From: Bill Stevens <bstevens@MINET.gov.MB.CA>
Subject: Why I'm A Red

This is a rambling bit of ancient history, but here is how I came to be on the side of Manchester United.

I guess I was destined to be red, because I was born 50 years ago today, when a record was set for the hottest August 3rd on record in Winnipeg. I am pleased to note that the record still stands. It probably had something to do with the arrival of a red devil, but I hope to be an angel at the other end of my life.

In the summer of 1966, I was living with a family in Tingewick, Bucks., after having left Canada to travel the previous October. The World Cup was being played at various locations around the country, and I never took much interest in it, but one Saturday I came home from work to find the final match had gone into overtime. I sat down and watched it, not realizing at the time that history was unfolding in front of me. That night, I went to the local pub, the Crown, and at closing time a few of us were asked to come upstairs and watch the replay with Ernie and Vera Denne, who ran the pub. We watched the match and everyone was happy to see England win again.

In August, I returned to Winnipeg and I began attending the University of Manitoba. My only contact with England consisted of a few letters from friends and the newspapers in the periodicals section of the library. The Observer and Times were there, but I also bought the News of the World regularly. I noticed that Manchester United were mentioned often, and I remember reading about a player called George Best. When I had lived in England, the daughter in the family had a boyfriend who visited regularly. The two of them liked Manchester United, so I started to follow their progress in the newspaper. I also recognized the names of Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles from the England team.

In 1968, my future wife, Liz, and I visited England. We stayed with her aunt's family, in which the uncle and elder son were staunch Chelsea supporters. The aunt and uncle had visited Canada a few weeks earlier for a wedding, and, late one night at a farmhouse on the Saskatchewan prairie, the uncle was telling someone about his longtime support for Chelsea. The other person said he had kept an eye on the progress of Manchester United "ever since the plane crash" It was at this moment I realized that the team I liked was also the one I vaguely remembered my parents mention the year I turned 11.

Back to 1968 - When we arrived in England, I told Liz's cousin that Chelsea had been lucky to defeat Manchester United recently, and we began a friendly rivalry that still continues. For some odd reason, we didn't go to a match that year, but I did go to my first match with that same Chelsea supporter two years later, on August 22, 1970. As luck would have it, Arsenal won 4-0 over Manchester United at Highbury. I can still remember that the Arsenal goalie, Bob Wilson, was on "Match of the Day" that night describing how he was able to dive at Best's feet and take the ball to avoid conceding a goal. I have a book called "Soccer Skills and Tactics", which describes the incident and has a photograph and a diagram of how it happened. I also remember that a player called Peter Marinello, hailed as "the next George Best" played in the match.

Three weeks later, on September 12, Liz and I went to Old Trafford, and we cheered as Manchester United won 2-0 against Coventry, with Best and Charlton scoring. At one point, the referee backed into Nobby Stiles, who collapsed as though he had been crushed by the impact. The crowd loved it. I still have my ticket for the match. It cost 50 pence. I also have a rosette I bought outside the ground. It has Best's picture in the centre.

In 1973, we moved to England and ended up living near Nottingham, where our daughter was born in '74. The great team was relegated that year and played in the second division for the first time since 1938. I saw them play in Derby one year and at Nottingham Forest the next. Since then, I have seen only television matches, although my son and I went to Chicago in 1994 and when he suggested we walk past Soldier Field just so he could say he "heard a World Cup match", I got on the phone and amazed myself by finding tickets to the Germany-Belgium match. We had a day out which I shall never forget, and the high price of the tickets (I think they were $200 U.S. each) now seems insignificant compared to the value of the memories.

Rock-solid football supporters are rare here, but I came across a little lad wearing Manchester United sweatshirt at a school I visit once each week or so. He came all the way from Wexford, where my maternal grandfather was born, and I used to pass my magazines on to him when I had read them. One day he told me "We're troo to da final" before the FA Cup Final. He has since gone back to Wexford, and I miss the lad. I have a good friend who lived in Belfast for a long time, and he also supports United. We attend the rare matches shown at a bar here. A few years ago, when the FA Cup Final was shown live (9:00 am here), he showed up at my front door at 8:05 and barged past me to turn on the television set before I could explain that he was an hour early. Every year we have a bet which involves his buying me a meal in a Chinese restaurant if United finish in the top 3. I have never had to buy him a meal, but if the team should ever finish below that level, it will be my turn. I plan to be very large from eating his meals by that time.

I joined the CP Cheah mailing list just weeks before Eric Cantona's famous kung-fu kick, and the list means a great deal to me. I feel like I have 2000 friends, and following a match on the IRC is fun, especially when I can exchange a few messages with some of the people I have come to know. I have seen only 2 people from the list; Liz and I met Steve Edge in Vancouver in '96, and I met Mike Baspaly and his father in early '97. I have also spoken to Barry Leeming on the telephone. I was privileged to join the DA list when it began, and I think the world of everyone on it.

One day, I hope to meet everyone on the list, so watch out!

Copyright (C) William Stevens 1997 All rights reserved.
No part of this article may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the author.

All the best -Bill in Winnipeg