mancityblues.com

If you'll indulge me I have a little story to tell about my day....

I had no ticket, but intended to meet friends and hang around City Square. The Summerbee bar was completely rammed so the planned meet didn't go so well at first, but slowly people started to turn up and it became a really lovely little pre-match gathering of mancityblues forum members. I really enjoyed that.

I then went on a little last minute ramble around the ground in what I thought was a very futile attempt to find a ticket, but the best I was offered was one for £350 which is a bit silly money even for a dyed in the wool blue.

I was just literally moving off the edge of the stadium compound towards the pub that had been gratefully recommended to me by the mancityblues contingent when a City fan asked me, right out of the blue, if I wanted a ticket. Er...yes, I replied, expecting him to ask me for silly money. "I've got two for the away end," he said "and I'll be using the other one so you'll be sat next to me". I was a bit sceptical about going in the away end and hesitated for a while, but I bartered with him a little and he quoted me a price which was still a bit of a rip off, but way below the silly prices that I'd seen on the net. (£500+)
In one of those moments of madness, caught up in the atmosphere of the occasion, I said I would have it, but just to be sure I said I would pay him when we both got inside the ground.
We both had City tops on, but they were easily removable so we approached the turnstiles.
I went in first with no problem. But as I waited for him there was obviously a problem. The eagle eyed security guy had noticed the bloke had a City tattoo on his arm and there was no way they were going to let him in.
Oops, I'd got in completely free for a match fetching £500 per ticket.
I felt a bit guilty because he was a fellow blue, but at the end of the day he was trying to rip me off. (If I ever see him again I'd be happy to give him face value for the ticket.)

So, on into the away end, top tier, on my own.

So grateful to be actually at the game, I gamely acted the part of a QPR fan to avoid any trouble and fear of ejection, without completely losing my City soul of course, for most of the match, clapping politely when SWP or Ned did something good.

It was an interesting experience. The QPR fans were fantastic. I developed a real liking for them. Obviously they were concerned about their own club's plight for most of the game, but they were very sporting and non-hostile and when it became clear that they were safe they started to shout "Come on City" and cheered us on through injury time. They then stayed and applauded us through the trophy presentation and the first lap of honour.
Marvellous fans. (The only hostility I witnessed was towards their own player Barton when he got sent off. Understandably.)

During the second lap of honour the QPR fans had mainly gone and there was just me in the middle of the whole of the top tier of the away end left.
As I realised I could lose my adopted cockney persona, I sang and waved my arms around like a complete nutter and become a City fan again, (I even dared to put my City top back on,) and it really hit me that we'd just won the bloody Premier League!!!!

One fantastic day I will remember for the rest of my life.

SPIKE