Split loyalties already?

So tomorrow the USA plays England in the World Cup (ABC 1:30pm EST) and it's being dubbed here as the most important day in US Soccer history. It is after all the Soccer Rookies vs Soccer Nation, we invented the game and it is our sporting passion.

I will be parked in front of the TV for most of the next month, watching all the big games whichever nations are involved, I have my highlighted schedule at the ready. As I type this I am supporting France against Uruguay and it's very rare for me to support France let me tell ya! But I'm a little torn, as Evra of Manchester United (my team) is the French captain.

I feel sorry for Americans, because this is the world's largest sporting event but they just don't get it, and miss out on a worldwide party of massive proportions. There is hope though, Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the USA, thanks to youth soccer teams. Maybe twenty years from now, I'll have some locals showing some interest in the 'beautiful game' with me.

So where will my loyalties be, well let'sjust say the flag of St George was raised on our flag pole this morning as the World Cup started and it will stay up for a month, until England wins the World Cup!

I always feel most homesick during the big soccer events. If you've never been in England during a big match, you can't even comprehend the national fervour and passion for our team. The streets are literally deserted when England has a crucial game and it's the one time we all fly our flags.

It just ain't the same living here, if I run down the street with my flag chanting Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land - I'll get some very strange looks! So I guess the Hubster will just have to put up with me running a few laps of the backyard tomorrow when we win.

However this was a FAR bigger win....

Manchester United were crowned the soccer European Champions tonight in Moscow after beating Chelsea on penalties.

This was historic. The 3rd time they have won the top prize in the 'club' soccer world, 40 years since their first win and far more significantly 50 years since the Munich air disaster, when the majority of the Man Utd team at the time, known as the 'Busby Babes' were killed in a plane crash.

The last time they won and they came home for the parade, I drove 4 hours (due to traffic) from Watford to Stoke on Trent and then had to dump my car because some twat had overturned a lorry and the M6 was blocked. So then I caught a train into Manc’, spent 2 hours sprinting around the streets to get the best viewpoints along the route, wave, sing, chant and cry. Then I climbed back on a train, with an upset stomach and had to deal with ‘the drizzlings’ and a BR loo back to Stoke. Then had to hitch a lift back to my car and drive home to Watford down the M40 in the most horrendous floods and rain. Stopped for a quick kip I was so exhausted at 2am still on the M40. Made it home, got 2 hrs sleep and then went to work - BUT IT WAS WORTH EVERY SECOND.

It was also the year they did the treble of the Premier League, the European Cup and the FA Cup and I was actually at the final in Wembley Stadium for that game.

Ryan Giggs or 'Giggsy' is to the right holding the cup, my all time favourite player and soccer hero. He just broke the record for the most games played by any player at Man Utd and is a legend, he has played for them since he was a boy. This team also discovered David Beckham as a 10yr old and turned him into who is today.

Ok enough....I know to most of you this is all no big deal, but to me having been a fan since childhood, it means everything :-)

Champions!

I know this doesn't mean much to most of my readers, but it means an awful lot to me, so I am posting it anyway :-)

Manchester United won their 17th Championship (soccer), 10th under Sir Alec Ferguson (Coach) and my boy Ryan Giggs (he's holding the cup) scores the crucial goal. You just don't get much better than that....but it will in 2 weeks when they beat Chelsea for the Champions League (European Cup) in Moscow.

Glory, Glory Man Utd :-)