Manchester’s standing as the country’s most popular university is not only down to the quality of education on offer. The city is also a world class venue for watching sport.
Manchester’s position as the undisputed capital of the North and England’s second city encompasses numerous cultural and social mediums - none more so than sport.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games presented a watershed moment, providing the perfect opportunity to showcase the culmination of the city’s marked transformation from post-industrial city to thriving metropolis.
The major sporting draws in Manchester, however, long predate any legacy left by the 2002 games.
‘Perhaps time will separate us, but nobody can deny that here, behind the windows of Manchester, there is an insane love of football, of celebration and of music’. These words, from United legend Eric Cantona, would be echoed by Blues as much as Reds.
The city has a feverish passion for football, and the cross-city rivalry between City and United is becoming ever-fiercer, largely due to the fact that for the first time in decades both sides have legitimate claims to domestic and continental success.
2011 saw City emerge from a 35-year wilderness in which they didn’t win a single trophy - their FA Cup victory over Stoke saw a much longed for piece of silverware provide the first glimpse that the petro-millions pumped into the club by gluttonously wealthy Abu Dhabi owners are starting to reap returns.
And now City fans head into the 2011/12 season with an optimism not seen for years. The marquee signing of Sergio Aguero has helped allay fears of talisman Carlos Tevez’s potential departure as City venture into the promised land of the Uefa Champions League for the first time. Nearly all City games go on general sale, with only the Manchester Derby in high demand, and tickets can be purchased by University students for as little as £10.
Manchester attracts thousands of students from across the globe, and one thing they all have in common is that they’ve heard of Manchester United. As City were finally lifting their hoodoo at Wembley, United were at a rain soaked Ewood Park lifting their nineteenth league title and thus becoming English domestic football’s most successful side – overhauling bitterest rivals Liverpool in the process.
Whilst this victory was slightly soured by a comprehensive mauling at the hands of FC Barcelona in the European Cup final, United’s championship win was a landmark moment – the product of twenty years of utter dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson. With over £50 million spent on new signings Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David De Gea, United are again strong favourites for the title - although they will hope to address a pressing lack of manpower in central midfield.
Whilst tickets for games at Old Trafford are in much higher demand than at Eastlands, numerous games will be available on general sale for University students.
Dominant though football is, Manchester’s sporting obsession runs far wider. A stone’s throw – or cover drive – away from Old Trafford football ground lies its namesake, the home of Lancashire Country Cricket Club. The ‘other’ Old Trafford is currently in the midst of a multi-million pound re-development, the aim of which is to bring Test Match cricket – and more pertinently a 2013 Ashes fixture - back to the North-West.
At the time of writing, Lancashire are pushing for a historic first outright County Championship in 77 years. Whilst little of the season’s calendar falls in term time, a trip to the cricket costs a pittance in comparison to the football and is something students should consider.
Manchester also offers first class rugby, with the home of Premiership side Sale Sharks a short train journey away in Stockport. The side have flirted with relegation in recent seasons but a radical overhaul in personnel could see a change of fortunes in the coming season. Tickets are readily available, and with most fixtures played on a Friday evening a trip to Edgeley Park is the perfect way to kick-start the weekend.
That the UK is currently on top of the world in competitive cycling is largely due to the Manchester Velodrome – home of the National Cycling Centre, which has seen likes of Hoy, Pendleton and Wiggins rise to Olympic prominence. This is coupled with The Great City games – an event which sees Deansgate, one of the city’s main shopping streets, transformed into an athletics track. The likes of Usain Bolt, alongside thousands of amateurs, take part every year – making it one of Manchester’s premier sporting events.
Across the calendar Manchester is home to a vast range of regional, national and international sporting events. The city may be football crazy, but it loves its other sports too.
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