The terrifying prospect of silence.

It is standard practice, especially in sports journalism, to write two pieces about a particular story that you know is about to happen

This isn’t a journalist deliberately looking for extra work (perish the thought).

Rather it is a time saving device for when the event has been concluded and the deadline is short.

It isn’t unique to sports journalism.

For example it would have been entirely expected that court reporters would have had two pieces drafted for the Sheridan perjury trial.

Obviously with Scotland’s third option “Not Proven”, but the piece would be either “Sheridan Guilty!”

Or some version of “Sheridan Free!”

I know of at least one major Scottish title that had pages made up for each outcome.

However the practice is very common in sports journalism.

There are various scenarios for which two mutually exclusives pieces are pre-prepared as much as they can be.

Cup finals are one.

There are clearly only two outcomes for the little team in the final for the first time since nineteen hundred and whenever.

It’s the agony/ecstasy axis.

So it will be with the members of my trade that will be covering the   next Rangers v Celtic match at Ibrox.

There will be a silent tribute to those souls that perished at that stadium 40 years ago.

They went to watch a soccer match and support their team and they never came home.

It was not their fault that they were in an unsafe stadium.

Their families, still grieving after forty years have, this week, spoke with quiet dignity about their loss.

Those in charge of the Ibrox club should have been held to account.

Of course in Scotland there are special rules for the establishment club.

So the families of the dead never received justice or adequate recompense.

It is clear from the reportage of this upcoming event that there are those in my trade that fervently wish for the silence on Sunday to be broken by chaps in the Broomloan stand.

The worrying prospect for these hacks is that the silent tribute to these people will be impeccably observed.

Scotland’s fourth estate will be terrified of that silence, as they will not get to file the piece they fervently want to see “splashed” across their tawdry titles the next day.

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