Uncontained post-match anger? Tune into on SkySports

Kris Boyd’s post-match tirade on Sunday was arresting.  He was angry and, just after fulltime, his thoughts tumbled out in an unstructured manner.  You seldom see such vociferous anger on television outside of the drama genre.  I don’t recall ever seeing it from a sports presenter.

Not long after getting home from such an emphatic victory, this was like sugar on the doughnut to complete the afternoon’s entertainment.  Later on, I felt a bit guilty. Boyd wasn’t right in being so forthright and it wasn’t right for me to enjoy the show.

When a SkySports professional displays uncontained anger, it normalises this behaviour.  Others feel permitted to get angry, some may even think that anger is appropriate and that they are obliged to get angry to show how much they care.

Later on Sunday, when the Newco players returned to Ibrox, they were met by a very angry mob.  Board members who have put millions of pounds into the club, players who have to motivate themselves for the coming games, and a manager who is sitting on a new gold-plated contract, were roundly abused.

As a Celtic fan, it is clear how unproductive this is.  Celtic cannot do as much damage to Newco as angry and uncontained Newco ‘fans’.

Whatsit to us?  You and I can acknowledge this is not normal, it is not healthy and it is not an example to us, whenever/if ever we inevitably drop from our run of trebles and titles.  It is not Celtic, it is not even the Rangers I remember from the magnificent early 80s [the 70s was another era], it is a new and ugly phenomenon [Neil Lennon might suggest it’s not absolutely new].

Kris Boyd possibly doesn’t know better.  His parting line on the programme, about his wife having a lot to deal with that night, was clearly an innocent joke at his own expense.  But the joke formed in Kris’s head, as another thought formed in mine, that uncontained male anger has very ugly consequences in a domestic environment.  If you whip up hundreds of thousands of football fans, someone, somewhere, will pay a price.

If uncontained anger about football is your thing, you will be able to fill your boots most weeks.  It is ugly, and anyone who thinks it is acceptable needs to have a look at themself.

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