Here’s one kind of reason to be blue; and here’s another kind of reason to be blue. Here, on the other hand, is a reason not to be.
Prior to a certain football match yesterday, I open my dnoc where I mostly do – at the sport (this way I get to postpone seeing the ‘no-WMD etc and so forth’ sections) – and in an article by Daniel Taylor I read of a certain Kevin Cummins complaining about the treatment of Manchester United by the media. Says Kevin:
“I’ll never forget Des Lynam introducing Match of the Day on the night of their first title success for 26 years with the immortal words: ‘At last the league championship comes home’.”
Cummins blames what he calls the “Man U-loving media” and explains: “The press are compliant in the deception that Man U are ‘the world’s greatest football club’. Chant the mantra often enough and the public will believe anything. It’s pathetic.”
Run that one past me again: the ‘Man U-loving media’? Kevin Cummins is evidently a Manchester blue, but not to put too fine a point on it, this is just plain ridiculous. It’s about like ‘Iraq war-supporting Guardian’, or the ‘judiciously impartial BBC’ (same issue).
‘World’s greatest football club’, on the other hand – I can’t think of a single counter-consideration.