Having supported Swansea City all my life, losing is something I’m very used to. But I wondered over the weekend what it must feel like to support a different team and how different that would be. Don’t worry, I’m not thinking about changing my allegiances. But I took a look at one club and wondered how much less painful it must be to support a team that almost always wins.

Looking at Manchester United’s results for the 2010-11 season, a few things jumped out at me. First, Manchester United didn’t lose a single game in the Premier League between August 16, when the season kicked off, until February 5 when they lose 2-1 against Wolves. That’s an incredible 5 months and 20 days without a single defeat. Since then, United slipped up in the league against Chelsea on March 1 (losing 2-1) and against Liverpool on March 6 (losing 3-1). But that’s it, so far. Three defeats in 32 games.

The funny thing is that I was with a couple of people who happened to be die-hard Manchester United supporters during Super Bowl weekend when United lost against Wolves. One United fan in particular was so distraught by the loss that he didn’t want to even talk about the game such was the foul mood he was in. God forbid that Manchester United would go on a losing streak. I’d hate to see his mood then!

Over the course of the entire 2010-11 season thus far, including Champions League games, FA Cup matches, Premier League battles and other tournaments such as the League Cup and Community Shield, Manchester United has played 51 games and have lost only five times (the three aforementioned league games, plus the FA Cup semi-final defeat against Man City and the League Cup loss against West Ham). That means that Manchester United has lost only 9.8% of its matches this season. Or, to look at it another way, United is undefeated in 90% of its games this season.

As a supporter of a club who has been conditioned to almost always losing, I have no concept of what it must be to support a club like Manchester United or other powerhouses out there. I’m sure you get used to it after a while. There’s an old adage that losing will make you stronger. While I think there’s some truth to that, almost losing all the time can make you depressed and pessimistic. Swansea, thankfully, are having a decent season this year, but it’s not the norm. Manchester United are having another dominant season. How much less painful it must be to support that team.