It's kind of a stereotype for United fans that the majority of them are international fans. Glory hunter, plastic fan, I've heard that before. But perhaps it's a fair question; just why does an American with no attachments to Manchester (that I know of, anyway; I have ancestors who came from England and I don't know where they lived before they came to the USA) become a Manchester United supporter?
Well, fair credit to the club itself for excellent marketing over the years. When in my early twenties I decided to give a look to soccer/football to distract me from a broken friendship and some depression I really had no idea which team to look at. The MLS matches are hard to find online due to intense crackdowns on their part regarding piracy and whatnot otherwise I might be a more aggressive Chicago Fire fan; as it is I recalled an American sitcom I was watching one night mentioning Manchester United. So I typed that into google and out came the Chelsea vs Manchester United 2008 Champions League final.
I remember being entranced by watching Ronaldo move up the left wing. I remember Ronaldo scoring the goal. I remember Vidic wanting to beat the crap out of Drogba and the players having to hold him back. I remember Drogba acting surprised he got a red card. I don't remember much more than that off the top of my head, just those flashes. Most of the game is a blur to me. I do know that before the penalty kicks (I purposefully did not look at the score ahead of time to know who won btw) that I was a United fan. I remember being nervous despite the game having been played 3+ years before I watched it. I remember the look of shock and worry on Ronaldo's face when he missed. A distraught John Terry who missed completely. The look of delight on Van Der Sar's face when he made that big save from Anelka's kick. And I remember the squad losing their minds as Rio lifted that trophy up into the air.
I threw myself into learning all I could about Manchester United after that. About their current squad, about the club historically, about those players I had just watched. I bought several books about United over the years including one about the Munich air disaster. I felt, as a fan who could not claim that team as my home team given I'm a continent away, that I was almost obligated to learn everything I could about it. My connection could not be born from geography, but it could be born from knowledge and appreciation.
But why choose soccer? Why choose a team from another country, another continent? Well, I grew up watching the Chicago Bulls in the 90s when with Air Jordan, Pippin, and legendary coach Phil Jackson they won 6 championships. I cheered the White Sox through a World Series win (which was exciting). But those were either support due to location (to live in Illinois and not be a Bulls fan in the 90s was......well let me put it this way; it'd be like a devoted family of Manchester United supporters having a child who supported Liverpool. That level of treason) or teenage spite (being in a family of Cubs supporters cheering for the White Sox throughout my youth was a mild form of rebellion for me).
As I grew older I pretty much ignored sports. Baseball is really boring, to be blunt, and basketball just wasn't the same after the Bulls' dynasty ended and Michael retired. I can't stand the start and stop and stop and commercial and start and stop and more commercials nature of American football or gridiron and the only kind of golf I like is miniature golf. Soccer was just the only option (or at least the only one I could think of). And I liked playing it in P.E. classes in school.
Maybe part of the reason I chose Manchester United had to do with the colors. Red, white, black. Same as the Chicago Bulls when I was growing up. I'd wager somewhere packed away my mom still has my Michael Jordan jersey. Perhaps that got into my subconscious somehow. I don't remember the sitcom that mentioned Man United but I'm glad it popped into my head, even if there have been a few lows since Sir Alex retired. But experiencing the bad I've also found old matches online featuring some of the many greats to have played for the club and, in a way, been able to experience the good from before I was even born. Not to mention the good now. Marcus Rashford's jawdropping Europa League debut will and then the team's performance against Arsenal will live long in my memory.
All that said, I do have to give credit to the US national team. They made my passion for soccer/football even larger. Even stronger. Even a bit crazier. I think I scared my whole house with my shouts when the US Women's team won the World Cup and I nearly made my mom deaf when I was on the phone with her when Dempsey scored that quick goal against Ghana in the 2014 World Cup. That's not to say I don't get that way with United; I definitely do. But I find that my love for the US team enhanced those feelings regarding United and regarding the Chicago Fire, which is a more recent love but potent nonetheless.
United served to distract me in a time in my life when I needed distracting. When I needed something to obsess over to ignore the bad things going on in my life. I'm in a much better, happier place now and United have certainly played a part in it among other things (pretty sure my dog would demand a mention so Nero, you're the best dog ever).
And that, friends and lobsters, is how I became a United fan.
How This Yankee Became a United Fan
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Wednesday, 16 March 2016
