The conservative impulse

Watching Man U lose to Swansea the other day, I found myself challenged at some basic, root level. On the one hand, I think it's good for things to get shaken up, and I should like to see a team like Swansea do well.  I have no reason to like Man U in particular.  They are the Dallas Cowboys of soccer.

And yet... something in me longs to see the traditional order of things continue, and it saddens me to see them perform so shittily.  Why should I care at all?  The roster of players has turned over almost entirely.  It's pretty much just Rooney and Valencia left from my early days of watching them, and of the rest, there's very little compelling about them, though I like Phil Jones.

Nonetheless, I kind of want them to win, because they represent a stability of sorts that is appealing to me.  Just because.  I suppose that's kind of a middle-aged white guy way to view the world.