The Kind of Fan I Am....

A Nigerian man ran a bus into a crowd of Barcelona fans, killing four and injuring many others. Could he have been so mad or hurt our team lost that he was driven to such a thing? Obviously, some other illness had him long ago and the revelry of the Barca fans was the trigger that was finally pulled in his mind for him to fire off. This is the worst reaction in world that we've heard of, and I am hopeful, this is the only one of its kind.
Yesterday I wrote about losing with dignity and how Manchester United did that on Wednesday when they lost the UEFA Champions League to FC Barcelona. The lads on the team held their heads high, their shoulders back, and while their faces looked grim, they respectfully shook hands with the dignitaries on the platform as they accepted their medals. One of them was their own future King, His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales.
Manchester United are the Royalty of European Football, whether they win or lose, and they proved that in their behavior yesterday. I already went over this in my previous post (read it) but they were very gracious in their compliments of Barcelona's playing.
But how does one go about hurting with dignity? Losing and hurting are different. I know we lost, I handled myself in kind with the team, dignified, graciously. I congratulated people on Twitter who cheered for the other team. I admitted we'd been outplayed. I left it at that and then I wrote my blog, I purged.
But today, I still hurt. My heart aches for the players, Sir Alex, and myself. I'd been so excited to think we could be the first to retain the title, that I had not prepared myself at all for a loss. It came as a shocking blow. I think the news reporters who made predictions that Manchester United would come out on top were just as stunned. But do they hurt the way we fans do?
Last night, I went to see a friend's kids play soccer and when I first arrived, I was yelling at the players to "cover up the hole, Defense! Get in place! Guard your keeper! Get the ball back, drive it up the middle!" Twenty minutes into the game I looked out from under my umbrella and saw the parents' of the players' staring at me like I was insane. I'd forgotten this wasn't a pro game and I wasn't yelling at the TV, these were kids. I remembered I can't behave at a teenage soccer game they way I do at home, or at the pub.
I felt deflated all over again when I realized that what I was doing in my mind, was guiding Manchester United to a win. I was trying to re-orchestrate the game we'd lost, to a better outcome. As it happened, the kids won 2-0 and they made it to their playoffs. Ironic, huh? They turned out to be Barcelona and the other guys were Manchester United.
As happy as I was for them, I still felt the dull ache of a spoon in my heart. Our Red Devils lost and I've been in a depressed fog ever since. I have so many friends on Twitter across the world, literally everywhere on the globe that feel the same way. We're still stunned and hurting. I only hope that as we all hurt, we are all doing it with respect to the winners, and with the dignity our team showed when they lost. If we're going to be fans of the Royalty of Europe, perhaps conducting ourselves in their image would do us good. Hold our heads high, keep our shoulders back, compliment the other guys. Admit we were outplayed that one night. Next season, when we win, we'll be gracious winners and tell the losers, you tried hard, good luck in your next game. Because when we win, we have to do that with class and dignity, too.
The Nigerian man who drove a bus into a crowd killing four people is not the kind of fan we want to identify with and not the kind we want to claim as one of our own. He's not a member of our club, we'd never teach him the secret handshake.
Instead, we'll get over our hurt, slowly but dignified. Because that's the kind of fans we are. Classy. Just like the players, gracious. Royalty.
Glory, Glory Man United! We'll be here, waiting for you next season!

Losing With Grace and Dignity

When a team loses a game and someone says, "winning isn't everything," the words offer no comfort. They aren't meant to. What they really mean is that winning isn't everything that makes up what a team or individual is made of. Being a winner is not always about getting the highest score and winning the game; being a winner is about knowing how to lose.
The UEFA Champions League Final was played between Manchester United and FC Barcelona. The result was a major blow and disappointment to Manchester United and their fans. The game began with such a wonderful start. United dominated the ball for the first ten minutes of the game and from out of nowhere, Barca grabbed the ball, found a hole and scored. Once Barca took possession of the ball, United had a hard time getting it back. When they would get it back, they were not able to do much with it. Cristiano Ronaldo had several chances to make a shot and just couldn't find the back of the net. Ryan Giggs came close a couple of times as did Wayne Rooney.
The end of the match, was heartbreaking. Barca was too good at keeping the ball away from United and even with added time, the game was over with a nil score on United's behalf. Nothing. If only one goal could have been made, the sting of defeat would have been lessened but that wasn't meant to be.
Manchester United lined up to receive their medals for having participated in the Champions League Final. His Royal Highness, Prince William was in attendance and shaking hands, which must have been a true honor for the lads. Their future King had been there to show his support and let them know how proud of them he was. Each of the Manchester United players shook the hand of each man in the procession (there were about 5-7 hands to shake), and they came off of the stage with their shoulders back and their heads high.
After the game, the players and Sir Alex Ferguson were all quoted in various interviews, but the message was nearly always the same. They praised the Barcelona players as having outplayed them. They admitted to not having played their best game and that Barcelona deserved to win. Wayne Rooney gave the most gracious quote of all, giving over the notion that "Andres Iniesta is the best player in the world, at the moment."
To lose with such grace and dignity makes a team with this kind of class a great winner indeed.

One Manchester United Fan's Pre-Game Jitters

I keep looking at the clock. I know it makes the time go by slower to do so, but I can't help it. There are five hours until Manchester United square off against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Final. If Manchester United retain the trophy, they'll be the first team in history to ever do so. Like Sir Alex Ferguson recently said, this is a team that is good at firsts. They were the first and only team to ever win the Treble. They won all three European titles in the same season, the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. Since they weren't able to make a ten year anniversary win of the Treble, being the first to retain the Champions League title will be good compensation.

Four and a half hours to go. I'm trying to stay busy by reading the game predictions and interviews from the teams, but it only it only gets me more excited. I should try and write one of my other blogs. My paid satellite internet and satellite TV blogs are going to be written after the game. Although, I could make them tomorrow's blogs if I go ahead and write something today.

Why do we get so worked up over our teams? I know psychologists have done studies about how the need to belong to a group is satisfied by being a fan of a sports team.. We live vicariously through the victories of our teams and we suffer with them when they fall. But how does it start, why do we choose our teams?

Often, the team is chosen for you. The city you live in might become the team you follow due to the sense of hometown loyalty, plus there is the ease of enjoying local games with others. We often love the team our family identifies with, alma maters, or birthplaces left behind. I'm a woman in Charlotte, NC who fell in love with "the beautiful game" of European Football (soccer), and the team, Manchester United. Both are far across the pond. How did it happen? It's almost embarrassing to admit but it started with a soap opera. I was into the show, Footballers Wives and realized I was interested in the game that they would talk about as an aside to the drama. I began watching the soccer channel, learned the various leagues and teams, then discovered Manchester United. Now, I've been told that loving this particular team is like being a Yankees fan, but what exactly does that mean? The Yankees baseball team aren't always on top, they have good marketing but they aren't cliché to follow. Nor is Manchester United. I've been with this team when they were in 17th place back in 2007 and they still managed to get up and win the Premier League title and the World Cup that season. What's not to love? I've seen this team place rookies and under 21's on the pitch because Sir Alex didn't have many other players due to an extensive injuries list. Owen Hargreaves has been gone so long, people have forgotten he's a member of the team. We just saw the return of Wes Brown after missing over half of the season. I'm grateful Rio Ferdinand is fit to return and will be protecting keeper Edwin Van der Sar in today's game. I know these guys, they get up and play when it hurts, and they climb back to the top when they drop low. That's why I love this team.
I've stuck by Manchester United not because they're the cliché "best of Europe" but because they simply are the best in Europe. Over the past few years as I watched the game and learned more about it, I have grown fond of a number of teams. I am a fan of Inter Milan and AC Milan from the Serie A League, I liked the Blackburn Rovers until they screwed Paul Ince. I enjoy watching other teams because they are good and have talented players. I can imagine a dream team of today's footballers and those of any decade mixed together.
I became a fan of the game first, and then I became an fanatic about the team, Manchester United. Today, regardless of the outcome, I will still be a fan of this team and I will continue to love the beautiful game.
Four hours to go.