[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 17 September 2014]

 

28 January 2014, Tuesday

This morning, we bade farewell to YS, as he embarked on the final leg of his own epic trip, which had him travelling across multiple European cities for the past month already. Today, YS would traverse 53km from Manchester to a neighbouring city to watch his beloved football club in action at night, before catching a whirlwind flight back to Singapore the next morning. So with YS gone, it was just the two of us, IJ and me, left.

After having a simple breakfast in the hostel, IJ and I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon free & easy, as we each pursued our interests. IJ was making a trip to Etihad Stadium because he had promised to get a Manchester City jersey for our mutual friend. I was not interested to set foot anywhere near Etihad Stadium, so I didn’t tag along with IJ.

Our friend had dared IJ to wear his Manchester United jersey to walk into the Man City store and buy the jersey. And IJ being IJ, he did! And he had a photo to prove it. As he recounted the story later, the female cashier was quite bemused and hid her face in the picture, but we were pretty sure she got that quite a lot – people trying to be funny.

I spent my time wandering the streets of Manchester, catching glimpses of the ultramodern National Football Museum, gothic-looking Manchester Cathedral, the stately Chetham’s School of Music, Hard Rock Café at Printworks and also Chinatown.

For lunch, I went budget and grabbed a couple of sandwiches from Marks & Spencer. There were so many options and all the sandwiches looked yummy. I had a hard time choosing and I eventually settled on my favourite Cheese & Onion and Egg, Tomato Salad Cream. If only our local M&S has an equally impressive range of sandwiches and fresh foods.

I also found an Oxfam store selling used items, and after trawling through the music section, I was rewarded with two MJ treasures. The first one was a super rare E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Storybook vinyl album, narrated by Michael Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones with music by John Williams. I have spent years looking for it but to no avail, so I was really, really pleased to find it. The box was not in mint condition but it was still in quite good shape overall. And it was going for only GBP9.99! What a steal. The second find was a 1984 Michael Jackson Farewell My Summer Love 7” UK vinyl single that was just as rare, and a worthy addition to my collection. I left the Oxfam store a happy man.

I went back to the hostel with my bounty and rejoined IJ, who had also done some shopping himself, wit Primark being his new favourite store. After a shower, we put on our red jerseys and headed out for dinner before travelling to Old Trafford yet again to catch the BPL match between Manchester United and Cardiff City. We were super excited and arrived well before the 7:45pm kick-off time.

As we walked from the train station towards the stadium, we encountered several stalls selling burgers and grills, and also many booths selling scarves and other unofficial merchandise, building up the anticipation nicely. When we arrived at the stadium itself, the crowd was already forming, and it was exciting just be there to soak in the atmosphere.

We spent a good 45 minutes walking around the stadium and taking photographs, purchasing the Inside United match day programme and magazine, and buying some doughnuts that were sinfully good. We then made our way to the N412 entrance that led us to our seats at block NW3429. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get good seats, and our row 42 seats were way back and high up in the stands, far removed from the thick of the action. But mind you, the tickets weren’t cheap.

The match ticket itself cost GBP46.35, and we each had to pay GBP32 for a one-year membership to join the official Man Utd fan club before we were even allowed to purchase a match ticket. The membership fee was as good as a sunk cost because we would not be travelling back to Manchester to watch another match within a year. So the total cost of the ticket was GBP78.35 (approx. S$160), roughly the price I would pay to watch a concert.

To IJ, it was a dream come true to catch a live match at Old Trafford, and one to strike off the bucket list. For me, it was a twice in a lifetime experience, but every bit still as exciting. The last time I caught a match here in 2009, when we hosted Bolton Wanderers, it was an afternoon kick-off on a Saturday. This time, it was an evening kick-off on a weekday, so it had quite a different feel to it, somewhat like a Champions League match.

There were also two other talking points for the match tonight. First, we would witness the debut of Juan Mata, Man Utd’s most expensive signing (at the time). Second, it was the homecoming of one of Man Utd’s most prodigal and best-loved players, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who was returning to Old Trafford for the first time as manager of Cardiff City. Both of them would receive a rapturous response when the announcer read their names later.

As 7:45pm drew closer, the stands slowly filled up. The famed Stretford End was on our immediate right and that was where the most devoted and dedicated fans were seated. By the time the referee blew his whistle, Old Trafford was ringing with 75,000 fans chanting and cheering at the same time.

If you ask me what is the difference between watching a live BPL football match in the stadium and watching it on TV, I would honestly say that it is much better to watch it on TV, because you get multi angle views, close-ups and slow motion replays that enable you to catch every tackle, header and goal. You also get on-air voiceovers from the commentators who provide statistics and other interesting tidbits and trivia. When you watch a match live in the stadium, you do not get any of these. And especially at Old Trafford, there are no screens at all anywhere inside the stadium, so once you miss a moment, it’s gone forever. You can’t replay it. And because we were seated so high up, we didn’t have the greatest view.

But of course, there is still a big difference when you watch a match live in the stadium, and that is why 75,000 faithful fans turn up at Old Trafford each time Man Utd plays at home. The main difference is the atmosphere. You simply cannot replicate the feeling of being there, immersed in the singing and chanting and clapping. The passion and fervour of your fellow fans is infectious and really provides the so-called 12^th man for the home team.

Thankfully, Man Utd won the match 2-0, with goals by Robin van Persie and the much-maligned Ashley Young. Each time a goal was scored, Old Trafford would erupt in jubilation and you could see the whole stadium bouncing up and down, people hugging each other and shouting like kids. It was euphoria that only football can produce.

The match ended faster than it felt and 90 minutes flew by in an instant. As the locals quickly filtered out of the stadium, IJ and I lingered for a moment just to soak in whatever remaining atmosphere there was left. A steward came over and handed us a team sheet each, which was given out to the media I believe. We thanked him profusely for the souvenir. It must have been pretty obvious that we were tourists, and he’d known that we would appreciate such stuff, unlike the locals, to which it was a weekly affair. So we gleefully left Old Trafford with a nice memento each.

By the time we got back to our hostel, it was close to midnight. With that, our chapter in Manchester was coming to an end. Tomorrow, we would be embarking on the last leg of our trip, travelling up north to the beautiful Scotland. For now, it was sweet dreams and GGMU!