Big Day On Saturday

[JohnMc 2,463]

I'm taking my two sons to Ibrox for the first time this Saturday. Hamilton Accies at home under a caretaker manager perhaps wasn't the match I envisaged would be their first when they were born but we're all out of big European nights and glamour friendlies currently.

 

My first match was John Greig's testimonial game in 1978. In truth I was too young to appreciate it but my dad so admired Greig he wanted me to see him play and he wanted to pay tribute to him. We played a Scotland select and I've only a few memories of it. One was the Nottingham Forest winger John Robertson's family sitting behind us and supporting Rangers. He later became assistant manager at Celtic, I always wondered how they felt about that.

 

My Dad is coming on Saturday too, along with my brother-in-law (who is actually a St Mirren fan!) and two of his sons, my nephews. It'll be their first Rangers game too. My youngest is a year older now than I was in 1978 so I'm not sure how much he'll remember about it when he's in his late 40s. Neither of my boys are as interested in football as I was at their age, but they both say they support Rangers (my wife laughed when I 'd say to people I'd let them choose who they supported, she's right, that wasn't ever going to happen) so they're very excited about it.

 

Anyway, I don't always agree with everyone on Gersnet about everything, sometimes even I realise I'm being a thrawn at times. But I'm strangely emotional about Saturday, it feels like a big deal.

 

Also, if you could try and not swear too much on Saturday that would be great!

[Bluedell 5,329]

Enjoy your day out with your family.

[pete 2,494]

Yes enjoy.

[Gonzo79 13,548]

Have a good day, hope we get a good result so your lads want to return!

 

 

*my lad's first game was with Stuart McCall in charge (vs Livingston), so know all about the caretaker manager vibe.

[stewarty 1,876]

Sounds great - hope you have a good day out.

[pete 2,494]

Don't be shouting too much at Mr Beaton the 4th official. I am afraid your boys may hear a few swear words aimed at him.

[onevision 1,441]

Enjoy your day.

Pretty sure John Greigs testimonial finished either 5-0 or 5-1 with Greig scoring a pen, could be wrong though.

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

Hope it all goes well and a new generation of Bears are hooked on the club like we all are.

[JFK-1 1,666]

Hopefully it's one of our frequent high scoring days for your big occasion.

[craig 5,195]

My kids first two live games were :

 

Arsenal v Newcastle at Emirates (we are both Arsenal fans) - result.... 1-0 Newcastle, Andy Carroll header - that was on the Saturday

Rangers v Hibs at Ibrox - Rangers had won their first 12 games of the season that year, this was the 13th game (we had the likes of Naismith in the team) - Wednesday night... result... yep, you guessed it.... 3-0 Hibs and they soundly pumped us too

 

Took him to the Rangers v Aberdeen game on the Saturday after that and, thankfully, we managed to get a 2-0 home win thanks to a virtuoso performance from his first "idol" - Vladimir Weiss... Waited outside the east enclosure for a while and some players were coming out, one of which was aforementioned Weiss - I thought the wee fella would get his autograph which would have been the icing for him... Weiss saw that a few people were waiting and made for a different exit - but big Bougherra would have stayed all night signing autographs.

 

John.... take in the moment with your sons as much as you can - those memories last a lifetime !