When you grow up as a Manchester United fan, the first thing you're told about is the horrific Munich Air Disaster.
Out of all the historic moments of this great football club, it is perhaps the one event that you have to know. Why? Because it symbolises why United are the club they are today.
Sir Matt Busby, arguably the finest manager United have ever had, was the man who assembled a team full of young superstars that dazzled not just people in Manchester, but the rest of the country.
Sir Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards were the two standout players in the team. Edwards, a 21-year-old from Dudley, was considered the finest player of his generation. Many claim he would've gone on to become England's greatest ever footballer.
Earning the nickname 'The Busby Babes', the team won two consecutive Championships in 1955/56 and 1956/57 with an average age of just 22. Everybody loved them.
Busby wanted to reach even greater heights though. A highly motivated individual, he wanted to conquer ground where no English club had set foot. United became the first English side to ever compete for the European Cup.
The season before the crash, the Reds reached the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid. They went into the competition as favourites in 1957/58.
Domestic league matches were on Saturdays and European matches midweek, so air travel was the only choice if United were to fulfil their league fixtures and avoid a points deduction.
Playing Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals, United drew 3-3 on the night and progressed as they beat them 5-4 on aggregate.
On the flight back, most United supporters know what happened. A stop-off in Munich for refuelling turned out to be a tragedy and in the end, eight first-team players lost their lives.
Geoff Bent (aged 25), Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26) and Liam Whelan (22) all died due to the crash. Edwards later died in hospital due to severely damaged kidneys.
United supporters are told this story in their youth. It's the one event you have to be educated on because it's why the club are what they are.
Every year on February 6, we remember the 23 who tragically lost their lives in the disaster. They'll never be forgotten.
Even in the younger generation of United supporters, who weren't around until decades after the crash, the Munich Air Disaster will resonate among the reasons we support the club.
For the fans who sit with me in The Red Army, between the ages of 18-25, you could ask every single one of them about the event and all of them will know everything about it.
People sometimes question why that section and the Stretford End of the Old Trafford faithful always remain loyal. It's because it's been embedded in our history.
Sir Matt made fans cherish and fall in love with his team, always being faithful to the club. United fans embody that - he's the reason why our club was so successful and it would be wrong to change direction from his vision.
Upbringing, as well as cherishing Busby and the United badge, is why the Munich Air Disaster will always be remembered. It means so much to us. Without them, there's no United.
They'll never die.
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