2003-01-09 Man United's biggest fan is... a piece of cloth!

Big Lily, Man United?s biggest ever fan is certainly a loyal supporter. She has followed the Reds across the world, and because of her sheer enormity, has featured on TV numerous times. However, Lily is not some pie-guzzling Red from Guildford, but a red, white and black striped flag measuring 100 feet by 60 feet.
My Big Lily is the story of the flag?s life by her creator Keith Norris ? from humble beginnings in Northern Ireland, to the Nou Camp and the Far East, meetings with Raul and Roberto Carlos and a spot in the national tabloid press limelight after a temporary disappearance.
While the idea of the book is in theory an interesting one, Norris spoils it by taking it all too seriously. His fan anecdotes are reasonable, if fairly standard stuff, but it?s the references to Lily as if she were a real person, and one-sided conversations which grate the further you go. It?s an attempt to credit Lily with a personality that frankly should be beyond a oversized tablecloth. Or a bunch of adults for that matter.
And, unfortunately, Norris?s assertion that Man United should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for, ?uniting ? and, quote, ?transcending all cultural boundaries?, is reason enough for most non-United fans to steer well clear of the book.