From a green jumper to a season ticket

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It’s one of those obscure football facts which appears more likely to be an urban myth, but when he jogs out onto Celtic Park on Sunday the proof will be there for all to see: Chelsea captain John Terry is a Celtic fan.  I’ve heard many wide ranging reasons why people become attached to the club, not everyone was born into it as an accident of paternal heritage, some of us made our own way there.

I know one Ulsterman, from the loyalist tradition, who has lived in Scotland for decades, and, along with his friends, is a Celtic supporter.  One season ticket holder told me he started shouting for Celtic as an infant, to tease his Rangers supporting father, but one day the teasing developed into the acquisition of a green jumper, an unusual occurrence in the family home.  A bridge had been crossed, soon posters were on the bedroom wall, a Celtic Subbutteo team was bought and after a few years, a Celtic top made its appearance.

There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of great stories like these.

Sunday’s #19 Legenda’ game will be a chance for some of us to reminisce about the days when Pierre, Lubo, Jorge, Bobo, Tommy Boyd, the man himself, Stiliyan Petrov and, of course, the Swede, graced Celtic Park every week.  It will be a rare chance to see Martin O’Neill on the on the touchline, perhaps without bouncing up and down.  Well done to Carlos Cuellar for pitching up, even if he has to play the inevitable pantomime villain.

Monies raised will go towards Stiliyan’s Foundation and to stock a food bank, which will open in Glasgow this month with the aim of alleviating food poverty. Which takes us back to where we started.

Enjoy your day.
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924 Comments

  1. .

     

     

    desertbhoy

     

    11:54 on

     

    7 September, 2013

     

    Summa of Sammi….

     

     

    11:52 on 7 September, 2013

     

     

    .

     

     

    Re;The Next Old Firm game

     

    ……………………………………………………………

     

     

    there is no “old firm” therefore there cannot/never will be a “next” game!!

     

     

    ..

     

     

     

     

    Ha Ha..

     

     

    You have been reading too Many Internet Bampots..When Sky Advertise The Next Old Firm Derby..Thousand will be Scrambling to Subscribe..

     

     

    Summa

  2. ....PFayr supports WeeOscar on

    Ernie

     

     

    All very true

     

     

    I think those like LNS think it’s all an irrelevance in life and consider appeasing the Huns to be the least path of resistance …particularly when the MSM had been working so hard to promulgate the lie

     

     

    Re Spence …is he not entitled to the support of his employers in this

     

     

    Surely the bbc have to back their employee

  3. .

     

     

    MacJay..

     

     

    Ya Auld Tory Get..

     

     

    Welcome to Your Biggest Nightmare..

     

     

    We will speak again in 3 Years..;-(

     

     

    Go Palmer Untited..

     

     

    Summa of Abbott&CostelloCSC

  4. Delaneys Dunky

     

     

    Your name brought back a very fond memory of my father. The very short version of the story was one August night/early morning there was a group of six of us returning to my Grandmother’s cottage in Bundoran. We had been to the Great Northern Hotel and were all in good spirits. My Auld man jumped on the back of a rather old donkey and was cracking jokes about the state of the local taxis. It would be fair to say the donkey was not in the best of nick and would fail a donkey MOT and my father was, lets say a stranger to the salad bar. Anyhow next day I wandered down to Mulraneys corner shop for a packet of smokes. The three locals in front of me were discussing the events of the morning whereupon old Mr Delaney had found his donkey lying in the field as dead as a doorpost (his words not mine) with a distorted expression on its face.

     

    I slipped out and bought my now very needed ciggies elsewhere. On returning to the cottage I passed on my news to my father who responded ‘ Aye, my arse’.

  5. .

     

     

    desertbhoy

     

    12:03 on

     

    7 September, 2013

     

    …..then Sky would be guilty of mis-leading advertising

     

     

    Ehhhh..????

     

     

    Hope your No a Lawyer..;-)

     

     

    Summa of I’mALawyerTMCCSC

  6. Desertbhoy

     

     

    45 degree angle and you will be fine. I am going out to warm up for the Burns’ fight. Enjoy amigo.

  7. TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox on

    Paddy

     

     

    You must a been scarred for life after that experience

     

     

    And.. was it not ” aye , my ass “

  8. saltires en sevilla supporting wee oscar

     

     

    11:09 on 7 September, 2013.

     

     

    I see where you are coming from but why forfeit watching celtic?

     

     

    We did no wrong and to not be there to support our team and be vociferous in our support is what our team needs.

     

     

    Thems will be back and denial is delusional.

     

     

    The plus side, if there is one, is…. Thems are a shadow of what they were and we are in the

     

    Position to humiliate them on a regular basis.

     

     

    Pl’s. appointment will hopefully ensure the knuckle crunching will be monitored…as that will never go away. HH

  9. TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox

     

     

     

    12:12 on 7 September, 2013

     

     

     

    Paddy

     

     

    You must a been scarred for life after that experience

     

     

    And.. was it not ” aye , my ass “

     

    **********

     

    Thing was my father was very chicken hearted and loved animals, ferocious in other ways but animals he had a bond with.

  10. Dunky…. all ok withthis one, and got 3 others.. looks like being a good afternoon!!

     

     

    Hope Ricky sees off yet another one>

  11. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    Summa of Sammi….

     

    12:07 on

     

    7 September, 2013

     

    .MacJay..

     

    Ya Auld Tory Get..

     

     

    Now how did you know I`d be on?

     

    Just waking up from a 6 year nightmare,pal.

     

    A return to sanity beckons.

     

    :-)

  12. leftclicktic oscar in our thoughts on

    Jim Spence‏@bbcjimspence3h

     

    Someone just reminded me of the famous saying of Pastor Martin Niemoller. “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out”

  13. TBJ Praying for Oscar Knox

     

     

     

    12:18 on 7 September, 2013

     

     

     

    Paddy

     

     

    The old firm is a deid as delaneys donkey

     

    **********

     

    Hasten to add John and Margaret Delaney were the salt of the earth type people.

     

     

    Me: John have you ever driven down to Galway?

     

    John: Yes.

     

    I am going down tomorrow, how long is the drive?

     

    Straight faced and without the hint of a smile ‘Depends how fast you drive’.

  14. Desertbhoy

     

     

    Heading out to my local. Will be coming home later with some black tins with the widget in, to cheer on Ricky. Nice chatting.

  15. saltires en sevilla supporting wee oscar on

    A Stor Mo Chroi

     

     

    11:38 on 7 September, 2013

     

     

    saltires en sevilla supporting wee oscar :

     

     

    You didn’t accommodate those who just love to see the Tic gub the huns.

     

     

    —–

     

     

    BT reminded me of that aspect -I admit that is tempting but one I feel I must resist

     

     

    you feel this is an age thing-ha! let me tell you, there may be snow on the mountain… but there is still fire in the boiler …;-)

     

     

    salford- bang on mate

     

     

     

    sipsini -for me it’s either play sport by the rules -or not. That shower of charlatans should not be in the competition -I’ve had enough of that bollox.

     

     

    HH

  16. Paddy

     

     

    That is uncanny, I had an Uncle John and Aunt Margaret Delaney from Sligo. God rest their souls.

  17. iPaddy McCourt Supports Wee Oscar on

    We need to speak out in support of Jim Spence. In what kind of corrupt cesspit of a country does a journalist get vilified for dealing in simple facts?

     

     

    Charles Green said it. Traynor said it before selling out completely and taking the bigot pound. They said it because it was true. Liquidation = death. Newco = new club.

     

     

    And where is the support for Spence from those in a position to be heard by a wide audience? Are his journalistic colleagues to scared to speak out? If so, they should not be journalists.