Terry Baines

Why Blue?

In September 96 I went to Salford University to do my MBA. There I met Martin Tyley (Hi Marty!) from Disley, a good lad and a true Blue. We chatted about football every now and then and he started telling me about Manchester City which got me more and more curious to actually see what it’s all about. He suggested that I go with him to Maine Road to see City playing Portsmouth, I think, in the First Division then. I have to say that I was more impressed with the crowd there than the match itself. I went back to Maine Road with Martin a few more times but I still wasn’t really a true City fan. That was until the day we went to get tickets for the Middlesbrough FA Cup home tie when we queued for more than three hours on a rainy day. The queue was perhaps a kilometre long when we arrived at about 10 or 11 in the morning but the tickets were sold out when we were only a couple of metres away from the window. I never got to see that game live and City lost by a goal, but I probably enjoyed being in the queue and seeing for myself all the tremendous loyalty and passion among the fans despite the bad times the club was having.

When I look back now, I know that that was the day I became a City fan. Prior to that, I had never seen City win any titles nor witnessed any good times they had (apart from winning the Second Division play-off final maybe). It was Martin and all those magnificent City fans who turned me into a Blue.

You probably realise how hard it is for me to be the one and only City follower in the whole of Bahrain (please tell me if you know of any other Blues in here so I got get in touch with!) at a time when about 99% of the population believe they support the Trafford team. But like all true Blues, I’m proud of it and I’m City till I die!

Why Blue?

I am about to give my age away when I answer the question Why Blue? It was in the days when not every household had a television. In fact the only member of my family to have one was my Uncle Charlie. Consequently all the family, friends and neighbours descended on his house on cup final day. I was dragged along and told to be quiet and play with my toys. It was City vs. Newcastle and we lost. The following year we were back again for the special occasion. This time City vs. Birmingham. We won and Bert Trautmann broke his neck. In my child’s mind I thought City must be a good side as they always went to Wembley. The following season my father decided I was old enough to be taken to matches and took me to watch the team he had supported all his life, Oldham Athletic. I wasn’t having any of this. I wanted to see my hero, Bert Trautmann. My father, who would do anything for me took me to Maine Road where I still go to this day. I always think that he had a soft spot for City, although they were always his second team as Oldham Athletic will always be my second team.

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #540 on