Mark:
Well, yes and no ...
> >Forgive me talking so much but one of my soccer teams, the Glasgow
Celtic,
[Mark, PLEASE -- no definite article -- (Glasgow) Celtic ...]
{pronounced Seltic, in case anyone doesn't know}
> >have just won a vital European football match and it is elation time.
>
> This is monumental and not so simple. It would be great to hear a
> Glaswigian perspective. For those who aren't aware, there are two teams in
> Glasgow, the Rangers, which is the Protestant, native, team, and the
> Celtics, the team of Roman Catholics, primarily of Irish descent.
Um ... Not sure whether one is more "native" than the other -- them's
fighting words, matey. Tell someone like Tom Leonard who sees himself as
Glasgow Irish, that he isn't "native" ...
Well, once upon a dear old time, there were THREE major Glasgow teams --
Rangers, Celtic, and Queens Park. [sic! -- +not+ Queens Park Rangers].
Queens Park had the best ground -- Hampden Park
Name: Hampden Park
Club: Queens Park FC
Inauguration: 31 Oktober 1903
First match: Queens Park-Celtic 1-0
Capacity: 52,000 seats
Record Attendance: 149,415, Scotland-England; 1937
Address: Letherby Drive, Glasgow, G42 9BA
... so there were Celtic (papes), Rangers (prots), and Queen's Park
(neutral).
But Queen's Park (ma faithir's fave team) had one stunning flaw -- they were
an amateur club, so they went down the tubes sometime in the sixties.
Dunno who inherited Hampden Park, but I do remember, while I was still at
(high)school, sitting beside my father hearing Satchmo play cool jazz out of
his golden trumpet -- a packed stadium, and to die for.
Anyway ...
> The
> Rangers mostly rule, but this year the Celtics demolished them. So this
> latest startling victory must make for an odd evening in Glasgow.
With all respect, Mark, I think you have this ass backwards. Mostly, Celtic
have dominated the Scottish League (that the right term, Douglas?). Because
they got it before Rangers that the point wasn't to sign-up someone who was
of The Right Religious Faith but simply to sign-up the best players,
regardless. After that, mostly, Rangers were generally playing
keepie-uppie.
[There's a link to one of Tom Leonard's "Six Glasgow Poems" here -- Scot
Symon, manager of Rangers once upon a far-off time, "sacked without
warning" -- "Simple Simon".]
> Rivalries aside, it's helpful to remember that there's more likely to be a
> Serb than a Scot or an Irishman on either team.
Well, yeah ...
Funny thing, Celtic (I think) gave free tickets for their matches to to both
Protestant Clergymen and Catholic Priests, but insisted they aw sit
thegither, while Rangers would only give free tickets to Church of Scotland
Ministers.
Though God knows (mibee he did) how you told them apart -- I remember
sitting beside my father on a Glasgow tram and the clippie walked past us
refusing to take our fares. He was a pape. Jings, I mean, he +assumed+ my
father was a priest, just frae the white collar. He was a Catholic,
naturally. (The clippie that was, not Dear Dead Dad.) Protestant clippies
didnae gie a free ride tae +onybidy+.
Mind you, Douglas Clark might have a different take on this -- he's jist a
wee bit older than me.
I think you may have addressed this question to the wrong person, Mark.
Cheers,
Robin
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