Not 12 hours ago our world collapsed around our ears like a cheap paper mache set at the end of a school play.
Steve Bruce, we were told,
was NOT a football manager-cum-novelist and had NOT in fact, penned a series of books about a football manager-cum-amateur detective.
That the former Manchester United defender wrote the three mystery novels -
Striker, Sweeper and Defender - has always been, by far and away, the greatest fact about Steve Bruce, or indeed any football personality, living or dead.
But then came his son Alex to dash everything that is good a pure in the world with this simple appearance on BBC Radio 5Live.
https://twitter.com/5liveSport/status/789546809244864513
The casual way he tossed it out there: "He can't take credit for writing anything". Come on, Alex - tread carefully, for you tread on our dreams, mate.
Obviously, fans of Brucie's writing were devastated.
https://twitter.com/jezznash/status/789549721970958336
https://twitter.com/vivaricardo/status/789569232044433409
But then. On a crisp, foggy October morning, came a wonderful, wonderful tweet from young Alex. A tweet that, in less than 140 characters, put some magic back into this heartless, unforgiving world.
https://twitter.com/AlexBruce84/status/789748190606155776
So it IS true! Either that, or he is
now joking - but we would infinitely prefer to live in a world where Brucie really did spend hours hammering away at his typewriter to produce these important works, rather than one in which a nameless novelist decided to write three books clearly based on Steve Bruce, and then approach the man himself to put his name to them (come to think of it - who would
ever do that?!).
Plus, Alex's 5Live mates Darren Fletcher and Jermaine Jenas were quick to claim they knew it all along.
https://twitter.com/DFletcherSport/status/789749020969279488
https://twitter.com/DFletcherSport/status/789748838269607937
https://twitter.com/jjenas8/status/789751878867443712
Our feeling are probably best summed up by good old Paulie B here:
https://twitter.com/paulbennett83/status/789751831534723072
And the world feels right again. Ahhhh.
You can catch up on the latest episode of JOE's Football Friday Live right here...
