And for us neutrals, one of the world's great metropolitan rivalries was now entertainment gold. Manchester was up there with Buenos Aires and Milan.
This, gentle reader, is the backdrop to Sunday's City-United fixture on Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan's home ground. While a new arms race of youth cultivation and infrastructure investment gathers pace behind the scenes, it falls to 22 players to strike a blow in a title race that is demonstrably a two-club contest. Abramovich has destabilised Chelsea to the point of impotence and no one could fancy Spurs to knock off the big northern two from 10 points back.
The relationship is now beautifully poised. United have fallen behind countless times this term but lead the race by three points. Roberto Mancini's side could not even make the Europa League from their Champions League group and are now certain to focus on retaining their Premier League title at United's expense. One thing we know is that it would rank as Ferguson's greatest comeback to silence neighbours who were better known for wakes than celebrations until the glories of 1968 came raging back.
From 1998, when Wenger won his first title, to 2010, when Ancelotti's Chelsea prevailed, Ferguson was helped by Abramovich's volatility and Arsenal's loss of momentum post-2005. The manager commemorated by an Old Trafford stand and statue inspired all those comebacks but there were small measures of outside help from both London clubs.
This time, there will be no weakening at City, unless internal divisions or personality clashes run out of control. If Mancini were to lose his job, his replacement would surely come from the top five of European coaches. Though the Sheikh is unlikely to spend much on reinforcements next month, he will not be doing a Randy Lerner and scaling back on his investment.
Ferguson is fond of telling the United fans and players: "We'd better get used to this, because City are not going away."
They thought the same about Chelsea but have been helped by the owner's meddling. Now, City's breath is forever on their necks. They can see tracts of the metropolis disappearing into the Etihad Campus.
The old 'Beckham Belt' of Cheshire mansions is no longer solely United territory. The two sides pass each other uneasily in restaurants and upscale shops.
The pressure, in other words, is inescapable. And United know they must not lose Sunday's collision. Great comfort can be taken from the knowledge that Robin van Persie chose them ahead of City when he resolved to leave Arsenal. In a league that was won by a goal difference of eight in May, Van Persie's majesty around the opposition's penalty box has transformed United's prospects.
Each side have six months of this stress to deal with. United are the "boarders" now, City the ones "repelling". Ferguson wants the pain of May avenged.
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