Stuart Wells

Why Blue?

For most of my life, I’ve been two things: i) Blue and ii) asked Why? Being 38 now, I can remember back to the mid-sixties when I was of an age when impressionable kids are open to all sorts of influences, football being one of them. I supported whoever won each week, so by association I was a winner in front of my mates (Rag logic). Kids can be so cruel to losers.

By the age of eight or so, I was looking to break out of the norm and was looking for a team to support full time. Obviously teams like Southampton and Bournemouth were popular local choices, but for some reason I wanted to be different. I wanted to follow a team that I enjoyed being associated with rather than because it was local. City dropped straight into this category because they were all-powerful, winning leagues, cups, everything. So I became Blue. It was only later I realised that I had made more of a commitment than I thought.

Things started well as I rode the crest of success, and when the trophies dried up City were still competing with the best. The local Saints and Cherries supporters had all changed to ManUre, Spurs, Arse and Liverpool supporters and back, and back again, but I stayed put. This loyalty at an early age seemed to generate a quiet respect and even relegation did not draw any laughter.

I went through the teenage years like most kids, except that my seventies was spent divided between City, T.Rex, City, Cromby jackets, City, Alcohol, City 1976, Girls, City, more Alcohol etc., and when the blur cleared I was 21 and what’s this? City in the F.A. Cup final. Great… well not so great.

Following the defeat caused by that off-balance bearded bloke, and the semi slump after, my resolve was tested. Even my parents were saying, “support your local team” (Southampton finished runners up round this time, but still a bit rich coming from a West Ham and a Millwall fan). This was when I realised that City is for life, not just for trophies, and I was finally a mature Blue. I rejected all temptation and strengthened my resolve, and in doing so noticed that this respect aspect was a bit of a buzz. All my chameleon mates seemed as interested in City as their team of the day, and I think they would’ve liked to change to City, but they realised that City was not a ‘switching’ team. I look at the new generation of success followers: ManU, Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, even Blackburn a few years back, and cannot criticise too much because basically that was what I did thirty years ago. The difference is, that I’ll never change, I enjoy the aura surrounding being Blue and I’ll be ready when the good times return.

P.S. Thanks for beating Bournemouth.

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #434 on