Nutter or Mugger...?

Recently, whilst innocently stood on the pavement waiting for traffic lights to change so that I could cross the road to use a cashpoint machine, I heard somebody say "Hello mate..!"

That'll be directed at me I thought, as I'm the only other person stood here.

I turned round and saw a man with a dog in his thirties stood slightly behind me. I'd never laid eyes on him or his canine companion before, a Golden Retriever. I'm not sure how old the dog was.

The approach was unsettling. A prelude to a mugging perhaps, or an approach about drugs, or an approach about homosexuality. Whatever the reason, innocent or not, I didn't much care for the situation. My defences were raised.

"Do you have any animals?" the strange man asked.

"No I'm afraid that I don't" I replied truthfully, grateful that I'd been gifted a way of killing the unwanted conversation, discretely checking behind me and hoping that a little green man would pop up soon. Either to allow me to cross the road or to abduct the person who had distracted me.

Clearly not expecting that reply, the strange man said "Oh, um , er" then paused and thought. Clearly still determined to engage me in conversation.

"What football team do you support?" he then asked.

This is really wierd, I thought. It would be a sensible enough conversation whilst propping up the bar at the pub perhaps, but a little unusual when trying to cross the road. Why aren't we talking about the weather or something equally innocuous? Even asking me about the state of the pavements would make a lot more sense at the moment, in the context of that by-election..

But I had to answer the question about football.

Aware that even the hint of supporting the wrong team can sometimes lead to all sorts of bother, I very carefully said "I just support good football really. It doesn't matter who's playing, I just like to see a good game". 

"Oh, um, er" was the answer. I'd successfully killed the conversation again.

"So if you did support a team, which one would it be?" was the next question.

I was stuck now. Unable to think of a way of politely killing the conversation.

"Well I suppose it would be one of the local teams. Its always good to see how they are getting on", I said non-commitally. Now grateful that the lights had changed and it was safe to cross the road.

"I support Man Utd and West Ham" the strange man replied as we crossed the road together, clearly pleased now that he'd got the conversation going.

"That's nice" I said, taking a snap decision to also say "cheerio", walk into the Bank and withdraw cash over the counter instead of using the cashpoint machine that was situated outside.

What would you have done...?