Publisher's Synopsis
It's 5.45am on Saturday 14th March 2009. Tim Webber sits alone in front of a television in Las Vegas watching his team, Manchester United, slip to a crushing defeat to arch rivals Liverpool. As soon as the humiliation finishes he returns to bed for two hours sleep, waking his girlfriend (Clare), again, before he rises for a five hour drive to San Diego. We all know that football fans will do anything for their team, but does that sound worth it? But this is not a one-off. For seven months, Tim is giving up his season ticket to travel through 14 countries attempting to follow United across 11 time-zones, all whilst trying not to destroy his and Clare's trip of a lifetime. Why? Because he's a Red. Would you keep it up, seriously? At least Tim has a reason to do it - he's fascinated by a number of questions: why do people who live thousands of miles away choose to support a team that they have no connection to? Is the globalisation of United as a brand really reaching places such as Tokyo, Moscow, Phnom Penh, Cape Town and Ulan Bator? Do the natives of Cochin give a toss about Edwin van der Sar's shutout record? Whilst trying to quench his own United thirst Tim tries to unearth this worldwide fan base that the club insists exists. He seeks to question the very people who have made it obligatory for complete strangers to sneer at people just because they find out they are United fans. This is the story of a very different season.
