“My father wasn’t at all keen on me becoming a Rangers supporter. He was a Glasgow policeman and because of that he resented the whole football scene in Glasgow. ‘He was actually very anti-football. When we were kids growing up he was very vocal on his dislike of the bigotry in football. The police in Glasgow at that time saw it as a basis for thuggery.
“My father took me to that first game reluctantly…”
Dave King, shooting the breeze with the Daily Mail in March last year.
“Like all of you who read this letter, I have always taken pride in being a Rangers supporter. It is something I inherited from my father who, in turn, inherited the legacy from my grandfather. This is what Rangers fans do. We pass on our pride and belief in Rangers to our children.”
Dave King’s letter to the season ticket marketing database last week.
One of the two statements is probably true, although with Dave, who knows? South African judge, Brian Southwood, referred to King as a “glib and shameless liar”. Despite this, the SFA decided he was an appropriate person to run a football club, free to send out messages like this, with the objective of relieving fans of an average of £411 per person. This is what happens when you enable people already branded a shameless liar, what do you expect?
I hope the SFA and Trading Standards are alerted to what’s going on, don’t leave it until it’s too late.
I’m waiting for new of the Ben Nevis Huddle, which should have taken place at the peak of the mountain in the last hour. Over 80 people set out on the climb this morning to raise funds for the Celtic Foundation – to feed the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless and help others in need.
It’s a magnificent Celtic effort. My wee brother’s up there, you can give his fundraising a pound or two here. Thank you.
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AN TEARMANN
Very good article indeed. My thanks to you for the repost and to CATMAN for the original.
Re Mhairi Black….
I don’t really dislike or like her. I certainly wouldn’t let something she had posted online, when she was a 17 year old student, influence my opinion on her or her party.
For the record, the Celtic tweet was mentioned fairly early doors and she went onto explain how her Mother, Aunts and most of her siblings were all ardent Celtic fans.
Some folk on here (aye, you Neganon and others) want tae get aff their knees and stop revelling in playing the victim.
There are actually people living in our country today, who have been fortunate enough to escape real persecution, with their lives.
Mass time in St Bennys!!
Proudbhoy
Thank you. James McIntyre has given him a chance of first team football in the SPL. It is up to Chris to grasp that.
Hail Hail
ARCHDEACONSBENCH
I am happy to judge her by her abilities in office rather than a childish knee-jerk tweet.
Anyone who wisnae an idiot on occasion-!-at 17 isnae worth bothering about.
Chairbhoy
Thanks bud. My carer (son) will babysit his dad well. Hoops in Benicassim! :)
Meeting up with 2 Scottish Celtic supporters and a Dublin Irish Celtic supporter in local GAA to cheer on our respective teams. I shall be shouting for Columcille and St. Patrick.
If Scotland get a result I shall be shouting for Columba. KTF
DELANEYSDUNKY
I assume Chris won’t be joining us for the Cheltenham Dayooooot?
Pity. I was so looking forward to getting barred from a pub because an 18yo was drinking J2O in a pub full of kids.
Not got over that one yet…
AR
See you soon! :)
Daryl Murphy up top for Ireland .. I give up
Mcgeady..long and McClean all fall to start.
Not too optimistic .
BMCUW
It may clash with Ross County pre season. The J20 kid thanks you for your continued support. I may be down 24 July just after Benicassim.
mulgrew and brown play
Does anyone know when the national anthems will be sung? Love the Irish one sung properly (which isn’t true at Celtic Park). Can’t stand Flower of Scotland. Give me Scotland the Brave any day of the week.
marrakesh express…
Right enough mate, the back and front doors in the valley, still, upmarket compared to most in those days.
I hope a few of my sliced drives at the twelfth hole in the linn found there unbeknown target :)
PCS
Scots Wha Hae would be my favoured Scottish national anthem.
archdeaconsbench
15:41 on 13 June, 2015
I thought she spoke quite well, seemingly down to earth and mentioned some of her Celtic supporting family give her grief about the “tweet” at family gatherings, which is fair enough, but she is now an elected member of the SNP which support the Offensive Behaviour Act but she mentioned her and her fellow Partick Thistle fans have had a standing section for ages, where we always stand……which I presume is a seated area, so is it ok for Thistle fans to not bother with football stadium laws….
Still don’t get this claim I live in a hotbed of racism and bigotry? in the last twenty years RC`s, homosexuals and followers of Islam have risen to prominent positions in government, the judiciary and the police.
I saw clearly the fact that the majority of abuse was aimed at Catholics, in the report on the BBC website and heard it on Radio Scotland. Perhaps that fact did not suit any agenda?
The default option or knee jerk reaction will certainly, in many cases, be an off colour remark or volley of abuse…I blame drink for the majority of that, the balance will be down to poor education and peer pressure.
Anyway must go and watch some football…aching after the gym this morning..
right,away to watch the game.
2-1 Scotland will do for me,
well a few square goes have taken piece.
whichever way the craic will be mighty
:-)
HH
The Orange Walk allowed us to share the fruits of their musicality the day.
It’s a cross between someone scraping their fingernails down an ole blackboard and a drunk man pushin’ an ole piano down a flight of stairs.
Did this lot really give the world country music?
Anthems
Shebeen
Blood stained bandage is blasting here in the Ozzy outback
an tearmann
16:11 on 13 June, 2015
You get my text, not had a reply?
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Archdeaconsbench you see this is the thing I find funny. You say I should get off my knees and stop revelling in playing the victim?
That’s simply amazing, not just because that’s what the racists say but because my questioning and challenging of the institutional racism is the exact opposite of revelling in playing the victim. My visits to MSPS, letters etc are the exact opposite of revelling in playing the victim.
No my friend your explicit, uncle timesque acceptance of it while probably complaining about the odd refereeing decisions is far more revelling in playing the victim than me.
celtic supporters who defend the OB and all the cheating. Amazing.
Ireland obviously going route one, pump it up to Murphy and Walters and pick up the knock downs and scraps. May work given Scotland weakness is central defence.
Enjoy the game bhoys no matter who wins…
Paul67 et al
Really looks like a tactical battle between Gordon and Martin. Midfield the main battlefield. Scotland have played quite well away from home, keep that up and take the points. Gotta go for Scotland, 2-1.
Thankyou for putting my earlier post back on Sipsini…cheers
gary67.. MON playing route 1 football ? That would be a new philosophy for him :)
Interesting selection from Martin to say the least
Cowiebhoy,
Completely agree with you on internationals. not interested in them bar the Celtic players taking part and even then that is only about them escaping injuries.
If Scotland win I will not be the least up and if they lose, I will not be the least down.
Over many decades Celtic football club and its players have had terrible times from the SFA and the International Committee.
Roll on the new season and European qualifiers, when the real football starts
Martin42
In Slatterys of Grand Canal Street before the game.
Lots of scots and irish fans.
Rebel songs being belted out over the loud speakers
Come on you boys in green
Good Afternoon.
Let me tell you a story – as Max Bygreaves used to say.
We are accustomed to sitting in our armchairs, reaching for the remote control and allowing our televisions to tell us what is going on in the world of sport.
When we are not following the travails of our favourite football club, it is the editors, producers and directors of any number of broadcasters who decide on what sport will enter our living rooms by way of the satellite, the box, the chips, wires and transistors that make up the modern domestic enteratainment device.
Together with the editors and the journalists who determine the copy of the sports pages in our newspapers, it is the television which determines our view of world sport.
Those who provide this service now do so with barely any attempt at hiding their prefrred promotion of the leagues or events in which their paymasters have invested. The EPL is the greatest league in the world and any international team boasting a name familiar to those who watch and report on the EPL has a genuine star in its midst with the other players reduced to bit part status ……. unless they are bound for these shores and can regularly feature in the discussions between Mr Lineker and his guests.
The world of sport on television is fat, lazy, complacent, arrogant, predictable and is nothing but a device which allows the marketing department to go to work. It has ceased to be an independent means of entertainment.
Yet, there is terrific sport, competition and entertainment to be found if only the sports broadcaster would care to open his or her eyes and look for it. Sport that can be educational, full of integrity, fiece competition, thrilling and which brings about a sense of awe.
On 24th June 217 BC, The Carthaginian general Hannibal led his army to a famous victory over the Romans at the Batlle of Lake Trasimene or Trasimeno as it is now known.
To this day,Hannibal’s victory over the Romans remains, in terms of the number of men involved, the largest ambush in military history. In the prelude to the battle, Hannibal also achieved the earliest known example of a strategic turning movement – or what might be ragarded in modern sports terms as “The swift counter attack”.
For the next 20 years, The Carthiginian would be the scourge of the Roman Empire.
Hannibal’s full name was Hannibal Barca and he was the son of Hamilcar Barca – and it is said that it is this lineage which gave it’s name to the city of Barcelona.
However, back on Lake Trasimeno, Hannibal defeated the Romans on a long strip of land on the northern shore of the lake, and on that site was founded the town of Passignano Sul Trasimeno which sits on the Northen shores of the lake some 20 miles or so from Perugia.
It is a picturesque town which boasts some five and a half thousand inhabitants.
Over the years, Passignano and the lake have seen some interesting characters and events.
St Francis of Assissi lived on an island in the middle of the lake and all sorts of famous painters and scholars have come to visit.
However, it was famous for its battle and for another set of events which took place in 1495 when there was another bloody battle in the town. This time the warring factions were two local noble families – The Baglioni’s and the Oddi’s.
The story goes that during the battle, small sections of the Oddi family had to make their escape from their pursuers by running through the town’s narrow streets from the castle on the hill all the way to the shore of the lake whilst carrying a boat on their shoulders.
Once at the shore, they launched the boat and sailed to safety.
All very interesting you might think but what has this to do with Sport or television, Barca, Hannibal or Celtic Quick News?
Well, from 1984 onwards the town of Passignano decided to re-enact the flight of the Oddi and turn it into an annual sporting contest.
Now, this is not any old contest but one which absolutely bristles with local pride, a team affiliation that can be with you from birth or which you just associate with because of a change in your circumstances.
The four teams who compete are all from different districts of the town and it is a huge honour — and I mean a really huge honour — to be chosen as a part of the team for your district.
The teams wear bright colours to clearly demonstrate their differences and each event is eagerly anticipated from the very moment that the previous one ends.
Children are brought up in the knowledge that they might one day represent their district and wear the club colours, and those who wear those colours and go on to victory can expect to be treated better than any national hero brought into the living room by the national and iternational brodcasters.
Young men and women who might have moved out of the area for the purposes of work return just to participate in and be part of the week long preparations that all play an essential part of this spectacular.
As for the event itself?
Well, this is the boat race, the 3000 metre steeplecahse, The Tour de France, Ali v Frazier, The Olympic relay final and everything else all rolled into one.
Defeat here means a certain amount of shame and ignomany in the sporting sense yet it also means real camaraderie and celebration with team mates and opponents alike.
Victory brings celebrations and a hero status that can only be imitated elsewhere.
Of the four teams representing the districts of the town (The Rioni) – Rione Centro Storico, Rione Centro Due, Rione Oliveto and Rione San Donato – one will be the champion and holder of the title.
During the last week of July all four teams will train – though the members of the teams will have been training all year – and each team will choose where to position its members and decide on the tactics for the epic battle to come.
During that week, there will be pageants, fireworks, entertainments, and visitors will be invited to sample local food and drink before the climax on the Saturday night with the competition taking place on the last Sunday of the month.
On the Saturday night, the four teams will meet in the town centre with the three vanquished teams calling out the reigning champions who respond by challenging them to a new race the following day.
On the Saturday there is amazing pomp and circumstance, serious ceremony, fireworks a pageant, a street banquet and a huge gala with food, music, drink and entertainment before the serious stuff begins.
The race is in three stages:
The first involves setting off a runner down the pier ( like the Oddi of old ) who then jumps into the team boat which in turn is rowed from the pier to a jetty on the outskirts of town.
This is a long row in a heavy 25 ft wooden boat using large oars. The oarsmen tend to be supremely fit muscular guys who burst a gut to get their team ashore first as this is vital.
Once at the jetty, the runner, who carries a team flag, sprints up to the end of the jetty and passes the flag to a team mate who then sets off at breakneck speed.
However, as he or she does so, they will pass an idenctical boat to the one that has just made the journey from pier to jetty only this one is lying in the ground.
As the runner passes a number of team mates will pick up the boat and start to run with it on their shoulders, following the flag carrier.
When I say run, I do not mean any kind of gentle jog. No, this manoever is performed at a real sprint and for the next 4 minutes or so the heavy boat is carried by any number of up to forty team mates who all have to be at strategic positions along the course weaving in and out of the carrying team.
Many wear facepaint and grease up their faces in team colours. Some teams carry the boat upright, while others turn it on its head and carry it upside down.
Thousands of spectators line the streets and shout their encouragement waving the flags of the favourite Rione.
Unbelievably, the course is not only not flat, but involves the teams carryying the boat through narrow streets with barely enough room for the runners, up flights of stairs, around tight corners and alleys, and around blind bends with the runners unable to see obsticles and hazards.
Many get grazed and bruised against the tight walls.
Getting your boat into the alleys first is key as there is no room for overtaking except on the later stages of the course.
Disaster can strike if the team drops the boat or fails to get it over the wall at the top of the course.
There are frequent falls, regular slips on the well worn tiles around the pedestrian areas, occasional fights and regular drawing of blood as a result of blisters, falls and the odd foul.
The runners run with their boat to the jetty once more and dump it at the end of the pier.
This then sets off another runner who takes the flag from their team mate and they head for yet another boat which lies in wait with another two muscular oarsmen.
For the team that is in second place, there is a chance here to make up ground on the leaders and it can be a valid tactic to have a superb second set of rowers on this last leg provided the runners keep you in touch.
The oarsmen take the boat around the bay again with the whole town cheering on with the boats being followed by a flotilla of cruisers and motor boats.
When the first boat gets ashore the runner sprints and places the team flag in a Golden urn and the fisrt to do so is declared the winner.
This sets off huge celebrations for the winners, and while the other teams may celebrate within their own ranks and accept the commiserations of the victors, there is a palpable sense of defeat and despair, and a sense of having let the district down.
This is sport and competition in its simplest and most noble form. It is a community event and there are no riches for the victors just a sense of achievement, pride an honour.
There are no TV contracts, endless reruns, celebrity panelists or whatever involved.
There is no price of admission for a spectator – you just have to turn up to watch and find a place among the countless thousands who line the streets on race day making life for the runners even more difficult.
This is a sporting world where the to be a participant you have to come from one of the Riones or you have to live there.
This is blood, guts, skill, pride, stamina, a sense of “team” and a determination to come back again year after year.
This is something that local kids grow up dreaming about and long for the day they can take part.
This is something that has roots that go back in time to the events of long ago and traditions which have been resurrected in the last 30 odd years bringing a sense of occasion and local pride.
Ladies and Gentlemen this might just be one of the greatest sporting events on the planet.
This is the Palio Delle Barche – and if you are in the area between 18th and 26th July this year for God’s sake don’t miss it!
Unless you are a TV Producer or Director from one of the global networks – you guys just jog on by and leave the locals to their thing – it works really well without you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SetuCT42s00
DELANEYSDUNKY
Scots Wha’ Hae for me too.
From the pen of the world’s first published socialist.
Proudbhoy cant believe no McGeady,Long,McClean
Add to that WGS far better tactically than O’Neill, throw in the distraction of tbe otber guy and money would be on Scotland.
If that happens should be end of management, hopefully.
1-0 Scotland for me
HH
CRC
Ireland 2 Scotand 0
Come on Ireland
5-0
I was born in St Andrews in 1963 .
I attended the Scotland v ROI match at Celtic park.
I witnessed Scottish fans badly beat up an Irish fan inside the stadium at the corner between the Celtic end and the main stand.
When Scotland scored my heart sank and I had a sickening feeling in my stomach.
I don’t have a bit of Irish blood in me but I want Ireland to win.
C’mon you bhoys in green.
TT
Away to watch the game but will the Tartan Army boo James McCarthy as much as Aiden McGeady, by the way I like both players but just wondering if Aiden would be treated differently
Enjoy the game whoever you support (or don’t)
Live update blog ?