Tears are not always a bad thing.
They mean that you care about what occurs. That you really were invested in something. They can occur in moments of both joy and sorrow.
But what happens when tears of sorrow accompany a flood of
happiness? How do you justify the weight of those tears? Shouldn’t the joyful torrent
swallow them whole?
Shouldn’t the tears of a derby defeat that starved off an inevitability
of triumph, which occurred a week onward, be meaningless?
Tell that to the sobbing Manchester City fans.
For understanding this pain, you need to first take a
glimpse into the history books. You don’t have to go far, just turn a few pages
back.
Come to the swinging 60s and 70s, a time of Total Football
and Johan Cruyff. Winning trophies and
honours was a pastime for the Blue half of Manchester, as they dominated the
post-Busby squads, earning the sobriquet of most exciting team in England. Ring
any bells?
Europe or England – no place was safe for the squads that
faced a team with legends like Francis Lee, Tony Book and Dennis Law, who
backheeled his former club Manchester United into relegation during this period.
It was rosy times for the Maine faithful, but things started
to darken soon. Two relegations in the 80s, a rotating carousel of managers and
splashing of funds to no return – soon they become the whipping boys of
Manchester again. While they witnessed United becoming a giant under Alex
Ferguson in the profitable Premier League era, their struggle was in just retaining
a place to the front seats of that spectacle in the top division.
European trophy winners at one time found themselves in the
third tier of the domestic scene. The fall was extraordinary. A move away from
the beloved Maine Road stadium, by 2008, the club was barely escaping administration.
And then came the Abu Dhabi United Group. Globalization had
been started by the introduction of the Premier League, but it was the
introduction of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea that started the commercial era
proper. And now Manchester City stood to benefit.
And benefit they did. No more a club trying to bring in
Premier League rejects, they entered a buffet and found stars of the game. It
was time to bring nostalgia to the present. Titles followed, with one memorable
one being Sergio Aguero’s winner in ‘Fergie time’ that broke a million hearts
across the city and more.
As Austin Powers would say – Yeah! Manchester City, Baby!
Manchester City have won the League. The title is theirs,
and people once again call them the most exciting team in England. Maybe in
time, with the visionary Pep Guardiola at the head, they will be more. A
domestic double, and more to come soon.
But tell all this to the Manchester City fans still crying, dejected
after a defeat to Manchester United. If history cannot be your teacher, let
something else be. Let emotion rule for once.
This was a match between siblings, admit it or not. Both of Manchester.
1st and 2nd in the League this season. The more successful
one taking on the one rising to the present day.
This was about shouting that I am here! I matter! We are equals,
maybe even better!
And the script dictated that at the end of the match, the
Blue colours will rise even as Red hearts fall. But then, football has rarely
stuck to the script. Instead it was left open mouthed as Manchester United
sparked to life and stole a win under the noses of their blue brothers.
This couldn’t be. This was to be the perfect platform to
show the change in supremacy in Manchester. This was about something other than a simple derby win.
So, what do you do when things go wrong today, when they go
wrong in front of the people for whom you have feelings so strong that hatred and
respect become an unholy tonic you are forced to down?
Don’t ever tell City fans to not cry. Let them. Cause football
matters, rivalry matters….and most of all, feelings matter.
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