A Whole New Ball Game

1. An introduction to me

Thursday, 16th September, 2010

Manchester, United Kingdom


If you came from Manchester you were either a red or a blue. I was a blue. Always had been. Always will be. My Grandad used to work in the colliery at Pendlebury, and he was as hard as nails. He used to play himself, and was a blue all his life. "Don't trust the red scum" he'd say. "They're not like us, you know." Do you know? He never missed a Cup Final in 46 years!

The Reds. Well, what can you say about them? "Dockers and Catholics; Navvies and the Irish" Grandad used to say. He was right I suppose, just look at the communities around Ordsall and and Old Trafford - you'd often see the green, white and orange tricolour of Ireland flying on Ayres Road, alongside the red devil emblem. I don't know what the Pope will think when he visits Manchester as part of his state visit later this week. Catholic's flying a flag with Satan on it!

Manchester's a football city. Everyone is aware of that. There are other sports, I suppose. Near the Reds stadium at Old Trafford you've got the Lancashire Cricket Ground, and I like a bit of cricket now and then.

You've even got soccer, the Association rules, but that's an east Manchester thing, and the only club worth watching is Newton Heath, and even they're only supported by the few thousand nutters that call themselves the green and gold army.

But for me it'll always be proper football. The Rugby code, as it's officially called. And my club, Swinton Lions. The blues. Best team in the world.
 
Note:

This is planned to be a short series of 5 or 6 posts looking at a very different English (an ultimately, world) sporting landscape.

The POD is 29th August 1895, and 21 northern English rugby clubs failing to reach agreement on breaking away and forming rugby league.
 
Now that's got me thinking about the possibilities/ramifications for places further south {Australia & New Zealand} as well.
 
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