New “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” Spot Explores the Deep-Seated Fandom of Manchester United and Manchester City Fans

On the eve of the 164^th Manchester Derby, a celebrated Premier League rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United, ESPN will release the latest spot from the “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” campaign, which delves into the concept of being born into fandom.  “Born Into It” takes a look at two seemingly opposite blokes from Manchester, each explaining – in colorful colloquialisms – how his fate might be different, had he been born a Red, not a Blue – or vice versa.

The spot will debut across ESPN networks beginning on Saturday. There is a link to an annotated version online, for those who may not be as familiar with some of the local sayings like moppets, billy-no-mates, fit birds and plonkers. The link is accessible at the end of the TV spot.

ESPN introduced the ‘It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” brand campaign in 2010, which celebrates exceptional truths in sport.  This is the 17th spot in the series and the first exploring international soccer fandom.  Wieden+Kennedy New York is the creative agency for the campaign.