Whenever anyone mentions Milan I fondly remember my great
Uncle Giuseppe Wibblanza who lived his entire life in this world-famous city of
culture and fashion.
Giuseppe was a well-known and popular character around
Milan. He had a powerful tenor voice with
which he would entertain the patrons of whatever bar he was in after his five
bottles of vino rosso. Proprietors were
known to hire his services whenever the wanted to close and they had recalcitrant
customers. He was cheaper and strangely
more effective than the local Mafioso.
He was a regular attendee at the San Siro. Before each match of his beloved AC Milan he
would stand on the terraces and sing Nessun Dorma to inspire the supporters. This became a cult anthem with the supporters,
it became so popular that FIFA adopted it as the theme for the 1994 World Cup. It was Yaya/Kolo song of its time, Italians
everywhere would often spontaneously break out into this song regardless of
their club loyalty.
As his celebrity grew Beppe would be invited on to TV
shows to offer his opinion on the hot topics of the day, he became a TV
personality, revered across the nation.
A national holiday was declared for the day of his funeral. People wailed uncontrollably, women rended
their garments in anguish. A statue was
placed in Milan cathedral as a permanent honour.
It is for this reason alone that I hope AC Milan thrash
whatever team they happen to be playing tonight.
