Fly celebrating Taylor's birthday on the day of the Manchester United vs Arsenal match quickly sparked widespread discussion among the media.
Even many football figures joined the discussion.
Eric Cantona, the French player known as the King of Manchester United, said in an interview: "Fly's behavior is a great disrespect to Manchester United. He should show reverence to the kings of the Premier League era, not celebrate that American girl's birthday at home."
"Without a doubt, Sir Alex Ferguson, the Godfather of Manchester United, will definitely be enraged by Fly's actions. I know Manchester United too well; they will definitely teach Fly a painful lesson in tonight's match!"
Roy Keane, the former Manchester United captain and now the head coach of Ipswich Town Football Club in the EFL Championship, gave Fly no face at all, saying angrily:
"A wet-behind-the-ears kid, what else can he do besides talk big?"
"What? You say he has 28 goals in 15 League games? So what? What does that matter? Can he lead Arsenal to beat Manchester United?"
"Obviously, he can't. Arsenal and Manchester United have never been teams of the same level."
"What? Arsenal is currently 15 points ahead of Manchester United in the League? That's not a problem. Given Arsenal's nature, they will collapse before long. We'll wait and see."
"In tonight's match at Old Trafford, Arsenal will be thrashed by Manchester United, and Fly will be beaten until he cries, I'm telling you!"
However, Gary Lineker, who had previously criticized Fly for needing to remain humble towards his Premier League seniors, said on a show: "I think there's nothing wrong with Fly's behavior. The media has overinterpreted it."
"We all know that Ms. Taylor Swift's birthday is December 13th. Given that, why should we criticize Fly for celebrating his girlfriend's birthday on this day?"
"It's just because this year's match between Arsenal and Manchester United happened to coincide with Ms. Swift's birthday, which is why the media is using it for hype."
"Actually, none of these are problems. We don't need to care so much. Fly is a very professional player, and we will see that in tonight's match."
Fly didn't know that his birthday celebration for Taylor had drawn criticism from many media outlets and fans.
But even if he knew, he would choose to ignore it. Is there a problem with celebrating the birthday of his beloved? He didn't think there was any problem.
If Fly didn't celebrate Taylor's birthday just because it happened to coincide with a Manchester United match, wouldn't that make Taylor sad?
Taylor would definitely feel that in Fly's heart, football was more important than her.
When a woman's emotions flare up, Fly wouldn't know how many times he'd have to coax her to make her happy.
Even though Taylor wasn't a traditional little girl, as a strong woman, she had always been shrewd when it came to major issues.
But this didn't mean that Taylor didn't have a bit of a little girl's temperament when it came to emotions.
That was impossible. After all, Taylor had just turned 21, which for an average person was only the age of a third-year university student.
Would girls of this age reason with boys?
It's difficult!
In her relationship with Fly, although it was more like an elder sister caring for a younger brother, this didn't mean she didn't have small tempers.
Although Fly was young, his soul had lived two lives at least. He wouldn't be as selfish as an average minor, not caring about the feelings of others.
Fly felt that he had tried his best to consider his girlfriend's feelings.
It's undeniable that there were some little thoughts unique to girls that he, as a grown man, simply couldn't figure out.
But for a day as important as a birthday, Fly couldn't ignore it. He would give all the respect and affection due.
As for whether this behavior would cause dissatisfaction among some media, former players, and even fans, Fly said it was none of his business.
These people were outsiders to Fly. When did a person need to care about the opinions of outsiders when doing something for their loved ones?
Wouldn't living like that be incredibly tiring?
Fly, who was determined to live a carefree life in this lifetime, would absolutely not put shackles on himself, like being a moral model or a professional role model.
Excuse me, none of that had anything to do with him.
He played football for fame, for profit, and to find a proper job to avoid his parents' nagging. It was that simple.
Where were all those non-material factors, like loyalty, passion, playing for free...?
These had nothing to do with Fly.
In Fly's view, the act of catering to outsiders' opinions and thus neglecting the people who genuinely cared about him was either foolishness or depravity.
Anyone with a normal brain wouldn't do such a thing.
On the way to Old Trafford, Fly cleared his mind, preparing mentally for the big battle tonight.
He knew very well that this match, with Arsenal visiting Old Trafford to challenge Manchester United, would be broadcast by countless television stations worldwide.
In terms of attention alone, even Arsenal's previous London derby against Chelsea was far from comparable to this one.
Because in recent years, the most popular team in the Premier League had always been Manchester United led by Sir Alex Ferguson, followed by Arsenal led by Wenger.
Chelsea during José Mourinho's time also had considerable popularity due to their coach, but compared to Manchester United and Arsenal, they still lacked some history.
Now, the first encounter between Manchester United and Arsenal this season, due to Arsenal's current strength and Fly's immense popularity, had attracted even more attention than previous matches between the two teams.
Such a spotlight was definitely what Fly had dreamed of and a place where he would perform with all his might.
"Manchester United, just wait to die tonight..."
....
Dusk soaked Manchester like an overturned ink bottle. The floodlights of Old Trafford Stadium blurred into hazy, yellowish clusters in the minus twelve-degree air, resembling frosted glass.
Fly buried his face in his Burberry scarf, which bore Taylor's lipstick print. The white mist he exhaled instantly condensed into ice crystals on his eyelashes.
Frost flowers clung to the walls of the changing room tunnel. Security personnel were using blowtorches to melt the icicles at the entrance of the player tunnel. The smell of char mixed with the pungent odor of anti-slip salt entered his nostrils.
Fly frowned slightly; the smell was truly unpleasant!
At 6:30 PM, Stamford Park Avenue had become an ice river.
Manchester United fans, wrapped in blankets printed with the faces of Manchester United legends like Eric Cantona, Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rooney, stomped their feet, breaking the ice crust on the sidewalks, and cheered in unison for Manchester United.
The cold weather could not dampen the enthusiasm of the Red Devils fans.
A long queue formed in front of the temporarily set-up mulled wine stall. Steam rose from the iron barrels, forming icicles on the bronze plaque that read "Greatest Club in Premier League History."
Several drunk men urinated against the outer wall of the North Stand. Their urine froze into amber-colored icicles before it even hit the ground.
Ticket scalpers huddled beneath the statue of Sir Bobby Charlton. The tickets in their hands fluttered in the cold wind: "Last two tickets! K Stand! You can see Fergie Time!"
A sudden commotion erupted from the East Plaza—the Arsenal fans' bus skidded on an icy bend, its rear end smashing the emergency light box beside the 'Holy Trinity' mural.
Riot police boot spikes scraped sparks from the ground. Fans from both sides exchanged middle fingers across a hundred yards of ice, their curses echoing loudly, the white mist they exhaled intertwining in the air to form a totem of hatred.
George, the Old Trafford groundskeeper, knelt at the center circle. The grass glowed with an eerie blue light under his flashlight beam. The under-soil heating system was working overtime, and the melted snow water froze into ice threads as soon as it seeped out.
"Damn it, this is like an Antarctic expedition!" He lifted the thermal blanket and poked the turf with a Swiss Army knife, but the blade just skidded on the surface.
The Fourth Official held a thermometer; the LCD screen showed the surface temperature was -2.3℃.
The LED big screen continuously displayed the meteorological bureau's red warning. When the camera panned to the VIP box, Taylor's chestnut cashmere coat stood out remarkably among the sea of down jackets.
She was handing a hand warmer pack to Ed Sheeran, the ginger-haired boss beside her, who was typing on his iPhone with frozen fingers: "Taylor, I've got inspiration for lyrics... 'My love is more biting than the Manchester cold snap'...."
Seeing the ginger-haired boss even more engrossed in music than herself, Taylor couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Selena, wrapped in a coat nearby, asked Taylor: "Taylor, do you get creative inspiration when you watch Fly play?"
Upon hearing this, Taylor thought for a moment, exhaled a puff of white mist, and said: "Yes, but when I watch the match, I focus on my man. Only when Darling comes off the field early do I type lyrics on my phone."
Selena, Abigail, Margot Robbie, and a few others hearing this started to tease her. This scene was fully captured on camera by the live broadcast director.
After all, this group of people, including Taylor, were all celebrities. It was truly rare for celebrities to come to watch a game in such terrible weather.
It could be said that without the presence of Taylor and her group, it might have been difficult to find a celebrity from outside the football world in the stands today.
After all, at minus twelve degrees Celsius, even influencers who liked to chase trends would find it hard to decide to come to watch the game in person, let alone big stars from the United States like Taylor.
The de-icing vehicle at the player tunnel entrance sprayed hot water vapor, which instantly condensed into an icy rainbow in the air.
Van der Sar, in his forties, wearing orange fleece gloves, hit the goalpost. The echo was as crisp as striking a steel pipe—there was a two-finger thick layer of ice on the inside of the crossbar.
Giggs squatted by the field, applying petroleum jelly to the soles of his boots. The paste, mixed with anti-slip magnesium powder, quickly solidified in the low temperature.
The hardcore fan section of the Stretford End was the first to light red flares. The smoke gathered beneath the roof, forming a rolling blood-red cloud.
Eighty thousand people stomped their feet in unison. The steel structure of the stands groaned, making teeth ache. The falling ice shards scattered like a diamond rain onto the ground.
The L110 stand occupied by Arsenal fans raised a giant TIFO—on a frozen throne, Fly held the Premier League trophy, which had been frozen into an ice sculpture. Below, the paint of the slogan "Cold Snap Terminator" was peeling off.
A woman selling beer found her pushcart tires frozen to the ground. As she used a fire axe to chop through the ice layer, she heard two Manchester United scouts whispering: "Did Wenger put ice skates on that kid's boots?"
"No, they're custom carbon fiber studs, a new German invention..."
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from the South Stand—when staff tried to remove an ice sculpture from the corner flag area, they discovered it was a frozen protest banner: "The Glazer family is colder-blooded than the cold snap!"
Riot shields reflected the searchlight beams, casting distorted ghostly shadows on the advertising boards.
The weather forecast from the Carrington training ground flashed on the electronic screen: feels like -17℃.
In such an environment, which could be described as "ice and snow," the first encounter of the season between Arsenal and Manchester United was about to begin...
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