Mi Querido CR7...

I couldn't have a footy blog without mentioning one of the reasons I even bother with soccer. I didn't grow up with soccer...nobody played it when I was a child. Yes, we kicked around soccer-type balls in physical education (usually kicking each other more), but it would be best described as "organized mayhem on grass with spotted ball."

So if I don't hail from England, and my father wasn't Bobby Charlton (if you don't know who that is...exit this blog now!), then why do my work clothes get pushed to the back of the closet by items bearing such marks as AIG, 7, Barclay's, and Ronaldo?

I can't pin down the actual date that my vocabulary sported words like "offside," "touchline," and "Old Trafford," but I can say it's been many a year. And at the age of (insert number below 100 here), I can now say that I've been fully indoctrinated into the wonderful world of the Barclay's Premier League. Twenty teams with monikers like "Spurs," "Blackburn Rovers," and the newly-promoted "Wolverhampton Wanderers." I know. I know. They sound like square-dancing clubs. But their unique names hold a country spellbound from kickoff to the final whistle. After 90 minutes of fast-paced, furious footy, the pub-goers and the fortunate few to have season tickets, spill out onto the streets and relive every tackle, freekick, corner, and goal.

At Manchester United's grounds (Old Trafford), there is a sign on the upper deck that reads:

MANCHESTER UNITED...FOR EVERY MANC A RELIGION! (For those new to footy...MUFC stands for Manchester United Football Club).

These words could not be truer. The United Kingdom is not exactly a religious country. The Church of England is by all accounts "a hobby," as comedian Eddie Izzard would attest. So on weekends, the conversation doesn't center around what the vicar might say, but more on "do you think United will top Tottenham and garner 3 points?"

I say United is not my religion, but my license plate is CR7, my front plate is Manchester United, my wall has a signed poster of Cristiano Ronaldo right next to the calendar of His Royal Hotness...and so on and so on...

I will admit to rising at 3 in the morning to watch United when they play in the Far East. I can't say that I stay awake through the full 90, but I'm positive that my presence is felt by Ferdinand, Owen, Evra, Rooney, Fletcher, Berbatov, Giggs, Foster and Company. Every pass, knock, header, and goal is greeted with a "Yeah," "Oh NO!" "That's it!" and "YEAHHH, BABBBYYYY!"

The only thing missing this season is one Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, born in Portugal...honed at Old Trafford...and shipped off to...gulp...Spain.

Ronny, as the lads called him, left United as a 24-yr-old phenom, fresh from winning every imaginable team and individual trophy in the year 2008. His stepovers and freekicks were legendary, as were his good looks that felled many a female Manc fan when he removed his shirt at the end of matches.

Irreal Madrid will never deserve him. They will never love him like we did at United. After being given the hallowed number 7 by Sir Alex Ferguson, he stepped up to the challenge and made it his own. That would be hard for any young 18-yr-old following in the footsteps of the one and only David Beckham. But Ronny didn't falter and although he didn't speak a word of English, he made the English game his own and put his name...Ronaldo...on every Englishman's lips, like it or not. His name was cheered in the Trafford section of Manchester, jeered in the Eastlands section of Manchester, and cursed in every footy ground in England. But none of them could deny his talent and all of them know the Premier League is missing a spark now that he's gone.

Sir Bobby Charlton put his departure best:

"He is a great player," he said. "He's been with us for five or six years and in that time he has improved beyond all recognition. I suppose, in time, he will reflect, and say that the best time he ever had in football was when he was at Manchester United. It was better for him and it was fantastic for the club."

He is gone. So now what?

United has never been about one player. Other legends have left and United has continued to triumph. Michael Owen, a former World Player of the Year with Liverpool, now wears the cherished number 7. Cristiano was given the number 9 at his introduction in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid...but to me...Cristiano will always be CR7.