One of the main reasons I hate Man U is because it seems like everyone likes them. At least everyone in America who pretends to or really does give a damn about football. It seems like some Americans want to seem cultured or maybe they've been to London once on your typical touristy trip and decided to get a Manchester United shirt because that's the only team they've ever heard of. It just seems like the auto team. It's the team that the typical American tourist will choose because it's the only one they've ever heard of so they will walk in any shop in London and pick up a shirt with any old players name on the back for a souvenir. They don't know the player's shirt they've just payed for is Wayne Rooney's, two time winner of the Premier League, winner of the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League and also the Football League Cup. They don't know that he was the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history in 2002 at sixteen years old and that he was the youngest player to play for England at seventeen. To them, it is just something to wear. They don't watch every game just to see their favourite players, and learn more about the rules. They haven't committed to memory random facts about the football club and footballers. They haven't downloaded a special application for their phone that alerts them when their team scores.
With that said, I suppose what really bothers me is not the club itself, but the fact that most of it's American fans aren't really fans at all. I think that's mostly true, but then why do I get so annoyed at the club? Maybe it's turned into a deeper kind of hate. Maybe seeing random people around campus wearing the shirts or backpacks or jackets bearing the red and gold shield strikes a deeper chord in me. Maybe it's just the fact that I think they are fake and that they were once tourists in that wonderful country and didn't even seem to notice the fact that the majority of shirts in any London tour shop are Manchester United ones even though their stadium is about 200 miles away from the shop they arbitrarily chose, while other teams such as West Ham, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and about 40 other clubs play right there in that city.
And maybe I just hate them (fake fans) because they portray the typical American tourist who goes overseas for a vacation and, although they spent time there (taking pictures and clogging up the streets and almost getting hit by busses because they didn't look left), they didn't bother to really learn and gain insight into other cultures and ways of life. Instead they spend hours complaining about they rain, looking for the most Americanised restaurants they can find instead of broadening their horizons and sampling a native dish, and going into stores and looking for fanny packs (hehehe).
That all sounds pretty harsh and probably pretty stupid considering I am 1. an American, 2. I've been a tourist in London and have hit up most of the typical tourist spots and not only took pictures of my trip, but made a video of it as well, and 3. because I was almost hit by a giant red double-decker bus because I didn't look the right direction... twice (I am like the poster child of 'look left'). I don't want to be a tourist though. Or at least not a tourist who complains that everything is so different from America (if you want things to be like America then stay there!). I want to actually be cultured, not just have the appearance of it. I wan to go somewhere that's completely different from America and embrace the differences. I want to imagine other people's lives and live like they do. I want to speak their language and eat their food and go grocery shopping at Tesco! I want to go to their schools and play rounders with them at break. I want to learn how to play snooker. I want to watch their television shows while drinking tea and eating scones (pronounced sconz). Those last four kind of only apply to Britain. That was not intentional, I promise.
Also, I love the rain. I didn't even realise how much I loved it until I went to England. It's not the same in Texas though. The rain here is hot, sticky, and dirty. In England it's clean and fresh and cool and cleansing. It feels wonderful. It even smells good when it rains over there. It doesn't have that acidic smell. It feels like a shower after you've worked up a good sweat (despite the cool weather) hiking up Roseberry topping.
I've witnessed, first hand, the typical complaining tourist because it is none other than my father. When we went to Disney World last New Years my dad would often complain that people didn't flush the toilets. Then he proceeded to blame it on the European tourists. He bothers me so much sometimes! They aren't animals! They have plumbing and electricity and Dr Pepper! They aren't heathens! They've grown out of the Dark Ages! It's ridiculous. He reminds me of Vernon Dursley. How he complains about everything all the time. It's like he keeps a list of things to complain about and will pull it out if things get too quiet. I suppose I'm not being much better in this blog though. I've pretty much complained the whole time. It's probably made for a pretty crappy read. Sorry.
This is random, but the fifteenth hour (3 o'clock) is the longest hour of the day. I'm pretty sure of it anyhow. It seems to have lasted forever this last week. Weird, I know.
