Arne Maehlum

Why Blue?

I am from Otta in Norway. It’s a place about 200 miles north of Oslo. English Football is very popular in Norway, and these days a lot of Norwegians are playing in England. I have been growing up with it, and in school we all had our own team (today every kid supports f***ing Man Utd).

When I was about 9 years old (1974), I started following City. City were one of the best teams then, so my choice was a good one. Every week I bought a magazine called ‘Shoot’. Later I bought ‘Match’, where I could read City’s ratings every week. My walls at home were covered with pictures of City, and every Saturday I sat with my radio, listening to World Service on BBC. It was not easy to tune in and it was not everywhere in the house I could hear it clearly. I often ended up sitting in a small room where my mother used to sew.

In the nineties I have been to Maine Road five times. One of the games I watched was the defeat against Huddersfield last season. That was ugly, but I have always loved visiting Manchester. Last autumn I was there with my wife and she loved it too. I’ll be back soon.

These days it’s easier to get news about City. I use the Internet, I have The Pink and City Magazine sent to me and now I have MCIVTA (I am a new subscriber). But I am not able to watch games on TV. Sometimes they show the goals on Sky News, but I am hungry for more. I have tried to get Sky Sports but no one outside the UK is allowed to subscribe. That is a shame. No TV company in Norway is interested in the 2nd Division, so I have to follow City on BBC Radio 5. I think I need a good friend in the UK who can subscribe for me (Help!).

Let’s all hope that this season will bring us promotion to the 1st Division, but will it be through the play-offs?

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #498 on