Monday, July 04, 2005

Red Devils


'theater of dreams' Posted by Picasa

There are times when you are frustrated because you want to do something, but you do not know what. 30 seconds earlier I was. Now I am not. What does that mean? It means that I have got the answer. The answer is that I want to write. I do not have time to write a book, or I am too lazy for it. I will blog. Okay. What do I blog about? Let me think about something I am really passionate about. Something I can talk about for close to 30 minutes, if you were to wake me up in the middle of my slumber. Eureka!

Rightly dubbed the Theater of Dreams, Old Trafford stages the home games of the entity I am most passionate about, or rather obsessed with – Manchester United. With over a century of tales to tell, the Red Devils run in my blood, the other reason apart from hemoglobin that results in the colour of my blood.

I started following them the moment I was exposed to English Premier League, back in 1998. Unlike most of the rookies, I did not follow them because they were top of the table. I distinctly remember Aston Villa topping the table at that point of time. I have this intrinsic passion for supporting the underdogs. This is probably what sifted my support towards a bunch of men playing excellent football in red shirts and white shorts, in the middle of the premiership table. The surge after Christmas(which they are known for) saw Manchester United lift the trophy under Sir Alex Ferguson, and under the captaincy of Roy Keane. The following year, in an epic battle which lasted for 93 minutes, Manchester United crushed Bayern Munich to win the Champions League, on their way to the historic treble.

After dominating the English Football Scenario for a decade, the form slumped. The likes of Arsenal and the financial might of Chelsea are showed signs of shift in power. United lost the trophy last year to Chelsea and finished a lowly third by their high standards. Will united bounce back? With arguably the greatest prospects in the world, the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Rossi, United may hit the winning streak again. As one of the fans displayed in an FA cup match between Man U and Chelsea – “Form is temporary, Greatness is Permanent.

Glory Glory Man United. We shall not be moved!