Jamie Evans

Why Blue?

My first experience with City came in the 1981 F.A.Cup final. I say experience, but it was of a TV nature, on the old black and white in the spare room ’cause Mom was watching some godforsaken soap. City were, as ever, the underdog. I was only 8 years old and one of my habits when watching sport of any nature was to support the weaker team/individual, whatever. Well, we all know what happened… you know, the big Argentinian with long black(?) hair and beard. It wasn’t so much the losing that bothered me, but more the fact that my then 7 year old brother had been supporting Spurs and wouldn’t let me forget it for another couple of weeks. Of course, I found myself defending the City cause, and before I knew what was happening, I had created a tendency to look out for the City result every Saturday.

Yes, I went through the 80’s with City, and what an experience it was. Being young at the time, I couldn’t understand the finer details of football and wondered what could be so wrong with a club that they could go up and down like a bloody yo-yo so often! But, with City I have come to realise that sometimes there just aren’t any reasons and there needn’t be any… you just know. When meeting the likes of Cardiff in the F.A. Cup 4th Rd (’94), you don’t know why, but you just get the feeling it’s gonna be one of those days. Taking this season into consideration, how can one team be so inconsistent that they be one of only 2 clubs that win at Ewood Park, and yet be the same team that had the honour of being one of only 4/5(?) teams that could lose to Leicester… at home?!?!? Makes you wonder.

Yet despite all the goings-on at City (which incidentally reads like something from “Tales of the Unexpected”), I have supported them through the good and bad, mostly of the latter kind. I love everything about the club… from the players to the colours (blue became my favourite and now has a large influence on my shopping habits, i.e. blue shampoo to blue dishes etc…!!). Yes, I’m hooked, and if we were to ever find ourselves in the 3rd Division (worse things have been known to happen), I’d still be a Blue. If they were to ever find themselves in the lower echelon, although I optimistically emphasise that I can’t ever see it happening, I would have the good fortune of being able to see my first City match. I live in Torquay, home of “The Gulls”, my home club, and thus for my live experiences with the football League/Premiership I must rely on 3rd Division football. I have never seen City in action or ever been to Manchester, so some may think I jumped on the bandwagon in ’81 and am not a real supporter, but I like to think that after sticking with them for 14 years now, I can be regarded as a “true” Blue. The day I win the National Lottery though, I’ll be there with a season ticket and maybe a donation or two towards buying a first/another (delete according to individual taste!) decent player! Well, I can dream… The day I see City in flesh and blood, and not on the antiquated B/W will truly be a good day.

High Points: The 2nd Division campaigns of the’80s and naturally the 5-1.

Low points : Cardiff ’94 and seeing the pitch invasion when losing to Spurs (them again), also in the Cup, a few years back.

As for my brother? Well, he flirted with Spurs, but in the last couple of years he’s become… one of them. So, I’ve turned my attentions towards my younger sister and brother and am struggling to convince them of the finer qualities of Manchester City Football Club, when all they want to do is talk about our spoilt neighbours at OT. I won’t give up the cause… Although having a manager would seem pretty helpful… are you listening Mr. Lee?

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #100 on