Olivia Marisa Gerrard aged 6 days

Why Blue?

1. Because my daddy is from Manchester and he says there only one football team there.
2. Because my mummy’s from Munich (note “from” and not “is a”) and she loathes the Rags since they beat Bayern in the ’98 Champions’ Cup Final (she also likes the Blues because she’s watched them play more than any other team).
3. Because I was born 3 hours before we did Leeds 2-1, which made daddy particularly happy.
4. Because Moonchester is really cute in a TeleTubbie kind of way.
5. Because 50% of my wardrobe is adorned with a City motif.
6. Because all the City fans in Holland are jolly decent sorts.
7. Because that awfully nice Mr. Wiekens is from Holland just like me.
8. Because Daddy says the Rags play at a place called the Swamp and he also refers to the contents of my Pampers as being swamp-like, so they can’t be very nice can they?
9. Because Mr. Weah’s footie boots look nice to me (daddy says they look daft but I think he’s still unbalanced by the white Alan Ball boots he owned when he was younger).
10. Because I’m not really capable of rational thought. Even simple decision making and routine logical interpretation are far beyond my current horizon of ability. Now, although this would normally guarantee me a lifetime of indifferent armchair support for a team in red shirts, I have just about enough common sense to trust the values and beliefs of my parents, thereby ensuring for me a lifetime of excitingly emotional unpredictability.

So Why Blue? Because, when all is said and done and you’re only 6 days old, it’s instinctive.

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #641 on