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As a Manchester United fan, I am regularly accused of being a bandwagon jumper, a glory hunter, and a fair weather supporter. I know it’s nonsense.
For as long as I’ve had any interest in football, I’ve followed Manchester United. They were the first team I heard of, and thus became my team.
As my interest in football inched closer to fanaticism, so too did my affection for this mighty club.
Like any Australian who follows a European league, I’ve had plenty of late nights and early mornings. Some of my best sporting memories have been formed in the small hours, like jumping up and down in my lounge room in 2009 when an Italian teenager who nobody had ever heard of rescued United’s ailing bid for the league title, or going berserk the next season when an ageing Liverpool legend stole a pulsating Manchester derby.
Earlier this year I went to see my team play Liverpool at Old Trafford, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
I was also there at Homebush on Saturday night and it was fantastic to see them play again. But some of my fellow United fans let me down.
It began as I walked into the ground. One of my mates was wearing a West Bromwich Albion shirt, carrying the name and number of the great Zoltan Gera on the back. He thought it was funny, so did I.
He copped a bit of stick off a couple of United fans around my age, just a sarcastic ‘Come on West Brom!’, nothing too viscious.
But then one of them yelled out ‘Come on Norwich’, and I didn’t know why. Then I realised they were talking to me! I was wearing a green and gold hooped beanie.
Learn your history, mate! United fans wear green and gold because they were the original colours of the club, back when they were a bunch of workers playing under the name Newton Heath.
Green and gold also symbolises support for the Supporters’ Trust campaign to return the club to the members, rather than private ownership. Not Norwich.
Once in the ground, the ground announcer read a list of former United greats, while giving a quick crash course on the history of the club.
The list included Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. However by far the loudest cheer was for Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who spent only five years at the club before deciding he wanted to play somewhere else.
Later, during the match, Robin van Persie received far louder acclaim than Ryan Giggs. The mind boggles.
These were minor annoyances, but I think the thing that wound me up the most was the complete lack of respect shown the by some United ‘fans’ to the A-League All-Stars.
Some clowns in the United ‘active’ section behind the goal booed as the A-League team was announced. They booed players from their own league!
Then, in case that didn’t get the point across, they howled contemptuously when the All-Stars overhit a pass or got caught in possession. Some simply laughed at them.
The A-League All-Stars is a terrific idea. It places the A-League in the public’s consciousness as the start of the season approaches, and gives our local players a chance against players of the highest quality.
I am far from the most conscientious follower of the A-League, but I recognise its strength will have a strong influence on the strength of our national team. Why boo them?
I know these mugs wanted to imagine they were in the Stretford End for a match against Liverpool, but they weren’t. They were at a friendly, and many of the players taking on the Rolls Royces in red are only semi-professional.
Yet they booed them like an old foe.
This is exactly the sort of dunderheaded, bandwagon jumping rubbish which gives Manchester United fans a bad name.
I would encourage these showboaters to consider something like Twenty20 cricket.
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