THE ONE TO BLAME

An artist's impression of yours truly. Cheers to Duane Leslie (aka D) for letting me use this pic :)
(For a photo of me, see the extended bit of this section by clicking the link below)

That's me up there (sort of, heheh). Not a pretty sight, I admit, but then, as any true fan would hope, I'd prefer to be judged on my support for and allegiance to God's Own. So, what d'you want t'know? Well, I'm 21, I'm a Leeds lad born and bred and my name's Umair. I've just finished my final exams at Leeds Uni and I hope to graduate in July 2002. I've been studying English and Philosophy, if yer interested.

In terms of personal interests, aside from Leeds United (and, admittedly, that leaves me with very little) I enjoy reading (well, I'd have to to do the degree that I did...) and writing too (that's my other passion, apart from footy). As you can probably tell, I have a bit of an interest in making websites too. Just to make sure you have a full idea of my geekiness, I should add that I like playing computer games and chatting to people across the Internet, when I'm not looking at my bacteria cultures for new signs of cell malformation (j/k - about the bacteria thing, I mean...) I have been described by one friend (yes, I have friends...) as 'geeky in a cool kind of way' - make of that what you will. I have a pet python who goes by the name of Dragonfly (don't ask) and I live in Fearnville. Believe me, it's not as nice as it sounds.

As far as being a Leeds fan goes, I have to admit I was a pretty late developer. My father (crackin' bloke) never showed an interest in it (probably 'cause he was chased out of Elland Road in the 70s by the, thankfully now largely absent, neo-Nazi skinheads), so I became interested in football later than most lads - I didn't kick a ball in anger until I was 9 or 10. As I got more into the game, I became aware of the presence of Leeds United - I remember checking the League table (with hindsight, it must have been the '90/'91 season) and seeing that Leeds were fourth. The season after that we won the Championship, and I was hooked - though I didn't get to see a game until the following season (the first ever Premier League campaign). It was a 0-0 draw against the Scum. I stood in the Kop, hardly able to see anything, but loving every minute of it: the tension, the game, the atmosphere. Gary McAllister nearly won us the game at the death. I still have the ticket stub.

From there my love of football and my passion for Leeds United grew. I'm now a season ticket holder in the North East Lower (along with my dad who I go to every game with) and, predictably, my Leeds shirt has 'The Chief' and a number 5 on the back. Like countless other Whites fans, I too know what it means to be a Leeds fan. Cut us and the blood may well be the wrong colour - but our souls are white, yellow and blue.

More crap about me and what goes on in my head...