The day I fell in love with Rangers
I grew up with a family that didn't care much for football. My Grampa was a Rangers fan but was too busy working to attend matches. My dad was a Rangers fan but had never been to a game in his life. My step-dad wasn't interested in football but supported the Gers from his couch whenever it was on council telly.
As a result of this I grew up telling people I was a Bluenose, but the only knowledge I had of the boys in blue was from stickers I collected for my annual SPL sticker book. To be honest I didn't care much for football, I wasn't very good at it. If we went to kick a ball in the park 'the bigger boys' would always kick us off the park, or up & down it depending on whether they had managed to get a junkie to 'jump in' & get them a carry-out that night.
Football? Nah, not me. I was into BMX, downhill mountain biking and such. I loved school trips to Garelochhead to do a bit of Kayaking, little did I know that I'd one day grow up & teach school kids how to bike/kayak from the very place that I fell in love with the activities.
One day I finished a normal boring day at my normal boring school, I walked to the school gates as I usually did to meet my neighbour from downstairs to walk her home. Today was different though, today her Dad was there & he had his van. At this point I didn't notice he was wearing his Rangers top, I was too busy trying to hear what he was saying to her over the dull but deafening sound of school kids charging the gates. To be honest I was a bit gutted, I was thinking I'd be walking home myself & that was something I dreaded as I was a skinny runt, easy pickings for 'the bigger boys'.
Then it all changed, my neighbours Dad said â??Jump in William, got a surprise for you & you're going to love it & don't worry son, your mum knows your coming with me.â?
So into the van I went, my neighbour & her Dad, I remember them constantly looking at each other, then at me & grinning from ear to ear. Where were they taking me?
The date was Wednesday 11th September 1996 when I arrived at Ibrox for the first time. I remember gazing up in awe at this great big red building. I had no idea I was looking at Ibrox, the home of the club I had 'supported' all of my life so far. We entered the stadium & walked up some stairs, then down some stairs & then up some more stairs, it was a giant maze to me, but everything was buzzing. I felt electric, I could feel my cheeks going red. I had noticed all of the Rangers badges on the walls & posters so by this point I knew I was at Ibrox & I couldn't believe how big it was, far bigger than what I had seen on TV.
As we walked out towards our seats I was taken back by the amount of people inside the stadium & how loud the fans were, louder than the music that was coming from the tannoy system, which I now know to be the theme tune for the Champions League.. We got to our seats, I don't remember what stand, but we had a great view of the pitch, just off to one corner but we could see everything. We arrived not long before kick-off & the fans had already begun singing in full voice, I was desperate to join in, but I never knew the words. My neighbours dad was in full voice, he looked down at me & said â??Welcome to the family son, We Are The People.â? A phrase I would never forget.
The opposition was Grasshopper Zurich & it was a Champions League game. The game kicked off at a great pace, Rangers were hungry, they wanted this game. Looking back on it, if I remember rightly this was our 4th group game of the season & we had lost the first 3 games already. I spent the first 25 minutes or so trying to figure out who the players were. I had most of the squad in my sticker book already but there were a few faces that I didn't recognise.
Andy Goram was in goal, I recognised Richard Gough in front of him, I could hear him shouting at the players, Ally McCoist was up front alongside Peter Van Vossen. How could I not recognise The Hammer? I spent most of the first half not realising it was him.
The first half passed quite quickly for me, I don't remember much of the football. It was 0-0 & everything to play for. I think I spent most of the time figuring out who was playing, I spent at least 20 minutes staring around in awe at the stadium & fans, listening to the chorus of Follow Follow & trying to learn the words.
The stadium wasn't full, but I don't think it was far off it, I vaguely remember a radio program on the way home saying that roughly 36,000 people had turned up. Sounded to me more like 100,000 & it was more than enough to have me starstruck. My neighbours Dad disappeared for 5 minutes & came back with a cup of gravy, I couldn't believe what he was giving me, gravy?
â??It's not gravy he said, it's Bovril. Drink it up, it keeps you warm.â?
So drink it I did as the players came back out of the tunnel with the fans belting follow follow. I was learning the words now, I knew the chorus at least & so I sang along.
The second half started slightly more slowly than the first, but this time I was paying attention. Rangers were pressing forward with speed. About 20 minutes into the second half we scored, it had been Ally McCoist. I hadn't seen the goal as I was too small to see over the top of the guys in font when they stood up. I knew it was a goal though, the sound was deafening & everyone was going mental, a boy to my right gave me a cuddle while he was screaming in my ear. I had never met this guy before in my life, but it seemed the right thing to do.
The place was absolutely buzzing now, I was ecstatic. Now I understood why people were so passionate about The Rangers. Once you are inside that stadium everyone is your brother. A mutual respect that is hard to be broken. About 10 minutes later Super Ally popped up again & cracked one in sending us 2-0 in front & putting the fans into raptures. We were still in raptures when Grasshopper scored to make it 2-1. The atmosphere changed, everyone was still singing, but it was different. I could feel the tension, what if they scored again? Would that be us out of the Champions League? I didn't know the rules.
The last 10 minutes passed slowly, but we came out on top. The result turned out not to matter as we finished bottom of our group anyway. That didn't matter to me though, I had fallen in love. On the drive home I was quizzed about the words to some songs, the only one I got right was the chorus to follow follow, it was still ringing in my ears.
I must have made my mum & step-dads ears bleed when I got home, I remember them telling me several times to keep my voice down as my brother & sister were in their bed. I was too excited though, I just wanted them to know about what had just happened to me.7
I didn't sleep that night, but I wasn't tired the next day. I had stories to tell, & this time it was stories that people wanted to hear.
