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Old Trafford, home of United since 1910 |
They say you never forget your first time and, for this humble hack, the day I first laid eyes on her will be etched on my conscience until the day I die.
The day I first fell in love
Clinging to my late uncle's hand as I climbed the steps - which as a six year old seemed to go on forever - I will never forget the sight that greeted me. There, yawning out before me like the Grand Canyon, sat rows upon rows of red seats leading down to the edge of the pristine carpet and the sporting world's most iconic patch of turf. On that very patch of grass were the eleven men I would follow through thick and thin over the next 27 years. It was a cathedral of football fit for greatness. Even to my innocent, six-year-old eyes, you could smell the history and tradition. Honour and glory at every turn. And so, a lifelong love affair began.
This was Old Trafford. It was a place I would return to a few times a season over the next quarter of a century. The iconic, historic home of Manchester United. Our Manchester United. A place were dreams come true, legends are made, sporting heroes immortalised. A place for us mere mortals to escape surrounded by people with a common cause: to roar on the Reds at a place we called home. For Old Trafford is more than just the bricks-and-mortar dwelling of a football club. It is synonymous with the famous name of our once great club - from the bombs of World War II, to the tragedy of Munich and the triumphs and tribulations of magisterial managers Sirs Matt and Alex.
Old Trafford 1910 - 2031 (approx)
A place known throughout the world for dramatic, logic-defying last gaps acts of derring do by a collection of some of the greatest exponents of their craft the game has ever seen.
But now, Old Trafford's epitaph is written. For me and millions of other who have made the pilgrimage to follow our beloved team at our great theatre, it is indeed a sad day. 114 years of history gone in the blink of an eye . It was truly one of those moments where everyone remembers where they were when the news came through. 7/7, 9/11 and the day the Queen died (for the record, I was in a Wetherspoon's in Belfast). Add to that now the 11th March 2025: the day the sands of time ran out for one of the English game's grandest stages.
There is no doubt the stadium I first set eyes upon all those years ago is no longer fit for purpose. It was once the envy of the world, but now it is an ageing relic pickled in aspic. A leaking roof, the crumbling concrete, the cramped turnstiles and uncomfortable seats. Old Trafford has fallen into disrepair, left to rot as the Glazers have counted their millions in absentia across the pond.
Yet, strangely, it's shortcomings is why we all love it so much. It may have become a bit of dump, but it was our dump. A dump that meant so much to so many, me included. It's precisely because it was falling apart that made it unique. Nowhere else do you feel that sense of history and prestige. The statues, the homage to Munich, the stadium homing into view as you walk up Sir Matt Busby Way.
Soon, though, it will be no more: consigned to the annals of history as United set up shop on the same site but with a new 100k-seater stadium, as per BBC Sport. Probably called the Great INEOS Soccer Stage or some other horrible moniker. I hope I'm wrong but it's going to be soulless and the average man of the street simply will not be able to afford a ticket. It feels like the very essence of Manchester United is slowly being stripped away, brick by brick.
A lifetime of memories
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The proposed interior of United's new ground |
I understand nothing lasts forever and the ground was out-dated and in need of either re-development or rebuilding. The cost of the former was probably too great and so INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe opted for the latter. To move on, you have to let go of the past. Everton will soon get a new stadium, Tottenham's White Hart Lance was bulldozed and their new abode built on it. Anfield has been renovated - Old Trafford was existing in a time warp. They wanted a stadium befitting for a club of United's stature, something the north doesn't have, and this is the result.
I will never forget the memories of our famous old stadium. From that very first game back in 1997 to Amad's winner almost exactly a year ago, it has been a huge part of my life. It is time to leave our home behind and, in truth, it's probably for the best, but it is a wrench letting go of something you hold so dear. It's a time for new history to be made, to move forward into a new era with a ground which will be the envy of the world once again.
The longer lasting questions (what's the timeframe, who will pay for the ground, what will happen to the Munich clock, tunnel and the statues and where we will play in the meantime) can wait for another day. For now, whilst looking forward is always exciting, there is a sense of loss, of sadness, of the end of something. Part of my life has been taken away.
Farewell Old Trafford and thanks for the memories. We will miss you and love you forever.