The Holy Pilgrimage Pt. II

Pt. I of my post on the visit to Old Trafford was a straight-up chronicle of events, and can be found here. This one is about my post-visit observations/reflections.

On the bench!!

1. Consumerism runs amok. After the match, approximately 34539 people squeezed their way into the Megastore. There was actually security personnel who had to perform crowd control, limiting the flow of people into the store. The crowd formed a massive, uncoordinated bloc that waitd outside the entrance, as the store was already bursting with people. They need a Ginomostore, not a Mega-one, methinks. The crowd situation made me wonder if it'd be as crazy if United had lost. Sure, tourists like me would probably still venture in, but I'd guess that regulars might not feel quite as inclined to entertain their kids' requests for that United scrabble set. We're more likely to splash out the cash when we're in a good mood obviously. This really highlights the importance of United maintaining their winning ways given their massive debt: It's not just Champions League earnings, but also merchandise sales, that will be affected.

Dawn of the Dead comes to life

2. The match itself will not be making it into the hall of classics anytime. Both teams played averagely, with many sloppy passes made. In fact, I was kinda shocked at how casual players looked when pinging those passes. Making it look easy, sure, but I still found it slightly disconcerting how unbothered they looked. Both sides had few clear-cut chances at goal, with most of the match being played in midfield and both teams struggled to string passes together.

3. C'est triste que I missed WR10 in action, but I am very thankful to have been able to catch United legends Giggsy and Scholesy in action. Scholes, in particular, was on form that day, and seeing him do his thing in the centre of the park, committing those "oops isn't it cute how he still doesn't know how to tackle" fouls was pure joy.

4. Poor Berbatov. He didn't do well that day, but he didn't fare that badly either. But, every time h got the ball, you could seriously feel the weight of the pressure/expectation the crowd was putting on him. Every time he messed up yet another good scoring opportunity, the collective groan from the stands got louder and ever more frustrated.

Giggsy about to score from the spot.

5. Speaking of disappointments, Michael Carrick was another who faced the crowd's wrath. Underperforming the entire season, Carrick exemplified the whole 'couldn't care less' attitude I described earlier. "Take your time, son", I remember a disgruntled fan in my vicinity shouting. And he would.... only to misplace his pass. Shape up, or ship out, Mister!

6. Nani - Ah, aren't we glad for his revelatory form in the second half of the season. In an uninspiring team performance, it was obvious that Nani was the spark of the squa, the one who proverbially 'made things happen'. Still no Ronaldo, but we'll all be expecting greater and better things to come from him this coming season.

7. Last note on the United squad -- Just want to pay tribute to Evra. Seriously, best left-back in the world (maybe not when playing for La France). ♥

8. Spurs note: Crouch does win those headers, doesn't he? And Gareth Bale was definitely the Nani equivalent for them.

Last chance you were able to hi-five that day! hah!

9. It's sad but I have to confirm that the away crowd is indeed more enthusiastic in their singing/cheering. I think that's the way it is everywhere though. And WC and I sadly were also part of the much maligned prawn sandwich crowd since I didn't know any of the songs and couldn't take part in the singing. *ashamed*

10. On to general thoughts: Attending a football match is nowadays a very wholesome event. Besides the alcohol ban, I was most impressed by how disabled-friendly the club is. There's a big section right at the corner between the East and South ends reserved for fans on wheelchairs, and there's a big MUFC Disabled Supporters' Club, which has its own publicity board inside the stadium. Also, they have a designated hangout area on their own termed the 'Ability Suite'. A big too obvious or cheesy to some perhaps, but I thought it to be a great message.

Also, that day coincided with the anniversary of the Disabled Supporters' Assocation, so that was a 3 on 3 match between some mentally handicapped Spurs and United kids during halftime. I smiled when I head someone near me say "Cone on lads, we're United, we wanna win everything." We lost 1-7 though. Oops.

It's 20LEGEND! O.G. Solskjaer, Reserves manager, leads the squad out to collect their trophy for finishing top of the Northern half of the Reserves League before the match.

11. And finally, another way match-attending is wholesome is how it is very much a family affair. All throughout the stands, there were numerous father-son attendees, including fathers with adorable, excitable children, dads with their teenage lads who might be too cool and slightly embarrassed to hang out with their parental units, and grey-haired men with their grown-up sons. I could easily imagine generations of fans attending United games - Dad brings son brings grandson and so the tradition passes on. Saturaday afternoons would be that special bonding time between father-son as they share the elation of a victory, or the despair of a loss. And eventually, such Saturdays would become amazing, shared memories. I can almost picture a Kodak commercial based on this. NGL, I felt a twinge of envy/sadness seeing these scenes of familial bonding, knowing I never had a decent dad with whom I had memories of joyful experiences. (Sorry, woe-is-me attitude henceforth ceases!)

That is why after the match, this thought came to my mind: maybe Manchester United is too big of an institution today. United is as grand and majestic as football stadiums come, but I couldn't help but envision this rosy, idealised picture of father/son attending their local club's match, where every one's voice mattered, since one's absence wouldn't simply be filled by the next football tourist. Seems like that'd be a more authentic experience, for a lack of a better description. The grandiosity and commercialism of MUFC, exemplified for example by the way the megastore is run like a well-oiled machine and by how skyrocketing season ticket prices are hurting middle/working-class football families, takes away the soul from the experience, this overthinking fan believes.

Farewell to thee, Old Trafford... I will be back!