"Manchester City is something that gets me up in the morning and brings a smile to my face everyday, the emotion that comes with supporting them is second to none."
Ryan Mazza is arguably speaking for every City fan when he describes what it means to support the Blues. City have some of the best fans in the country, who for decades have supported and followed the club over land and sea through incredible highs and crushing lows.
But what about those City die-hards who don't live in Manchester, or the UK, or Europe for that matter? When City face Bayern Munich in Green Bay, Wisconsin (tonight, midnight kick off, UK time) in the second game of their pre-season tour in the United States, thousands of fans will get to see a rare in-person glimpse of the Blues in action.
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Ryan lives in "the beautiful state of Wisconsin," as he puts it, and will be at the famous Lambeau Field on 23 July to see Pep Guardiola's side. He's followed the Blues for 10 years now, so can be counted as one of the many thousands of followers City have attracted in the US over the past decade.
"It’s actually been crazy to see how much the fan base has grown over the past few years," says Ryan. "Sometimes I go to a pub for matches, there used to be two other City fans there but now there are over 50 watching the matches at times. It’s really crazy how fast we’ve grown.
"This is going to be my first City match, I'm so excited. I actually travelled to England this past March and was planning on seeing them live, had the tickets and everything but then the FA Cup round got rescheduled and I wasn’t able to see them. I was gutted but now getting to see them might literally bring a tear to my eye."
The growth in the fanbase is down to various factors, including City's success in recent years, television coverage in the States, commercial partnerships and previous pre-season tours there. But as Mancunian-turned-Chicagoan Victoria Gregory explains, City's Official Supporters Clubs network has played a huge role.
"The supporters club network provides an immediate 'family' for anyone travelling or moving to a different city," says Victoria. "City do amazing work for the OSC and put an incredible amount of effort into the pre-season tours that we are all extremely grateful for."
As a member of the Chicago branch of the OSC, Victoria is well accustomed to 6:30am kick-offs and early morning trips to the pub to watch City with fellow fans. She and about 40 other branch members are making the three-and-a-half hour car journey to Green Bay for the game — but it's an effort worth making.
"As a Mancunian living overseas, it's wonderful to see a little bit of home come to visit every few years."
Strictly speaking, the closest OSC branch to Green Bay are the Cream Cityzens, based roughly 115 miles away in Milwaukee.
"In 2018 a few fans started popping up at a few of the soccer pubs here in Milwaukee, shortly after a group of us decided to group up and form," says Chris Stuper, member of the group's board.
They are currently the only supporters club in the state of Wisconsin, but their sense of community goes way beyond football. The group support the Sojourner Family Peace Center, an organisation that helps victims of domestic violence. During the pandemic they also worked together to raise funds for Highbury Pub, the venue for their meet-ups.
The warm and welcoming community created by supporters clubs across the States is likely one of the reasons for the constant expansion of the City fanbase on the other side of the Atlantic.
"I’m pretty sure there are a lot more supporters clubs coming up each year which is also a testament to people willing to learn more about football," says Ryan. "I’ve even converted some of my friends to City fans because of how much football is growing in the US."
Ryan may live in Wisconsin, but it will still take him three hours to drive to Green Bay. It's by no means the furthest some are willing to travel for a rare glimpse of their sky blue heroes.
"There's a decent number of us going from New York City," says Anthony Cruz, who is flying in especially for the game. "Five of us are sharing a house in Milwaukee for the weekend. We always try to make at least one match when City are in the States. It's always great to see them in person, and it's a great opportunity to meet Blues from all over the country. We usually end up coming back with a few more football friends to talk to during the season, which is always great!"
Jason Johnston is making the trek up from Phoenix, Arizona — some 1,700 miles and a couple of time zones away from Green Bay, while Tarik Peterson is making the 12-hour-round drive from Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his wife and three kids.
"I'm definitely looking forward to seeing all the players, especially the new boys in [Erling] Haaland, [Julian] Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips, but also the youngsters like Cole Palmer and James McAtee," says Tarik.
"But honestly the biggest reason you go in person is for the in-stadium experience with thousands of likeminded City fans."
It's a nice touch that Green Bay — a relatively small city without a sizeable City fanbase in an isolated part of the country — should be the location chosen for a reunion of the clans. It means fans in the north and mid-west, which are often overlooked in pre-season schedules in favour of the likes of New York, Miami and Los Angeles, have have a chance to see City play.
"It’s incredible that they’re coming to Wisconsin," says Eric Lewin. "Especially with so much excitement around new players and younger guys who are more likely to make the trip. I’m sure there are a growing number of City fans in Wisconsin these days, just like everywhere."
Supporting a top level football club isn't easy these days, especially if you live on the other side of the world. But what fans in the US are showing is that by creating small communities and coming together once every few years, City have a huge army of committed supporters from all around the globe. It's fitting that City are giving them something back.
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