Grew up with it. Dad worked for Freddie Pye, brother named Fred after him. Dad was City Junior until his father fell out with someone at the club. One set of Grandparents in Withington, others on Horton Rd, Rusholme. Mum grew up playing with Bert Tratmann’s kid. On matchdays, you could leave the windows open and know the score just from the cheering!
We lived with my grandparents in Withington when they were dying and I was a kid. They’d give us bus fare from Withington Baths to Platt Fields, but we’d walk to the ground to keep the coppers!
Then, we’d stop in at the other grandparents near Maine Road for some Hovis Salt & Vinegar crisp butties and a bag of toffees for the match.
We’d setoff for the ground down the ginnel, across Thornton Rd, then down the passage of the ice cream garage that lined one side of the VIP Parking Lot before coming out right by the passage between the Platt Lane End and the Kippax. Grandads season ticket was in the Maine Stand, but we went in the Platt Lane End as nippers.
Graduated to North Stand when they built it, then got seats in it (Block N, Row 10, Seats 1&2) right behind the goals. Then, into the Kippax with my girlfriends dad and his mates as I got older and my brother got to use my season ticket with my sister (still season ticket holders 40 years later, East Stand Second Tier).
Dad knew a bunch of people at City and was fortunate enough to get behind the scenes many, many times, even playing a few games for the youngsters on Platt Lane before I went to play for Sunderland.
So, as they say, it’s in the blood! NO-ONE in my family is a red.