It's been a year and a half that I left India to come to Newcastle. Understandably what was on my mind all this time was when will I go to the one place on earth I have always dreamed of going to, the theatre of dreams, Old Trafford. I put it off for far too long and too many little things have come in the way. No more! I had enough of waiting and watching... I had to go...the date was set...26th December 2012..I decided to wish myself a belated Merry Christmas...
Ironic that the game i chose to go for was the one between us and Newcastle United. All the planning in the world couldn't get us a ticket but I said what the hell...lets just go to Manchester and see if we can manage something... there weren't even any of the tours available at the time of us leaving Newcastle but my friend Manu and me just took off with just a small rucksack, some cash and a prayer...
I cannot tell you what it was like to lay my eyes on heaven for the very first time. I have heard of love at first sight. Now I know what it means. Your heart skips a few beats, you get all giddy and all you want to do is run to it and at the same time try and keep calm... and then I lost it. My jaw was on the floor...I was here!! I was home!! you know the banner that says Manchester is my heaven...well that is what OT is to me.... every inch of it looks so perfect.. there is a certain romance associated with the club and it is evident with the way the steward, the guy selling you banners and programmes and the fans talk to you about the club... For the first time I was among people who understood my fanaticism for the club. you start to sing all the utd songs you can think off without even a moment's hesitation.. I was home...
Then reality hits...what about a ticket? of course we cheekily tried our luck at the box office for a game that was sol out weeks ago..the guy at the counter was suppressing a chuckle while almost telling us to move on...we even tried to get some the usual way us back home do...you know the 'black' way...the tout says 150..I love man utd...but even I cant get that kinda money...we decided to see if he decides to drop prices...almost 30 mins later just at the point of saying maybe we should go find a pub or something a man walks by with his 9 year old and whispers "need tickets?"... casually im like yeah? how much?..he is like about 50 quid, west stand.. I'm like yeah, that's cool and as I walk it hits me!! west stand.... that's... THAT'S...SURELY NOT...STRETFORD END!...the guy is like yeah..we have our season tickets there and i get a few from the academy but my son dropped out...you may ask what academy...well the guy just happened to be the guy who coaches the u10 and u-12 kids at carrington!! his own kid plays for Oldham academy...yes, the same school a certain Paul Scholes comes from!!! We still couldn't believe our luck!!!
anyway to cut a long story short we get in, pay the guy and scramble to get to the ground... the last time I had a moment like this was when I laid eyes on the Taj for the first time. my mind went blank! for a few seconds all I could do was just soak in the atmosphere.. I have watched the team play before but to see them on home turf being cheered on by the crowd was so new to me...we settled in and waited for the game to start...not even one clue of the roller coaster awaiting us!
What a game!! I mean WHAT A GAME!! It was perfect!! In every aspect...I got to see united make a comeback...not once, twice but THRICE!! my heart was pounding throughout...I barely sat and sang my heart out!! danced with strange men, swore like a sailor, and pleaded to the higher powers for victory...watched Alex have a go at the ref, watched Scholes and Giggs calm the team down and watched an inspired comeback after giving away some rubbish goals!! What a finish...literally when it was 90 Min exact we find a winner.. OK so it wasn't in "fergie time" but still very late and what a wave of celebrations broke out around me...73,000 voices blowing away the measly 2000 from the toon...came out chanting and singing on the streets...
Now like I said before we had nothing with us...so when I called back home to talk about the game with Surabhi, she was like she can see some tour dates opened up online...another twist of fate! got two tickets for the tour the next day itself!!
I have always maintained the belief that if we plan something it mostly never works out and when you just things by instinct it works out better then you imagine! I had another chance the next day to spend even more time with my beloved club and stadium...did the usual tour and went through the museum and other aspects many fans have done before and countless will do after...but what will remain with me in my heart is that I made it to the one place I have always loved without question, and sat among the most loyal of them fans and sang songs I always have had to do alone...you know that one dream you all have...the one where your the most happiest...you may have replayed it a thousand times in your head only to wish for it to one day come true...My Biggest dream always was sitting in Old Trafford at Stretford End among the most loyal fans and cheer on the team I love to victory...no matter how many times I saw the dream it never lived up to the actual feeling of doing it... I can still hear the crowd inside my head, I see Chicharito and Fergie walking to us celebrating the win, I can still feel the atmosphere inside the ground. It was so easy for us to say comeback kings but it was that night when I completely understood the DNA ingrained in every aspect, every inch of that club... It screams at you when the team is down...the belief is beyond words and all I could hear from the players to the managers to the fans was never give up! never surrender!!
I hereby proclaim that the earth now can end itself whenever it wants, there is nothing more for me to find.
I have found peace, I have found zen,
It goes by the name of Man united, and Old trafford is its den.
WE LOVE UNI-TED, WE DO,
WE LOVE UNI-TED, WE DO,
WE LOVE UNI-TED, WE DO,
OOOH UNITED WE LOVE YOU!
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