Cup Final Fever
Supporting the wee team on the big day.
A long and busy day out in Glasgow at the Scottish Cup Final. Dunfermline v Celtic at Barclay’s Hampden Park. Nice to think that some distant member of my family owns/sponsors a football stadium. I don’t know how these things are done. Their ticket app and system actually works really well, much to my surprise. Ticketing apps and apps in general and their silent domination of our lives are not my favourite things. I’ll stop there.
On reflection the best part of the day was the pre-match pub time spent with family and friends in a sunny beer garden in Battlefield. We’re there as a foot soldiers in a muddled up army of fans. Many of whom, (mum, dad and the kids decked out for the day) don’t really attend football matches often so they don’t quite know how to behave or react. They’ve not done the full training regime; seeing mid-winter muddy defeats or mind numbing goalless draws, but whatever, it all adds something to the atmosphere. I do a lot of people watching. I avoid eye contact. My SBS training kicks in. Crowds can be hard to read but at the moment everyone is happy. Soon we’ll be in the stadium, waving plastic flags, cheering and singing. This is the real deal. Our hearts are in our mouths.
Scottish football has a number of ingrained problems but I’m not going to list them here, it’s only a game (?). Anyway we didn’t win, for a variety of reasons. Final score after 90 sweaty minutes: 3 - 1. The starting line up had a few of us shaking our heads so we knew it was going to be a rough ride. Fan wisdom is a pretty much gut driven thing but it often hits the mark. Don’t underestimate the old campaigners. I’ve been watching Dunfermline Athletic, home and away for over 60 years, I feel I’ve seen it all by now. The consolation goal was well received when it eventually arrived but by the end I felt the weight of what was an emotionally draining experience; but not a bad one. I enjoyed the day. My grandkids (the grown up ones), sipping pints of watery beer in the sun, were joking that this might be my last cup final. The numbers certainly back that up. I like their darker sense of humour. If you want to count me, count me out (till next time).
