Past And Future Of Our Support

[Pobear]

A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.

The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.

As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.

If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?

IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)

And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?

 

[PolmontLoyal1872]

You’re a failed parent if your child is choosing an EPL team over Rangers. I’m also quite proud of our Unionist & Loyalist support.

 

[iaatpies]

Football as we know it is on it's last legs. Club finances are unsustainable, even in big money leagues. The Saudis are preparing for life after oil and will almost certainly replicate :LIV with their own football tournament. Kids now grow up associating football with something they watch on TV or online rather than attending on a Saturday. They follow players in the same way folk followed teen idol bands/singers or actors.

We're approaching a point where the money clubs will go off and do their own thing and where everybody left will face a massive change. We're essentially going to see the game split in two - we'll have TV superstar football and we'll have real football.

How do we fit in with that? Right now we don't. Neither ourselves or the mhanks are a global elite club. Is there potential for us to be part of that group? I'm not sure. We'd need to be invited to a future super league and we'd need to be able to justify our inclusion from a financial viewpoint. Its a vicious circle - we're not currently a globally elite team because we don't play in a big league and don't have globally followed players and we won't have those unless we can play in a big league. And it's not enough to be part of that big league - at best there are only a handful of EPL clubs who'd be involved if a super league was established.

I think football needs a great reset. Let the superstar money clubs go off and form their own competition. Want to be the football equivalent of the NFL and owned/operated from the middle east? Wire in. Let those of us who are left go back to being football clubs. More modest wages. Stronger connection between fan and club. Proper football culture.

I think that the Germans have it pretty much spot on.

 

[Sgt Steve McGarrett]

You’re a failed parent if your child is choosing an EPL team over Rangers. I’m also quite proud of our Unionist & Loyalist support.

I agree with the first bit. The second could be our downfall. Not because there’s anything wrong with it at all…but if it manifests only into shouting obscenities about the Pope, Bobby Sands and fynyns people will get bored with it.

Giving up a prominent part of the Scotland support and identity is also an act of surrender that we’ll rue one day. Look at the Northern Ireland support, great pride and fun in their part of the Union without griping the whole time that nearly half the country wishes for a different path.

I suspect other opinions will be available.

 

[Pobear]

Football as we know it is on it's last legs. Club finances are unsustainable, even in big money leagues. The Saudis are preparing for life after oil and will almost certainly replicate :LIV with their own football tournament. Kids now grow up associating football with something they watch on TV or online rather than attending on a Saturday. They follow players in the same way folk followed teen idol bands/singers or actors.

We're approaching a point where the money clubs will go off and do their own thing and where everybody left will face a massive change. We're essentially going to see the game split in two - we'll have TV superstar football and we'll have real football.

How do we fit in with that? Right now we don't. Neither ourselves or the mhanks are a global elite club. Is there potential for us to be part of that group? I'm not sure. We'd need to be invited to a future super league and we'd need to be able to justify our inclusion from a financial viewpoint. Its a vicious circle - we're not currently a globally elite team because we don't play in a big league and don't have globally followed players and we won't have those unless we can play in a big league. And it's not enough to be part of that big league - at best there are only a handful of EPL clubs who'd be involved if a super league was established.

I think football needs a great reset. Let the superstar money clubs go off and form their own competition. Want to be the football equivalent of the NFL and owned/operated from the middle east? Wire in. Let those of us who are left go back to being football clubs. More modest wages. Stronger connection between fan and club. Proper football culture.

I think that the Germans have it pretty much spot on.

Great points, mate.

That's why I question the sense in talking about Ibrox becoming an 80,000 capacity stadium. We'd probably end up playing in a half empty stadium (at best) every other week - with fans still singing about Bobby Sands - while future generations were glued to a super league on their TVs

 

[Pobear]

I agree with the first bit. The second could be our downfall. Not because there’s anything wrong with it at all…but if it manifests only into shouting obscenities about the Pope, Bobby Sands and fynyns people will get bored with it.

Giving up a prominent part of the Scotland support and identity is also an act of surrender that we’ll rue one day. Look at the Northern Ireland support, great pride and fun in their part of the Union without griping the whole time that nearly half the country wishes for a different path.

I suspect other opinions will be available.

Spot on. Nothing wrong with culture and identity, but a lot of it at Ibrox (and The Piggery) is more about following the herd.

 

[WeeJockMcPingPong]

A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.

The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.

As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.

If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?

IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)

And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?

It's not independence if all they want to do is hand the keys over to the EU, which is their plan.

 

[Pobear]

It's not independence if all they want to do is hand the keys over to the EU, which is their plan.

It's not about the pros and cons and rights and wrongs of that political debate, mate. It was just a hypothetical question about how it would impact on our support

 

[The People]

We need to attract more immigrants as supporters also
Scotland has one on of the lowest birth rates in the world and the population is only remaining the same due to immigration
We really need to tap into this

I know a few polish lads that support us , it’s not all down to religion, it’s about being the best team in the country and that’s where we are losing

 

[SIRBLUE]

I agree with the first bit. The second could be our downfall. Not because there’s anything wrong with it at all…but if it manifests only into shouting obscenities about the Pope, Bobby Sands and fynyns people will get bored with it.

Giving up a prominent part of the Scotland support and identity is also an act of surrender that we’ll rue one day. Look at the Northern Ireland support, great pride and fun in their part of the Union without griping the whole time that nearly half the country wishes for a different path.

I suspect other opinions will be available.

I've made the NI comparison before now.
It's amazing how they fight for and defend their country's football team (along with everything else), no matter what whereas in Scotland a few sheep shaggers boo a Rangers player and we surrender OUR national identity.

 

[Bri RTID]

A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.

The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.

As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.

If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?

IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)

And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?

Protestant and proud

 

[Pobear]

Protestant and proud

Good for you, mate. I'm not saying you shouldn't be. It doesn't really answer any of my questions, though, and, given church attendance figures, I'm sure we have many proud Protestants in our support who've not seen the inside of a church since their schooldays.

If religion continues to become less and less important in a changing society where does that leave us if that's all we have?

 

[Cowan_rfc]

The religious stuff always makes me laugh now. I dont know anyone at all who goes to church

 

[JudgeDread]

Protestant and proud

Correct - lots of Associations / Clubs all over the World have different affiliations / leanings without alienating anyone else - our Directors don’t seem to know how to handle ours.

 

[PeteGibbons]

Correct - lots of Associations / Clubs all over the World have different affiliations / leanings without alienating anyone else - our Directors don’t seem to know how to handle ours.

What do you want our directors to do exactly? To show people we are Protestant and proud?

 

[Pobear]

What do you want our directors to do exactly? To show people we are Protestant and proud?

Exactly. The thing is we weren't Protestant and proud in our first few decades, and we've openly had Catholic players and managers for the past 35 years.

We've only actually been Protestant and proud for about half our our existence so far, and that was in the middle decades

 

[BlueHaze]

I have absolutely no religious leanings and have never cared about the religion of players we signed even before Mo Jo,I just want Rangers to sign the best and compete at the highest level winning as many trophies as we can,
Our future support will depend on how successful we are not what religion we tag ourselves on to.

 

[GovanFront4]

You’re a failed parent if your child is choosing an EPL team over Rangers. I’m also quite proud of our Unionist & Loyalist support.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

We should never lose our PUL identity. It's what separates us from everyone else.

 

[GovanFront4]

There's also a massive difference between match going fans and online fans. The anti Humza banners at the Kilmarnock game were given massive applause and a rendition of %^*& the SNP. Come on here after it and people are moaning.

Edit: Another thing that pisses me off is people saying Bobby Sands is only remembered because of us. It's demonstrably not true.

 

[Pobear]

I have absolutely no religious leanings and have never cared about the religion of players we signed even before Mo Jo,I just want Rangers to sign the best and compete at the highest level winning as many trophies as we can,
Our future support will depend on how successful we are not what religion we tag ourselves on to.

I totally agree with you, mate.

 

[Kinbo]

You’re a failed parent if your child is choosing an EPL team over Rangers. I’m also quite proud of our Unionist & Loyalist support.

Not always the case.
My son isn't interested and I've had him at Ibrox for euro nights.

My daughter however loves The Rangers.
In the queue before the Aris game and there was a woman about my age with her dad ahead of us.

That's how I envisage my future.

 

[Pobear]

There's also a massive difference between match going fans and online fans. The anti Humza banners at the Kilmarnock game were given massive applause and a rendition of %^*& the SNP. Come on here after it and people are moaning.

Edit: Another thing that pisses me off is people saying Bobby Sands is only remembered because of us. It's demonstrably not true.

I saw a video the other day where a former Loyalist group member was talking about drinking in a Rangers pub the day Bobby Sands had died. It was on the news and some guy was taking the piss and slagging off Sands.

The Loyalist guy's mate (also a member of the UVF? UDA?) eventually swung round, basically told the guy that he was a c**t and that Sands was a soldier then knocked the guy out.

 

[Trafalgar]

I agree with the first bit. The second could be our downfall. Not because there’s anything wrong with it at all…but if it manifests only into shouting obscenities about the Pope, Bobby Sands and fynyns people will get bored with it.

Giving up a prominent part of the Scotland support and identity is also an act of surrender that we’ll rue one day. Look at the Northern Ireland support, great pride and fun in their part of the Union without griping the whole time that nearly half the country wishes for a different path.

I suspect other opinions will be available.

My lack of support for national team has nothing to do with independence and faux Scottishness. It's about the hatred Scottish fans have towards Rangers and Rangers players.
I can't align myself with them, ever.

 

[Pobear]

Not always the case.
My son isn't interested and I've had him at Ibrox for euro nights.

My daughter however loves The Rangers.
In the queue before the Aris game and there was a woman about my age with her dad ahead of us.

That's how I envisage my future.

Fantastic stuff, bud

 

[GovanFront4]

I saw a video the other day where a former Loyalist group member was talking about drinking in a Rangers pub the day Bobby Sands had died. It was on the news and some guy was taking the piss and slagging off Sands.

The Loyalist guy's mate (also a member of the UVF? UDA?) eventually swung round, basically told the guy that he was a c**t and that Sands was a soldier then knocked the guy out

Seen that before, sure it was Dessie Balmer who a room in the Shankill Rangers club is named after.

The poets have parades, murals, songs, there's streets and signs of him across the world. Yet because of one line some big jessies think it's only us that ever mention him. The whole world needs to know "%^*& Bobby Sands"

 

[MarkWalters11]

I have no interest really in religion even though i call my self a Protestant and my wife was raised catholic but also has no interest in religion. Our kids are Rangers daft and Danilo is their favourite.
Speaking to some other parents at the school gates and football training, they buy them Man City and Barcelona tops and they are from rangers supporting families. I asked one of the mums in a jokey way “ where’s the Rangers top” and she replied along the lines “ I think he prefers Barcelona and less religion involved” . Which shocked me.
We have to stop some parents seeing us a toxic as we will certainly lose some young fans who will be the next generation if they are pushed down the EPL route instead of Rangers .

 

[Billyglasgow63]

I don’t go to church and haven’t for years. I still identify as Protestant. I am 60 and come from an era where we all loved the loyalist unionist songs and was saddened when we as a club seemed to lie down to the politically correct element in society but can understand why when heavy fines then also talk of point deductions came along.
I have never cared about what religious beliefs our players held as I always wanted and still want Rangers to have the best team on the park. If we can turn the fortunes of the team on the park around then I have no doubt we will continue to fill Ibrox well into the future.
Will our support change probably. Will our club thrive going forward I hope so. Will the team improve and become serial winners again it simply has to as me at 60 the guys at 30 and the young bears just beginning to support Rangers really only want one thing our team on the park to be the best it can be

 

[Awaydays72]

You’re a failed parent if your child is choosing an EPL team over Rangers. I’m also quite proud of our Unionist & Loyalist support.

I can’t, not see the dad from step brothers now, standing at the top of his staircase, shouting fail-ures at Brennan and dale haha.

 

[Tin man]

A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.

The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.

As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.

If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?

IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)

And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?

I’m 49 and I’m proud we still sing the same songs we did when I was wee

 

[TamS-RFC]

Looking back, my dad got a lot of joy out of me asking for Rangers videos , memorabilia, tops etc even though he complained it cost him a fortune!

If im to have a son one day, I will gladly spend a fortune too.

 

[PT98]

Not always the case.
My son isn't interested and I've had him at Ibrox for euro nights.

My daughter however loves The Rangers.
In the queue before the Aris game and there was a woman about my age with her dad ahead of us.

That's how I envisage my future.

Exactly. The 'you've failed as a parent ' posts always make me laugh a bit. Probably more often than not posted by someone that doesn't even have kids.

If your kid isn't interested in football then he's not interested. No amount of forcing is gonna change that. I'd argue that you're failing as a parent if you're trying to force your likes and hobbies onto a child that isn't interested.

 

[Pobear]

I’m 49 and I’m proud we still sing the same songs we did when I was wee

That's fair enough, mate. I'm not knocking anyone's views on that, but don't you think that it's something that will hold us back in the next 40 years of rapidly changing football?

 

[TheFantasticNinetiesFox]

Seen that before, sure it was Dessie Balmer who a room in the Shankill Rangers club is named after.

The poets have parades, murals, songs, there's streets and signs of him across the world. Yet because of one line some big jessies think it's only us that ever mention him. The whole world needs to know "%^*& Bobby Sands"

43 years ago the guy died. What relevance does this have to Rangers and our support today?

 

[Cavin]

That's fair enough, mate. I'm not knocking anyone's views on that, but don't you think that it's something that will hold us back in the next 40 years of rapidly changing football?

What's going to hold us back is the rich clubs getting richer and poor clubs getting poorer, not songs the fans sing!

 

[iaatpies]

What's going to hold us back is the rich clubs getting richer and poor clubs getting poorer, not songs the fans sing!

Not necessarily.

If we're genuinely looking at how football is changing in the foreseeable future then a huge part of that change will be how clubs can market themselves and attract fans and sponsors on the global stage.

Will there come a point in time when certain aspects of the support's identity cause problems with potential sponsorship partners or entry into new competitions?

 

[Pobear]

What's going to hold us back is the rich clubs getting richer and poor clubs getting poorer, not songs the fans sing!

If we are seen as a club stuck in the past then we'll be one of the clubs getting poorer while others are invited up to the big boys' table, mate

 

[SimonLeBon]

I've made the NI comparison before now.
It's amazing how they fight for and defend their country's football team (along with everything else), no matter what whereas in Scotland a few sheep shaggers boo a Rangers player and we surrender OUR national identity.

It's not only a few sheep shaggers though is it? Scotlands support has become more and more nationalist over the years, that's why the yahoo's jumped on-board and they as a fanbase had no time for the Scottish national team in the past.

 

[SimonLeBon]

If we are seen as a club stuck in the past then we'll be one of the clubs getting poorer while others are invited up to the big boys' table, mate

It doesn't seem to impact Barca who since their formation have been pro independence from Spain and are very vocal about it.

 

[SIRBLUE]

It's not only a few sheep shaggers though is it? Scotlands support has become more and more nationalist over the years, that's why the yahoo's jumped on-board and they as a fanbase had no time for the Scottish national team in the past.

It used to be Rangers supporters made up the majority and apparently we still have a bigger share than any other individual club. However a large section of our fanbase has meekly allowed our national team to be usurped.
And for avoidance of doubt, I'm part of that, although I certainly don't go down the "I hope they get fkd" road.

 

[Cavin]

If we are seen as a club stuck in the past then we'll be one of the clubs getting poorer while others are invited up to the big boys' table, mate

Nah, no-one is getting invited up to the "big boys" table bud, it's full!

 

[deBoersHeader]

I have no interest really in religion even though i call my self a Protestant and my wife was raised catholic but also has no interest in religion. Our kids are Rangers daft and Danilo is their favourite.
Speaking to some other parents at the school gates and football training, they buy them Man City and Barcelona tops and they are from rangers supporting families. I asked one of the mums in a jokey way “ where’s the Rangers top” and she replied along the lines “ I think he prefers Barcelona and less religion involved” . Which shocked me.
We have to stop some parents seeing us a toxic as we will certainly lose some young fans who will be the next generation if they are pushed down the EPL route instead of Rangers .

Did she really say that?

 

[Pobear]

It doesn't seem to impact Barca who since their formation have been pro independence from Spain and are very vocal about it.

They're in a different stratosphere to us, mate, and I doubt that the millions of kids all over the world who love Barca have any idea (or interest) in the politics. But Barca are big enough to get away with it. We're not.

 

[SimonLeBon]

Did she really say that?

If so she is part of the problem.

 

[SecondBestIsNothing]

A lot of what folk think are our club's 'traditions' were really brought in by Harland & Wolff in the 1910's onwards. Interesting where our club would be if they didn't arrive at Govan's shipyards.

 

[steven allen]

Football as we know it is on it's last legs. Club finances are unsustainable, even in big money leagues. The Saudis are preparing for life after oil and will almost certainly replicate :LIV with their own football tournament. Kids now grow up associating football with something they watch on TV or online rather than attending on a Saturday. They follow players in the same way folk followed teen idol bands/singers or actors.

We're approaching a point where the money clubs will go off and do their own thing and where everybody left will face a massive change. We're essentially going to see the game split in two - we'll have TV superstar football and we'll have real football.

How do we fit in with that? Right now we don't. Neither ourselves or the mhanks are a global elite club. Is there potential for us to be part of that group? I'm not sure. We'd need to be invited to a future super league and we'd need to be able to justify our inclusion from a financial viewpoint. Its a vicious circle - we're not currently a globally elite team because we don't play in a big league and don't have globally followed players and we won't have those unless we can play in a big league. And it's not enough to be part of that big league - at best there are only a handful of EPL clubs who'd be involved if a super league was established.

I think football needs a great reset. Let the superstar money clubs go off and form their own competition. Want to be the football equivalent of the NFL and owned/operated from the middle east? Wire in. Let those of us who are left go back to being football clubs. More modest wages. Stronger connection between fan and club. Proper football culture.

I think that the Germans have it pretty much spot on.

The future for us is either a large reputable sponsor, either a tech company or a large franchise like a motor manufacturer,
Allied to that qualification for the champions league as many seasons as we can,

In the future the redevelopment of our stadium to increase capacity and therefore generate more income,

I agree with what others have said about young fans watching football on TV,
I think my generation of Rangers fan will be the last that attends football religiously regardless of our trophy wins
We have to accept the game has changed and it's never going back to the way it was , TV revenues have killed it,
It's easier for a kid to sit in the house in the winter with a sky subscription than sit in the cold watching players they have no connection to

 

[iaatpies]

The future for us is either a large reputable sponsor, either a tech company or a large franchise like a motor manufacturer,
Allied to that qualification for the champions league as many seasons as we can,

In the future the redevelopment of our stadium to increase capacity and therefore generate more income,

I agree with what others have said about young fans watching football on TV,
I think my generation of Rangers fan will be the last that attends football religiously regardless of our trophy wins
We have to accept the game has changed and it's never going back to the way it was , TV revenues have killed it,
It's easier for a kid to sit in the house in the winter with a sky subscription than sit in the cold watching players they have no connection to

The CL will not exist in it's new form in 10 years time. The change is only really delaying the inevitable.

The future of football is 2 tier. Superstar football in a closed shop super league and everybody else. Encouraging a new generation of fans to shun the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona is going to be a huge task.

 

[dublinbluenose]

There's also a massive difference between match going fans and online fans. The anti Humza banners at the Kilmarnock game were given massive applause and a rendition of %^*& the SNP. Come on here after it and people are moaning.

Edit: Another thing that pisses me off is people saying Bobby Sands is only remembered because of us. It's demonstrably not true.

That does me head in.the idea we are the only ones keeping his name alive.most days of the week I pass a hunger striker memorial with his name on it.the local s/f branch is named after him

 

[Orange County]

Exactly. The thing is we weren't Protestant and proud in our first few decades, and we've openly had Catholic players and managers for the past 35 years.

We've only actually been Protestant and proud for about half our our existence so far, and that was in the middle decades

I guess one for David Mason , at the start i wonder what the split was with. RCs and Prods in the team and when it eventually ended up more of a Protestant team.

 

[steven allen]

The CL will not exist in it's new form in 10 years time. The change is only really delaying the inevitable.

The future of football is 2 tier. Superstar football in a closed shop super league and everybody else. Encouraging a new generation of fans to shun the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona is going to be a huge task.

100%

We need to offer more than we currently do as young people are turned off by it,

I would sit in the freezing cold and watch us play but many others won't and as a fan base and a club we need to address that

 

[Meo-meomeomy]

A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.

The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.

As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.

If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?

IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)

And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?

Can you explain a wee bit more what you mean about separating ourselves from this old firm nonsense.
I agree about focusing on the founders story, history, maybe the philosophy of or commitment of great managers like Mr Struth, Walter Smith etc and for me the fact that we are a great and proud Scottish, British club.
Having a fierce rivalry is also a strength in terms of what makes us who we are but for me many get over obsessed with what and how whatever happens affects the opposition. So they would for example be almost more pleased at how a success of ours adversely affects our rivals than enjoying the success for us.
To put it more simply far too bothered about one upmanship/ having the bragging rights etc. is that what you mean?