Visited my Gran yesterday, hadn’t seen her for a couple of weeks and she’s doing fine. She asked me to, again, thank you all for your previous kind wishes. The printout my Mum took to show her is still on her table, and she made sure I looked through it again, you are a nice lot, aren’t you!
After that we headed to Parkhead to the cinema (to see Kingdom of Heaven, reviewed below). As we got in the car when we left Gran’s I flipped on the radio and we caught the last 5 minutes of the SPL this season. For those who don’t know a quick recap. Celtic were playing Motherwell, Rangers were playing Hibs. If Celtic won then they would win title. If Celtic drew, and Rangers won, Rangers would win the title on goal difference. If Celtic lost, Ranger would win the title. Simple? Ohhh and for those of you not familiar with Glasgow – Celtic Park is in Parkhead and the Rangers/Celtic rivalry is centred around religion and hatred. It’s not a pleasant side to the city.
When we got into the car Rangers and Celtic were both winning 1-0. So at that point the title was going to Celtic. No sooner had we pulled away when Motherwell scored, the title was now heading for Rangers. Before we got out of Rutherglen, Motherwell had scored a second and a few moments later both games finished and Rangers had won the title – all in the space of five minutes. It was exciting stuff, especially hearing it live, and we kept the radio on as we drove into Parkhead listening to celebrations and incredulous reports from both grounds.
As we headed to a set of lights some Rangers fans were outside a pub celebrating, as we pulled up at the red light, some 50 yards down the road, some Celtic fans spilled out of the pub looking angry. Instantly I saw them spot the Rangers fans further down the road. Without speaking, Louise put her window up and I turned the radio down as it was still blaring out the news that Rangers were the champions.
And that annoyed me. I’m not a fan of either club, yet the fear and potential for violence put me on edge. Grown men acting like idiots over a game of football. It’s a wonder we’re not extinct.