The game I love.

It's been almost 11 years. I can't believe it's been so long since I started following football casually.

Been a supporter of the club Manchester United ever since the summer of 2013 I believe. How have I started supporting this club? You'll laugh when you find out why I even started supporting football. 

The summer of 2013, I was 9 years old. Every kid loves summer break after school, and so did I. I was excited to go to my grandparents' house in my father's hometown like always. I used to enjoy playing board games with my cousins over there. Uno, Chess, Ludo what not. 

As always, during one of our play "sessions", one of my aunts brought us some stationary things as a gift. One of them was a stationary pouch, red in colour, with a giant logo in the centre. A club logo with a devil facing forward holds a trident with both hands. And my 9-year-old self couldn't think of a logo cooler than that. I had no idea about football; up until that point, I only knew Ronaldo and Messi and even Beckham, having heard once or twice about him from my mother; we barely played that game in school at that point because my school didn't really want us playing ball games like cricket or football, thinking we might damage properties. 

I had used that pouch for 3 or 4 years. We were slowly allowed to play football more often as we grew older. I had gotten familiar with most of the basics and the rules, including the offside rule. I still didn't play games as often because we didn't have a TV subscription to football channels. I followed the 2014 World Cup a bit; I loved Ronaldo but never supported Real Madrid, thankfully. I used to argue with another of my elder cousins, a Messi and Barcelona fan, about who was a better player. I agree with him now, but my younger self didn't. 

By this point, I knew Manchester United was a club that had its glory and was now going through a rough phase. I always had the option to support Real Madrid and Ronaldo, but that wouldn't be right. It was a process of falling in love with the club and learning more about its history rather than opening the Wikipedia page and going through every line. That was more fun.

In the summer of 2016, the Euros was the first tournament I followed properly by watching most of the games. Like every Ronaldo fanboy, I supported Portugal. The group stage was nerve-racking, Portugal having gone through to knockouts after finishing 3rd in the group, which I didn't know was possible until then and the crazy RO16 where England got stunned by Iceland. Griezmann having the tournament of his life, and Portgual fighting for its life in each and every game, barely making it through, led by the man Ronaldo himself. The injury he suffered in the final had me thinking it was over. France was too good. But that was when I witnessed the beauty of football. Portgual lift the trophy and Sir Alex Ferguson congragulating Ronaldo after the win satisfied the elated the United fan in me. 

2018 was the year I finally got to start watching United games more regularly because I was a little bit older now. The World Cup was over, we had a subscription to watch football games, and I could stay up late to watch the games. 

The likes of de Gea, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba were my favourite players in the club. But from the get-go, I understood that the club was really toxic. The media hates us; they hated us even when SAF was in charge. One wrong move, and the whole world is out to get you. Mourinho was sacked, and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was put in charge temporarily. Our run of form when he was put in charge was unforgettable. Pogba was revitalised. 

But then came Paris. We were beaten at home by PSG, and they dominated us on all fronts. I still remember the quote like yesterday, "Mountains are there to be climbed aren't they?"

Come 2nd leg, the team was struck with injuries, and there was no hope; we went into the game hoping we wouldn't get battered 5-0 or 6-0 or whatever. But the unthinkable happened. Lukaku scored a brace, and the Manc-born and bred talent Rashford, who always stepped up for us in big games, did it again and won us the game. Watching it live at 3am at night was a feeling I can never describe. That was and is still my greatest night as a United fan. 

2019 was the year I finally got myself a United kit. It was also the 20th treble-winning anniversary. That season was also when we signed my current favourite player, Bruno Fernandes. (They'll never make me hate him, btw)

My loyalty to the club has been tested many times since I started supporting the club. I have watched us get battered by Messi and Barcelona, by Liverpool, and By City, but I have also watched us beat Barcelona, Liverpool and City. I have watched us lose Cup finals in penalties, I have watched us perform insane comebacks or lose a winning game in the dying minutes.

But my loyalty never wavered, and I only kept admiring the club more because one thing I learnt from this club is that we always perform a miracle when the odds are stacked against us. The club has done it over and over again throughout its history. From the Busby Babes in '68, the treble-winning team in '99 or even something as simple as the PSG game, even though we didn't win anything ultimately. 

It's a life lesson for everyone, in general, to never give up and let the world say what it wants; you have a family who will root for you even at your lowest. United reminds me of my home because my parents have always been there for me when I had thoughts of giving up. It's a reassurance that they are always there for you. The us against the world mentality keeps me and the club going, and it will be the same no matter what. It's not just a sport. 

Thank you.