Getting taken to your first match has been an important rite of passage on Planet Fitba for generations.
My maternal grandfather took me to my first Celtic game in 1966.
It was rather good timing as it turned out.
Of course, the child has no say in what club or, indeed, the historical moment.
So it is worth thinking of the current thirty-something at Ibrox.
Let’s say our little bundle of Unsurpassed Dignity was born in 1980.
If he was taken to his first match at nine or ten years of age then it was pretty good timing by Daddy Bear.
The cub grew to manhood through the Nine In A Row years.
There were top foreign players in the light blue, but his own hero was Super Ally.
He had that connection with the support as he was one of them.
Alistair Murdoch McCoist definitely played for the jersey.
He was no foreign mercenary.
That was for sure.
Unfortunately by the time our bear was turned twenty Martin O Neill had arrived.
As well as having some decent players at his disposal, Celtic Park was bigger and more modern than Ibrox.
With an extra 10,000 seats, mainly occupied by season ticket holders, Celtic had a clear financial advantage over the mighty Gers.
Despite that, the Rainjurrzz seemed to have lots and lots of money.
None of the Bears asked any questions as men in brogues at the top of the Marble Staircase dealt with all of that sort of stuff.
Then there was a lot of unsubstantiated stuff in 2009 about the bank running the club.
Unfortunately, these scurrilous Timmy rumours turned out to be true.
Then, just as our young Bear was entering his thirties, deliverance was at hand!
A billionaire with a high Dignity quotient bought the club in May 2011.
Unlike his old dad, our millennial Bear was an online guy and was aware that awful things were being rumoured about Mr Whyte.
Especially some fecker in Donegal who was spouting pish about the new owner.
This Fenian was saying that the new owner of Rainjurrzz wasn’t a billionaire.
Actually, this Tarrier said that Mr Whyte did not have a custom built receptacle into which to deposit his Quintessentially British urine.
Then the awful year of 2012 happened.
He tried to keep his dad up-to-date about what that Fenian in Ireland was writing.
It seemed to be coming true.
All of it…
Then it was time for “The Journey”.
Annan, Elgin and those were the high points.
Super Ally just turned out to be Super Salary.
That was a right kick in the geraniums!
Now as his forties approach the boy who loved it large with his dad during Nine in a Row might have to endure the other side of the city doing Ten.
We can’t say when he will see his new club lift the SPFL title or what age he will be.
However, Sevco’s early years will coincide with his midlife crisis.
He might even think twice before inflicting the unedifying spectacle on his own offspring…
However, he might think it is culturally important to immerse his kid in the “we hate Catholics” match day experience.
After, it is important to maintain standards.
At some point, the baby bears will have to come into contact with the unfortunate reality that the team in green and white hoops are on an entirely different sporting level.
He will realise why his daddy celebrates the last minute equaliser against Celtic like it was the winner in a final.
That’s because most of the time Celtic win these encounters.
Still, there will be the high points to celebrate.
Like that last minute winner at Firhill against the Thistle today!
Memories are made of those magical moments.
This is what it is like to follow the Espanyol of Glasgow.
As it becomes clear that The People are totally divorced from reality it is the kids that I feel sorry for…
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The Daily Radar has today printed that the wild celebrations at Firhill were due to the “fact” that Sevco had qualified for a Europa League place rather than stealing the game from Thisle.
Phil, this blog and related posts has led us to believe that Sevco do not qualify for Europe under UEFA FFP criteria.
Will a yet again complicit SFA ignore this and fail to alert UEFA?
Do UEFA police these matters themselves or relay on national association integrity (lol)?
Where are the voices of the club finishing in 4th place in the SPL who are being denied European football and the vital financial benefits of participation?
Phil, as part of the EBT duped generation, can you please construct your usual questionnaire to the SFA / UEFA asking for clarification as to a Sevco’s entitlement to be in the EL next season?
Thank you.
But Sevco have Dave King.
His £50m children’s inheritance warchest is being kept secure for the right moment.
He said at Christmas another £30m is needed. Lol. As no players were purchased and the management team were sacked.
Clearly Glib does not respect Sevco fans. Feeding them such big fat lies and expecting them to believe it. Totally disrespectful.
Sneaking in to Scotland. How sinister can he get?
It was Walter Smith who said the bank is running the club in 2009.
We saw a specimen of Sevco fan born in 94 who missed the 9IAR, Bank of Scotland and EBT funded, pomp pitch invade last week. A convicted paedophile with a rap sheet longer than a Kanye set list. I would venture this fat berr cub is a representative example of the inbred criminal deviants who howl we hate Catholics. We saw a load more of this species pitch invade Firhill yesterday. Were they running on to protect their players from violence like Hampden? These Klan kids have been starved of course. A starving berr will trample to get to a free morsel or an undeserved winner at Firhill: as close as they’ll get to silverware. Enjoy it while you can I guess, much more pain is incoming soon.
When your pity party is broadcast live all over the world!
on recollection, I think that was Seco’s 4th or 5th stoppage time winner this season, against, shall we say, less than illustrious opposition!! just imagine where they’d be in the table without those wins? would they’d even made the split!!
but either way, it was just so comical to see the intensity of those celebrations on the pith and the dug out, it just reinforces the mantra of how thins have changed since their Halcyon days of the Bank of Scotland’s, Nine in A Row years… The Hordes are just going to have to get used to it for the next 5 years or more.
A win against your CLOSEST Glasgow rival is always worthy of celebration.
Pitch invasion by Sevco fans at Firhill.
I expect Sevco players not to be punished by the SFA for going to their fans and celebrating on the pitch.
It’s all really sad and desperate.
One thing your sevconian has not twigged after their 5-1 humiliation at the statium rangers used to play at is, when Celtic ripped them a new one at parkhead Sevco only has 10 men for part of that game.
As they say in London….mind the gap.
Celtic played with 10.5 players that day.
Apart from the penalty, SS missed numerous chances.
Gerry your team lost today
Sevco didn’t win jags stopped playing last ten
minutes you need to drive a stake through them to make sure they are done
Hahaha, best description of ‘No Pot To Piss In’ this side of the Limpopo.
We can only watch with bated breath, our hands hovering over our veritably overflowing bowls of jelly & ice cream as The Mother Of All Perfect Storms gathers every last piece of garbage it can find on its way towards dumping the whole stinking lot of its filthy karmic contents over Ibrox and all who pretend to play in her.
All hail the approaching hail!
Cos Sevco wullnae make it.
Hear,hear,I can only concur and hope that storm is of epic proportions.?HH
Phil
What is a tarrier? I hear it being used but have absolutely no idea of the genisis of the word.
I was fortunate enough to go to Celtic Park for my first game in 1983, had some odd great years and games, but quite frankly the 90’s was murder. We have some youngsters who will never know that pain…..or ever experience the financial cheating that went on.
I remember celebrating like the Huns did today on May 4th 1986. A day proudly known as Albert Kidd day in this hoose. That was worth celebrating.
#SchadenfraudeCSC
My Wife’s cousins,grandson is that we boy,father is a bigot,the we boy is 10,his grandparents are decent,they do not like him being in doctrined in the Ranjjurzz.
The we boy is a lovely we boy,his father will ruin him,it is for how long the grandparents,stay silent,in this lovely we country of ours.
I get you Gerry. Years ago I witnessed (from my seat behind the Kilmarock dugout) similar scenes of jubilation when the support, players and dug out went ballistic when the doing their OWN team was getting wasn’t enough to prevent Rangers winning the league because of events elsewhere. Taught me a lot about the “professional pride” of Jefferies and Brown etc. As a matter of fact, surprisingly, the only one of Killie’s back room staff paying attention to the game in front of him was Iain Durrant (with hindsight it was probably nerves) on the touchline while the rest – to a man! – were huddled round a tranny listening to the Rangers game.
Hi Phil,
Good read,I’m sorry I can’t share in your sorrow for the bear cubs,and it is not because I’m bitter.I am too busy enjoying the Hoops Supremacy to feel pity for their kids,do you honestly think for one second if these roles were reversed that they would take pity or feel sorry for our offspring???? Not a chance.
And if you answer honestly,YES,I personally think your deluding yourself.I think/hope it was written in jest and just to give the article a wee bit balance.As for the offspring of the Jags fans,then yes,I do feel for them,but they’re a different story altogether.Partick were all over them and deserved the 3 points.
That bouncy bouncy lot would gladly trampoline on our children’s heads while celebrating and singing racist/banned songs.As ‘Scotlands Finest’ stood and watched.
Hail! Hail!?
It lookewd like Pedro was having an orgasm when the huns scored the winner today, just like when they got a draw with us, as Gerry said totally delusional. HH
Fair do to the poor souls. They must have thought they were in for a derby day humping for the 3rd weekend in a row ???
There will be a blog on their websites titled ‘ I wonder who we will get in Europe’ They really don’t do irony, mind you that’s not bad for 5 year old club. Do they meet the criteria though?
Meanwhile all is well at Paradise. Don’t want to tempt fate, but this season is shaping up to be something special, along the lines of special anniversaries that our Lisbon Lion captains speaks of. Anyway, Hail Hail to all the good people with a great unbroken history.
Couldn’t agree more. At Firhill with my boy today and watched my beloved Jags fall to a last minute winner, again! But this time the away support, players and dug out went ballistic. I thought this was an end of season meaningless game or is someone delusional?
Gerry
Not a Jag myself. A supporter of the true and glorious Champions. I do though have good friends who are diehard Thistle fans who have bemoaned their teams failure to see games out this season. As a friend I sympathised with them but inside said “Aye, right!” However right now I’m so bored I decided to go through the mighty PT’s results for the season to lay this myth to bed and get some fuckin peace! Guess what? Goals scored in injury time have cost them seven points. If we stretch that to the last five minutes of regulation time it’s thirteen points. If we take it back to the 81st minute it’s 19 points. Had Partick managed to hold on in each of those games they would be 6 points clear of sevco tonight. Now, I need to go and bake a humble pie! After that I might just look at where sevco would be WITHOUT LATE GOALS!!!
Good work, Charger, those stats make for very interesting reading indeed.
I know a few Thistle fans myself and find it odd that some of them seem to have spent more time at Ibrox in the late 80s , early 90s, ‘watching half the England team’, than following the weekend’s events around Firhill.
There was no Sky Sports messing with the schedules then, all games were 3 o’clock Saturday kick offs, so quite how they managed this, and still cream themselves over it today, is quite beyond me.
I mean, whoever heard of a ‘Jags fan’ turning out to be a secret Rangers supporter ..?