bmck

thats just class.

yes, my "turn up at the train station at the last minute and hope it all works out" plan is starting to look perhaps slightly optimistic

had a lift, it all fell through, but re-arranging stuff so it's possible. i'll know by monday. if so, see you there!

altogether now: "oh, i'd rather be bawbab than a tim...".

cheers lads & for the judicious editing frankie. i've always been shocking at maths, but even i should have got that one about half time.

Life’s all about dramatic tension. It’s full of competing urges; it’s animated by struggle. When things resolve unhappily, you know you are watching or experiencing a tragedy. When they resolve amusingly, you know you’re part of a comedy. When one boot, at the bottom of one sore leg, connects perfectly with a ball, against the dramatic background of tension, and pain, and sends it flying top-corner-wards, you know what you are watching is nothing short of a genuine fucking triumph. So much of the moment in life is bypassed in favour of memory. We barely enjoy something as it happens; we savour the memory of it as though it were the thing itself. We enjoy telling stories about our lives more than we enjoy living them. One of the reasons I love football, and all forms of excess, is that you are forced into the moment. Last night was a uniquely placed football match in dramatic terms; our first home game since getting to the UEFA cup final but also the latest in a uncharacteristically, and statistically, bad run of league form. It was against these two competing urges - the congratulatory elation of European triumph, and the get-your-arse-in-gear-you-need-to-bloody-win-this nervousness of potentially throwing away a title – that the game was set. This Pride & Nervousness set against each other provoked the sense of drama and occasion you normally don’t associate with home games; Ibrox is often so quiet, in most areas, because it can be genuinely hard to be worked up for dour run-of-the-mill type games. I say, “most areas”, because I’ve been lucky enough this season to spend any time I’ve been at Ibrox in the Broomloan Front, with the TBO, for whom it would seem there are no run-of-the-mill games. I don’t think I can say enough in praise of TBO; it seems to me frighteningly like common sense that if you are going to support your team, enjoy the madness of being in a crowd, you should make the most of it. Our society isn’t too fond of that many people being together in the one place. Football supporters, perhaps more than most people, understand how life works out in terms of stories. Shifts in balance of power, the inevitability of a goal following pressure, the inevitability of a poor result when not taking your chances – these are the bread and butter of following football. I’m quite sure that it flashed through at least one Florientina fan’s mind that after bombarding us for nigh on 120 mins to no avail that it might be that the universe was conspiring to put them out on penalty kicks. The thing I like about the TBO, though, is that they understand that stories can be directed. You can’t make us score a sitter, but you can create the environment in which it’s most likely to come about. I think if there was one turning point in the game – one clearly defined turning about that best represented the pulls of tension - it was the collective pause of disappointment as the half time whistle blew. In that moment all the stories touched by nervousness, the pessimistic patterns of thought, took a firm hold – but with the exhalation of air came defiance, and Ibrox in its entirety rose to cheer the team off. It was thus to be a night of defiant triumph, not a night of missed opportunities. And so it turned out to be. At half time a mate said “We have 45 minutes to save this season”, and when he said “we” he meant it. Football brings out the collective joy of the moment in crowds of individuals – the same man who despairingly berated a player for a missed opportunity, sung his name loudest as soon as he was done. The same player who berated his team mate for a misplaced pass made sure he encouraged him as soon as he next got the ball: Nervousness & Defiance, Fear & Solidarity. There’s an honesty when emotions are laid bare – it’s the sort of honesty, when harnessed, that tends towards greatness and fearlessness. There is a long way yet to go in the league, it could still go either way; with that result, though, the sort of stories that had us hideously imploding under the weighty burden of games & Europe & tiredness are banished for the moment, and a new tone has perhaps been set. Defiance over Nervousness, Solidarity over Fear, Singing over Silence, Rangers over every cunt else. Here’s hoping!

the first game i have been to in six months of unwellness (thanks ian!). almost felt ashamed to saunter in on such a massive game, into such a great atmosphere, after not being there for so long. cant help unwellness though, so i shall stay buzzing on.

bloody terrible.

i would take the uefa if i was absolutely forced to choose. titles are par for the course: we have to at least aspire to be a top european side. defying money and all that. european finals are just always bigger.

top class cammy. tis up on the mainsite and newsnow.

^ it the itv4 commentating, summarising and analysis has been great. realist, but enthusiastic. altogether class.

its amazing to get there, but even better to get there knowing full well we've pissed off so many people. joy!

Outstanding!

i really wanted it to be real too. it just about had me till the group of penguins all turned to watch the others flying above them. where are the scientists? what can they have better to do than breed flying penguins? if this world needs anything then its flying penguins. its a travesty that this is a fake.

^ tbo is partly-land compared to the rest of the stadium. its class. when i get a st again it will definitely be there. i dont know how you could tolerate being elsewhere.

i am getting nervous at the press coverage - its like everyone expects us to win this fairly easily.

its esay bto be cynical - thats actual money i n loyal fans pockets. better than nout.

hehe, cheers man. glad you are on board!

davie cooper was my hero as a wee guy. the news of his passing was the first time i think i actually caught a glimpse of what death was. there is only one davie cooper!

i have been working on setting this up over the last few days. i have created a new group "Gersnet Editors" and a new forum for them. the idea is that if you see a post that you could tidy up, give an introduction, and make an article you post it in the Gersnet Editing forum and either Frankie or I will stick it up on the mainsite and newsnow. putting it up on the mainsite is a little bit of a pain but i am working on a way that will put the article straight on newsnow as soon as you put it in the forum. the lads that have already expressed an interest i will add, and anyone else who would like to do it just let me know and i will add you too. cheers.

i mostly just wish i still had a season ticket and hope, usually in vain, that its on setanta.

^ i dont think we should be too harsh on people who criticise. to be honest if we didnt have our fair share of people who didnt think not winning 11-0 in every game was an offence to their very soul, we wouldnt be a big club, ne ver mind people voicing opinions on forums. we would have that horribly scottish self-depracating "charm" that partick thistle have. i thought the lads done well on sunday because i do think that there is such a thing as a european hangover, and dundee utd are a decent side. teams of recent years would have just given up, and im grateful for the change. but you are right - there were a good few mistakes, and forums are the place for talking about these things, but i just find each and every reservation i have about ws and team selection just evaporating every time we win. it always seems like if the opposition were just a little bit better we would get humped, but it just doesnt seem to be happening.

a good read. i stuck it on newsnow. i tend to think there must be some Really Good Reason we dont play football in the summer that i cant think of. why is football a winter game?

bf has been great this season!

cheers cammy. i have been quite stunned by the reaction too. its almost like we never won the most dramatic cup final in recent memory. ive stuck it on newsnow.