first game & I too was hooked from the word go (even though I thought we were playing West Brom, cos I'd heard of them, when in fact we were playing Birmingham City, who I hadn't)!

Anyway, all my mates at school were blues & my mates dad started taking me along to Maine Road regularly & I couldn't change allegiance even if I'd wanted to! I know this because I tried to after the 1985 cup final in an attempt to impress my dad. He took me to the scum's homecoming parade & I said "Dad, I think your right, I should become a U**ted fan"! The words stuck in my throat (even as an 8 year old), & being surrounded by those horrible, humourless pricks that day is the same feeling I get around them to this day! Utter, total contempt! I don't know how I knew at that age what a crowd of wankers they were, but I knew! Maybe its because I'd been going to Maine Road for a while by then & knew what it felt like to be among my own people! Northern people! Proper football fans!

Anyway, I've never once regretted my blue allegiance. Even during our dark days, when they were winning everything in sight whilst we floundered, that just made my love for the club even stronger for some reason. I knew they needed me and all of us more than ever then, & I'm still proud of the way we all did our bit to carry the team through the dark days in the second division!

I wouldn't swap my sometimes painful experience as a City fan for an easy ride as a Rag for all the tea in China!

City til I Die!!!!

More or less the same age as me mate and the same experiences and philosophy. Only 8 years old, you wouldn't think you were formed enough mentally to judge characters would you? Well I was, and so were you! City fans just seemed so much cooler. This seems so odd to type now, but when my Dad took me on the Stretford End (sorry, I've just been a little sick in my mouth) you would not believe the saddoes and social inadequates that were around us. Some things never change.
 

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