The bevy, the rebs and the laughs

The bevy, the rebs and the laughs

Watching the Celtic support fill 70% of Livingston’s neat little Almondvale stadium got me thinking about times before all seated stadia were the norm and the capacity of most stadia was higher than it is today. Celtic had a huge travelling support in those times and would often take 15,000 fans to places like Kilmarnock or Motherwell. Half of Ibrox would be filled by the Celtic support in those times and league deciding matches at places like Easter Road would see a huge invasion of Celtic fans. Of the 48,000 who saw Celtic win the league there in 1973 to make it 8 in a row, it is no exaggeration to say that at least 35,000 of them were Celtic fans.

Away days were always a more exciting prospect when you were a younger fan; the excitement of meeting up with your mates, jumping on one of those decrepit ‘football special’ trains or a supporters’ bus and heading off to adventures in some distant town or city. Of course alcohol played a big part in it for many as did the songs which would echo through the train stations of Scotland as the supporters arrived. There was comradeship too and you often saw the same people on the train every other week. As a young fan I loved those times. Win, lose or draw you backed your team, stood with your fellow supporters, often on open terraces in all weathers, and sang your heart out.

Travelling further afield to see Celtic play in Europe was another adventure which was not to be missed. You could guarantee a good laugh and a few high jinks abroad. Celts would look out for each other too and many a hotel room booked for two would have a dozen or more sleeping in it. I recall a fan having his wallet stolen and facing two days in a European city with no money. A quick whip round in a pub put him back in the game and he was delighted that a group of strangers would do that for him. Except they weren’t strangers, they were all Celts like him.

Things have changed in the modern era as ground capacities reduced and the allocation of tickets to away supporters has shrunk. Some grounds have thousands of empty seats as fans who would like to be there watch the game in pubs and at home. St Johnstone and Livingston are among the few with the sense to let the away support fill their empty stands. It looks better on TV, it brings in more revenue and more people watch the game in person. Clubs such as Kilmarnock would rather have a half empty stadium than see the sense in this approach. Indeed when they did use their imagination and let Celtic supporters fill the place for a league clinching game in 2012, the place was rocking and looked more like football stadium should.

These days though, there are many thousands of supporters who have got out of the habit of going to football although they are still fans. Satellite tv, free streams on the internet and of course the seemingly ubiquitous firesticks and digi-boxes can allow you to see any football game live as its being televised around the world. For the hard core though there is nothing like going to the match in person. I spoke to a young Celt recently who said he actually preferred going to away games more than home games. I asked him why and he said with commendable honesty, ‘The bevy, the Rebs and the laughs.’ The idea that away days are more fun, more exciting remains as strong now as it was when I was a youngster following Celtic. It is probably true that the atmosphere at away games is often more raucous than it is a Celtic Park.

Scottish football is more sanitised and some would argue more civilised than it was 30 or 40 years ago. The riot at Hampden in 1980 changed the game for the better as drunkenness was no longer going to be tolerated in stadia. It can still be raw and passionate but banning alcohol from the stadium and all-seater venues has in honesty made it more ‘family friendly’ than it once was. We see far more women at games than was the case in the past and that has to be a positive.

As far as alcohol on supporters’ buses goes, we often see policing of a sort which suggests they’re after a Columbian drug cartel and not a few lads having a drink before the game. It is a little amusing to see the police post photos of bottles of Buckfast lined up by a roadside, on social media as if they’ve just brought down Pablo Escobar.

Despite all of this there are those who love the excitement of away days, even if it means a 7am start to make it to Aberdeen for a lunchtime kick off. That hasn’t changed in all my years watching Celtic. The more youthful fans sometimes get a bad press for the non PC songs, the odd celebration on the pitch after a late winner and the sheer enthusiasm they put in to backing their team.

Maybe we should chill a bit and try and remember that once upon a time that was us.