Practically NCC for the past, oh lets say month or so, I thought I'd throw a
starter for ten from a very spring like and pleasant Belfast....
We've all pretty much bemoaned the atmosphere at Celtic Park for a while
now - i.e. the fact that, apart from the "Big Games" such as Juve, Valencia
and possibly Livi ;-) it's not that atmospheric a place. Saturday was my
first home game this season and I came away from it with a kind-of
hypothesis regarding the whole match day thing - a few things that actually
hadn't struck me until Saturday.
Firstly, how we travelled to the game. Anyone who took that Larne Stranraer
slow boat from about 10 years back will know how the journey over was always
a bit of laugh; many absolutely pished drunk Celtic Fans queuing up for a
bar that opened at 8 in the morning and drinking the thing dry. By the time
you were half way across the puddle to Alba the boat was rocking, both in a
literal as well as a physical sense as song after song was belted out by
you, yer mates, the whole bar and then some and people indulged in the
pastime of hun spotting among the crowd - normally quite an easy spectator
sport as they'd be the 4 bald, steroid pumped up, knuckle dragging
stereotypical Combat 18 looking types with coupons the length of the M1.
Once spotted the volume would decidedly increase in their vicinity until the
took themselves out of the bar area to much cheers, applause and verses of
'glory glory what a hell of a way to die, to die an......' <rest of verse
snipped for PC reasons - available on request to any younger lhistees ;-)>.
You'd stop in Girvan on the way up and grab some grub, taunt huns on the way
through, have a few sneaky bevvies on the bus, talk about where in The
Jungle you were going to stand and, even in those dark dark days, you'd
still hold out some hope that Cascarino might actually bag one or two and we
could still be on the way up. You'd arrive in Glasgow for about 1 o'clock
and head straight to The Grange and fire out a few more songs, quaff a few
more beers and then into The Jungle to sing yer heart out.
On Saturday I flew with Go. It cost marginally more than the boat. I didn't
hear one song as I was on an Aeroplane that arrived in Glasgow at 10:45 in
the morning. By 11:15 I was having breakfast in some cafe in the city centre
with my girlfriend and her Dad (it was his first trip to Celtic Park and
we'd bought it as a Christmas Present for him). We walked about the City,
killed a couple of hours, arrived at CP in time to see the team arrive, made
for our seats (same section different parts) at 2:30 and, well, waited for
the game to start. We managed to get seated together as there were a few
empty seats near us about 10 mins into the game. We settled down and watched
Celtic destroy a pish poor Pars team. It wasn't a bad game of football, we
seen five goals, a missed penalty, saw great solidarity from the fhans in
getting behind Big Bobo and a few promising youngsters get a good run out.
My girlfriends Dad loved the whole experience and, from a Celtic point of
view, it was a pretty satisfying day out for all concerned.
Coming home in the slow boat days you'd be hoarse, a slight hangover would
be setting in, your shoes would be wet with the attempt at having a pish
that was an experience in itself in The Jungle - feet as nimble as a Russian
ballet dancer and as sure as a mountain goat still wouldn't have prevented
that - and the bus journey back to Stranraer would wither be a post mortem
into how the fcuk we let 2 in against Motherwell at home AGAIN or the
satisfaction of knowing we'd picked up full points - this was usually tinged
with the disappointment of finding out that the Huns hadn't dropped any
points. Some wag would usually crack into a song or two, there'd always be
one completely pished member of the party acting the eejit, there'd always
be one left behind in glasgow to adventures of god knows what sort, but it
was still more often than not good craic, regardless of the result. The boat
journey back to Larne was an experience in itself. A scene like something fr
om Night of The Living Dead would greet you by the time you were half way
back across the puddle if it was a rough sailing - bodies everywhere puking
their way home - but still the bar would be lively - I even remember them
laying on bands for a bit of entertainment a few times. These would usually
be drowned out by song after song from us, while the customary attempt to
drink the bar dry was in full flow. Boat trips back if we'd managed a result
against the Huns were something else - a fantastic hooley of a time and a
barmans nightmare on that boat! The bus from Larne to wherever was simply a
case of getting a bit of kip before home, quick shower and out for last
orders.
On Saturday a mate of mine from Glasgow picked us up and dropped us back to
the Airport for 6 o'Clock. We had a bite to eat, flight left on time and we
were back in Belfast International Airport at 7:20. It was a pretty good day
out all round.
On the way back down the motorway to home I felt a bit troubled though. I
came to the conclusion that this is part of the reasons as to why 'matchday'
at Celtic Park suffers from a lack of atmosphere. I genuinely think we've
really become a statistic of consumerism now, we're a targeted market to
everyone from airlines, to taxi ranks, to city centre cafes, to Celtic Park.
Give us the cheap fllights, dress us up in official merchandise, get yer
early starter breakfast at the airport or in town, give us our sectional
seat, buy a programme, if the goings good chip in half heartedly when a song
breaks out in the stadium, if the goings not good chip in a bit more
defiantly, but all from the comfort of your sectional seat. Need a piss?
Fine....go in one door, follow the signs, wash yer hands, come out the other
door, find your sectional seat, get comfy and be entertained, leave early if
you're that way inclined, have a pie or a pizza or a burger, a tea a coffee,
a soft drink while yer there, do a bet, buy your Celtic Lottery, fingers
crossed for five grand, maybe a signed football, no luck? Ah fuck it, sure
there's always Thursday Week at 7:30 for BBC Scotland. Do come again. For
It's A Grand Old Team.......
I miss the whole 'experience' of a game at Celtic Park. I don't miss the
Night Of The Living Dead scenes on the boat, but I do miss the cameraderie
and the bar! I miss having heated debates about how, as Celtic Fans, we
*deserved* better - the way home from the Raith Rovers final at the
Deathstar (my fcuking birthday of all times) was a defining moment for me as
a Celtic Fan as it made me aware of how much Celtic means to me. We argued
that we deserved better as Celtic Fans - we certainly seem to have got our
wish in terms of everything from the football success to the stadium to the
way we go to games to the whole convenience of it all.
When I wished for it though I hadn't budgeted for the 'there's still
something not quite right' feeling that I have now. Maybe we are being
spoiled to the extent that we're in danger of taking it all for granted.
Supporting Celtic is not simply just another facet to your persona. Celtic
is no ordinary football club. Celtic Park is no ordinary stadium. Celtic
Fans are most certainly not your average 'football fans'. Matchdays at
Celtic Park are no ordinary, go watch the fitba days. Maybe we, as fans,
need to treat Matchdays at Celtic Park with a bit more respect and
reverence. Is there a danger it could become as relevant as a weekly trip to
the flicks?
Slainte,

Vernon.

Enjoyed reading your post Vernon. Great perspective on how things have
changed, particularly for the Irish bhoys. Celtic fans are not alone in
wondering where the atmosphere has gone. The same discussion apparently goes
on at Old Trafford and many big stadiums in England and the huns complain
about the same thing. I think the single most determining factor is the
separation of friends inside the stadium. You were lucky enough to get seats
together, but that is unusual. People are more likely to sing and make noise
amongst their pals than with strangers. If they could do something about
that I think you would see a definite improvement in atmosphere.

Tom