The Roy Barry Fan Club Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 I was just reading one of the McAuslan books of humorous short stories by George MacDonald Fraser. It has an account of the battalion football team of a Highland Regiment on tour in Malta, just after the end of WWII. It contains the wonderful passage " The battalion was mainly made up of Glaswegians who played football morning, noon and night. They followed Glasgow Celtic or Glasgow Rangers according to religion. All apart from Daft Bob Brown, the Battalion Idiot, who supported Partick Thistle ...". That made me reflect on how much better Scottish football might have been had Partick Thistle grabbed the dominant share of support in the city of Glasgow back before 1900. Agree or Disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Riva Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I most certainly agree, but in the days before TV, success on the pitch alone was no guarantee to building up a huge fan base. Folk needed other reasons to get behind a particular team.As I understand it, Celtic's roots meant they were immediately attractive to the considerable Irish Catholic immigrant population and Rangers subsequently built up their fan base among those who resented everything Celtic represented. It's ironic to think that, if Celtic hadn't existed, Rangers might have been similar in stature to Partick Thistle today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Beer Baron Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 That says everything you need to know about Rangers, their roots and what they stand for. An establishment based on hatred and bases all it's decisions on an "enemy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teuchter Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 If Partick Thistle and Queens Park were the two dominant teams in Glasgow, it wouldn't have translated into a bigot free Nirvana. The splits in society would have translated into them. Take Paris. Only one large club, but a support split amongst themselves. A few years back they had to play a match behind closed doors due to violence between their own fans from different parts of the ground. The split in the PSG support vaguely reflects divisions in society.In the case of Rangers, although society spawned them, the baggage associated with following them is helping to keep the flame of bigotry alive in modern times. I think they are influencing society more than society influences them these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Roy Barry Fan Club Posted October 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Twenty years ago, the Partick Secretary Secretary, who was a bit of raconteur, used to do guided tours of Firhill. He used to end his tour by reflecting that it was probably a corporate error by The Jags, back in the nineteenth century, to go for Judaism as their religion of choice. Funnily enough I then had a Jewish client who was on the Partick Thistle Board. I agree that football can't cure social ills, but I do think they can make them worse. Sadly, I think Glasgow is a case study in what can go wrong when sectarianism becomes embedded. In 1995, Mark Scot was murdered in the street in Glasgow because he was wearing the wrong scarf. It was horrific. I knew his father. One result was the 'Nil by Mouth' charity to fight sectarianism. I will never forget the impact that it had on his dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Riva Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 If Partick Thistle and Queens Park were the two dominant teams in Glasgow, it wouldn't have translated into a bigot free Nirvana. The splits in society would have translated into them. Take Paris. Only one large club, but a support split amongst themselves. A few years back they had to play a match behind closed doors due to violence between their own fans from different parts of the ground. The split in the PSG support vaguely reflects divisions in society.In the case of Rangers, although society spawned them, the baggage associated with following them is helping to keep the flame of bigotry alive in modern times. I think they are influencing society more than society influences them these days.It's not often I jump to the defence of Rangers, but it's a sad fact that there are plenty of idiots on the other side of the divide who are only too happy to perpetuate the bigotry, by passing it in to the next generation. Not that this excuses Rangers but it doesvtake two to tango. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 The bigotry was born out of the ignorance of that period of history. Sadly, those clubs continued to play up to it as it helped fill the coffers. Anyway, if Partick had ruled the world, Pars would have taken over by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanza Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 As a former Season ticket holder at Firhill, I am happy to report that for one brief moment in 1971 it really did feel as if Thistle ruled the world .....League Cup Final 1971 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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