Football is about emotion. Strip that out and at its core it’s a pretty crappy game with a sack of air being kicked about. The reason I absolutely love it is about that emotion, the love for Utd and the love that is returned by the players. Its not true at all that it’s all the exception, there are hundreds of Utd players who have been and gone without shitting all over the fans and their legacy. People came to this club knowing nothing and then left as fans, see Rio, Evra, Vidic etc. They grew their affection while at the club just as the players grow in the hearts of the fans.
I will say, I would only have this reaction to one player and that’s Ronaldo. He’s just been a massive influential figure on my life. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of footage over and over again from him in a Utd shift and as I say it’s different when you idolise someone while growing up. You can claim it’s silly to respect his character but ultimately he’s been a model professional who has worked exceedingly hard to get to where he is. That’s admirable in any profession. I can tell though that he’s always been a person whos rubbed you up the wrong way so I’d say honestly you probably don’t really get it.