Andy Howell

Why Blue?

Until recent months, this question led to the loud lament, “Oh why, oh why, oh why?” My story is a rather curious tale. Born in Dalston in North East London and having lived for 36 of my 38 years in Essex, I should be a natural supporter of Tottenham, Arsenal or the Hammers. I could even have chosen to follow one of the two Essex U*t*ds, Southend or Colchester. But no, all of this would have been far too easy, and where the London sides were concerned, generally much less painful.

So, why Blue? Some of you who were around in the 1960’s may remember a situation comedy produced by Granada TV called “The Dustbin Men” and the wonderful central character, Winston. I cannot recall who played the part, but those who saw the series will remember that Winston was a huge City fan; he was also one of my childhood heroes. Among the more memorable moments from the series were classic scenes where Winston arrived back at the depot weeping tears of joy having had the privilege of emptying Colin Bell’s dustbin, or, having won a bet with his mates, making them all sit at an empty Maine Road on a Tuesday afternoon chanting City songs as a forfeit. Perhaps my all time favourite scene involving Winston was one in which he was emptying bins into the dustcart wearing his trademark City hat and scarf. A scrawny kid wearing a Rags hat appeared and asked Winston if he supported City because he worked with rubbish, whereupon Winston picked the kid up and threw him into the back of the dustcart along with all the rubbish. I thought that this was an absolutely wonderful way to deal with Rags and resolved immediately to become a City fan. I have been one ever since.

One thing I can never complain about as a Blue is boredom. City will always find a way to keep your interest even though they drive you to the brink of suicide more often than not in grief and embarrassment. When Francis Lee coined the “Cups for Cock Ups” phrase, he hit the nail on the head. Until this season, what other fans of a team would be watching them cruising at three-nil in the last five minutes of a game knowing that there is a distinct possibility that the final score could be four-three to the opposition? Funnily enough, I once saw this happen at Stamford Bridge when accompanying an exiled Bolton supporting friend to a game against Chelsea. Bolton came back from three-nil down with ten minutes to go to win four-three. Typically, when City were being hammered five-one by Chelsea in the Mickey Mouse Cup some years ago, we could only manage to pull back to five-four in the last ten minutes, but that’s City for you.

A City fan’s life in Essex can be a rather amusing experience as there are plenty of opportunities for Rag baiting. However, you have to have a thick skin as most jokes are still made at City’s expense. None of this stops me wearing my constantly growing collection of City shirts with pride and you would be surprised at the number of people who see the shirt and admit that they too are fans. Perhaps the greatest thing about being a “Cockney” Blue is the friends that I have made on my travels, especially those from the Dane Bank branch of the supporters’ club in Denton. You could not hope to meet a nicer bunch of people (mine’s a pint of Robinson’s please, Doody). Not only that, I have also travelled through most of England and Wales, watching the Blues and indulging one of my other great passions, drinking bitter. Highs and lows there have been, however this is all part and parcel of being a Blue and anyway, would any of us want it any other way?

I have often been asked why I continue to fanatically support City given their recent record, particularly last season when it all looked as though it would go wrong before the spectacular run in after Christmas. My response to these people is simple. Supporting a football team is like marriage, it is for life. The only exception is that you cannot divorce your team, you follow them whatever happens. Anybody who tells you different is not a true fan.

CTID

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #559 on