I’ve only ever been interested in the Gers since a boy way back in the ’50’s. Football was on an even par back then. I used to really like seeing the Hearts and Hibs come to Ibrox. There were huge queues to get in for those games. Pay at the gate. Motherwell, Dundee and Killie in the ’60’s were great contests. Love St and Thistle were a must every season. And equally, I travelled a lot to their grounds. Tynecastle, tight and compact. Easter Road with its massive slope. Rugby Park had some amazing duels, and Airdrie another welcoming place. Parkheid was a piggery and full of hate.
Mid-70’s it began to slowly change. We started to dominate, but the ’new firm’ of Aberdeen and Dundee Utd in the 80`s became the fighting focus of interest. Tannadice in particular during the 80’s and 90’s, always offered a decent game and rarely the bile we see today. NIAR in the 90`s saw a revolution take place in Scottish football at the juncture of 8IAR. This, for me, was the beginning of the 2-horse race and the rise in hatred by the non-presbyterian hordes. Possibly Laudrup’s last game I still felt safe enough to sit in with United fans and not see bother at Tannadice. I’d say the same at Rugby Park when we’d have most of the ground and our Ally playing upfront. Nowadays, nearly 25 years on? It’s become a fight between good and evil. The tärriers have raised the hate factor since O’Neil. It was their choice and it’s spread to their usual tärrier factories in Scotland. It set the scene for our sell-out in 2012.
There is not one team that interests me at all. Changed days when there was respect right across Scotland, with one exception, of course. That’s all gone thanks to 2012 and our neighbour’s contribution by hook & crook.
And then there’s the difficulty of finding a ticket. At my age, I no longer want the hassle of sitting in with the ’opposition’. There are always ways of finding a ticket if we want to see our game but factors beyond our control make it more of an unpleasant afternoon instead of it being a sporting game from both sides.
Will it ever change? It’s likely to get worse, driven by the hate-filled vision coming out of Parkheid, their priests and their schools. We need to bring them down with football and show that through respect of most teams we play it is best to try and get on rather than fuelled by hate. It will take generations as it takes a lot to forgive and forget.
