Old Firm

[PeterWithe]

Dave I find the old firm games vibrant lively and exciting. the undercurrent of aggression and importance of the occaision add to this mix. They are very rarely dull. I am not sure what the beef is here if you find them dull then don't watch. I still stand by my earlier assertion that if Celtic and Rangers were to play in the premier league the attendance would be bigger than for the blackburn, wigan games, the teams they'd likely replace.

I agree that there would be a lot more interest, but would it be worth all the trouble that fixtures like these would inevitably cause. Not IMO.

And with their share of the TV money they would quickly become far stronger than us financially.

[madirishvillain]

Dave I find the old firm games vibrant lively and exciting. the undercurrent of aggression and importance of the occaision add to this mix. They are very rarely dull. I am not sure what the beef is here if you find them dull then don't watch. I still stand by my earlier assertion that if Celtic and Rangers were to play in the premier league the attendance would be bigger than for the blackburn, wigan games, the teams they'd likely replace.

I agree that there would be a lot more interest, but would it be worth all the trouble that fixtures like these would inevitably cause. Not IMO.

And with their share of the TV money they would quickly become far stronger than us financially.

very true Peter, you only have to look over here and the support the 2 of them have, give them money and you would be looking at a top 6 in the premier league, pushing the likes of us out of eurpeaan contention altogether

the ones going on about the violence, nothing ever happens when we meet the blues does it?

[Louzie0]

Excitement? Fine. Tingle in veins? Fine. Football mattering? Fine.

Sectarian-based, society dividing, hatred fomenting, violence inducing, safety preventing nastiness? I could live without it.

In that case - stand by for the next World Cup in Russia with those wonderfully multiculturally-aware home fans and their mischievous penchant for throwing burning flares all over the shop.  We could get nostalgic for vuvuzelas.

ok, maybe not that nostalgic.  But elements of Russian and east european crowds still seem to find the concept of black players a bit novel.  The clubs and national FAs are still at the 1960's/70's stage (it's nothing to do with us) from what I remember of chants in the old first division.

The Old Firm and some Noses remind me of what the bad old days used to be like. 

[*shellac*]

ok, maybe not that nostalgic.  But elements of Russian and east european crowds still seem to find the concept of black players a bit novel.  The clubs and national FAs are still at the 1960's/70's stage (it's nothing to do with us) from what I remember of chants in the old first division.

6 out of 10 Russian men has either a mullet or a 70s pornstar perm.

So I guess you're right.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I still stand by my earlier assertion that if Celtic and Rangers were to play in the premier league the attendance would be bigger than for the blackburn, wigan games, the teams they'd likely replace.

Would you still stand by your assertion if it was Villa being replaced by Celtic or Rangers?

If Celtic and Rangers are so desperate to join the gravy train, let them join the conference league and work their way up like every other club has to

[Louzie0]

Excitement? Fine. Tingle in veins? Fine. Football mattering? Fine.

Sectarian-based, society dividing, hatred fomenting, violence inducing, safety preventing nastiness? I could live without it.

In that case - stand by for the next World Cup in Russia with those wonderfully multiculturally-aware home fans and their mischievous penchant for throwing burning flares all over the shop.  We could get nostalgic for vuvuzelas.

ok, maybe not that nostalgic.  But elements of Russian and east european crowds still seem to find the concept of black players a bit novel.  The clubs and national FAs are still at the 1960's/70's stage (i.e. the fans' racism's nothing to do with us) from what I remember of chants in the old first division.

The Old Firm and some Noses remind me of what the bad old days used to be like.

This thread reminded me of the Old Firm and then I remembered posting as above.   It hasn't inspired me to think it's got any better since then, really.

oops - mod help, please !  could you move this to the robert carlos thread?  I've got my quoting and replying messed up.  Sigh.  It's friday...

[martin]

I don't know the answer, and just out of interest, how many (of the Christian) players from each team currently follow the "wrong" sect?

deej the religious divide is very  interesting here. Tradition would have it that this was a clash between Catholics and Protestants both of Christian base (not sure how many players on the pitch belong to either these days) however two Muslims got sent off. So it's the Muslims ....again

A not-so-apocryphal  tale, Deej: Bloke walks into a bar in Belfast/Glasgow. Fella walks up to him and asks if he's a Prod or a Tim. The man replies "I'm an atheist". His interrogator continues, undeterred, 'Yes, but are you a Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?"

You don't have to believe in God to  be a Muslim/Christian/Jew. It's more often a description foisted upon you by bigots or a tribe of identity you choose as a riposte to bigots. God or faith in that god is rarely part of the equation.

The Old Firm is pantomime writ large; totemic goodies and baddies. I have about as much interest in Irish Republicanism as I have in Loyalism, and about as much active support for either as I do in the cause of veal calves or democracy in Burma: that being, with brutal honesty, almost none.

That said, I find songs sung by Celtic fans riduculing the Queen far funnier than those sung by Protestants ridiculing the Pope (not less offensive, just funnier) because I was born into a largely secular Irish Catholic family background.

So, yes, and circuitously, back to the original question, I do find Old Firm games have an edge to them that no equivalent game in the SPL or the EPL have. Maybe only Barca vs. Real comes close in terms of extra-footballing significance.