Manchester City supporters carried inflatable bananas into Anfield for the Premier League win over Liverpool last weekend, and more are expected to adorn the Etihad for tonight's match against PSG. The tradition was revived as a show of fan unity in the wake of the bombshell verdict in the Premier League charges case, and as a nod to the past when City were outside the top flight.
Origins of the inflatable banana craze
The craze began in the 1980s when City fan Frank Newton brought a blow-up banana to Maine Road for a game against Plymouth to win a bet. Blues player Imre Varadi is synonymous with the craze and said he first noticed the bananas early in the 1987-88 season, when City were in the second tier after relegation from the top flight the previous campaign.
"I came jogging out one evening and someone was waving a banana. They started to call me Imre Banana and I'm thinking what?! The following game, there were 25-30 bananas and everyone was calling me Imre Banana," he told the Manchester Evening News last week.
Peak of the tradition
Perhaps the largest congregation of inflatable bananas came the following Christmas when the sold out City away support at Stoke City on Boxing Day 1988 seemed to all be carrying the inflatable bananas. The Blues players then ran out on to the pitch holding giant bananas ahead of the game.
City are credited with being the first club to popularise taking inflatables to matches, with Grimsby Town fans taking fish while giant hammers, dinosaurs and Frankenstein monsters were seen at grounds across the country.
Fan unity ahead of PSG match
Ahead of the game at Anfield last Sunday, a member of the 1894 Group told the Manchester Evening News: "It's to remind everyone it doesn't matter what league we end up in, we'll always be there. It's daft, it's a bit of fun. The City fans are going there for a party no matter how much the media ramps it up."
