Monday, February 18, 2008

Manchester United Conspiracy Theory


Growing up as a kid I read Matt Busby's autobiography shortly after watching the emotional night that was Manchester United 4 Benfica 1. I reckon that such events can seriously affect the team you end up supporting. Growing up in Liverpool with a dad who stood on the Kop habitually post World War could have also turned my head.I am glad to say that neither held enough draw, even when trophy after trophy headed their collective ways.

With remembrances of Munich '58 still fresh, I can still remember with much affection as an 8 year old in the 60's, reading about Duncan Edwards . "He was some player" is the general consensus - no hype or multi million dollar endorsement, which is enough for me.

In all the media shenanigans of the last month or so, the vicarious memory of Duncan Edwards has been central to my sense of remembrance of the human tragedy that was Munich - Greatness snuffed out. The spirit of football snuffed out. Which makes it a crying shame to think that Manchester United FC, central players in the whole process of remembering the dead and their loved ones, chose to depict the flowers of Manchester as AIG sponsored clothes horses.

We have to be thankful that the marketing men didn't feel the need to include the club's official airline partners Air Asia. Having got it so right in so much of their commemorations, in one single commercially motivated moment they showed the barren nature of our modern day money, money, money state of Football.

Sick innit.

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