Manchester United Supporters: A Global Community
In every city where Manchester United plays, from its home in Old Trafford, Manchester, to its furthest locations on tour – whether exciting or challenging – it has an incredibly passionate fan base. Every day around the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 365 days a year, everyone living or working in Perth will wear Manchester United gear at any one time. Every day somewhere in Queensland hundreds of people will congregate to hang out at sports bars and restaurants with others wearing the team colors, cheering on the red devils and discussing what they hope to see on the football pitch. In Brisbane, this community exists as the Brisbane Manchester United Supporters Club, or BMUSC. For those of us who are proud members of the BMUSC, our ability to watch Manchester United matches with fellow fans in and around Brisbane, at first Fat Angelos, then Red Lion, and more recently, at Pig & Whistle, changed our expectations of what football experiences could be like. And the closer we have been to the pitch watching Manchester United at Old Trafford, Wembley, Etihad Stadium, Camp Nou, Amsterdam Arena, Aviva Stadium, Wembley, and Jalisco stadium (of course, there have been many others), the more we have come to understand why this club with over 300 million followers is truly special.
This understanding explains why a large percentage of BMUSC members travel to support their football club in person each season, from Australia and abroad. Many other passionate fans like those in the BMUSC, albeit not a prominent supporters group, travel each season to support their teams as well, far and wide – whether in Europe, Asia, America, or anywhere in-between. We’ve just witnessed such journeys this past football season alone, with fans making the incredible journey from Australia to India to witness back-to-back fixtures between Manchester City and Manchester United! And, as we approach next season’s intercontinental tour, fans are returning to the road in droves as they attempt to plan their next adventure. From hard tickets to hard-to-get tickets through the ticketing process, fan based groups coordinate on Facebook to discuss their attempts to get to the next game, share information about local towns and ticketing options, and make plans to meet up with other supporters, whether they’re from Perth, Brisbane, or anywhere across the world. It is truly a community in its own right.
Understanding and adhering to local and or regional laws and regulations are always important when traveling to support the team in person. Take the comprehensive understanding of New York’s seat belt regulations as an example as the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles provides in this publication that: “Under New York State law: all drivers and passengers in all seating locations must wear seat belts; all front-seat passengers of all vehicles must wear safety restraints; all children under the age of four must be restrained in an appropriate child safety seat; and all children under the age of sixteen must be restrained by a safety belt or child restraint system” and, that all passengers in buses, taxis, livery vehicles, and limousines are required to wear seat belts.” Without such protections, travelling supporters could be exposed to unnecessary risks in their journeys to support their favorite football team.
Supporting Manchester United, attending matches, and travelling is part of what makes being a member of BMUSC special and part of what allows these passionate fans to share their community with fellow supporters far and wide. Fun fact, while RMUSC was the first official supporters’ club in Western Australia, the Australian supporters’ communities began along the eastern seaboard before spreading west to bars, restaurants, and homes across Brisbane, Western Australia, and beyond. This is only possible through the collective support of BMUSC members to ensure that, through thick and thin, these fans can safely travel, as part of the community, to support their favourite team, Manchester United, all over the world.