Latest Rants

[bmck 117]

echo frankie's sentiments btw cammy. great to see the rant returned. i think it was via a cammy rant that i found this site - whether tis a blessing or a curse for y'all i shant venture to say.

[BC2 0]

any MOPES reading it wasn�t for blessing himself

 

A worthwhile read as usual.

 

While not in any way condoning inflammatory gestures from players to rival fans, I do have to take issue with the 'incident' at Ibrox during Celtic's victory on February 12th 2006.

 

The first I heard of this was on the Radio Clyde phone-in after the match. The caller was a Rangers supporter appalled that Boruc had crossed himself while looking at the Rangers fans. No mention of any other gestures.

 

The next I heard of it was from John McMillan of the Rangers Supporters' Association. ââ?¬Å?I didnââ?¬â?¢t see the incident, but I was aware of a commotion behind the goal and many fans on the supportersââ?¬â?¢ bus saw Boruc cross himself and were angered by it. I find it difficult to believe he didnââ?¬â?¢t know what he was doing. We have a particular situation in Scotland where people are sensitive to such actions. I donââ?¬â?¢t think we should expect foreign players to be aware of this, nor are they doing it in an inflammatory manner. But some players in Scotland should be reminded of what could happen.ââ?¬Â (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article620937.ece) No mention of any other gestures.

 

The next strange fact about this affair is that Boruc was cautioned partly on the basis of closed circuit television cameras footage of the reaction of the Rangers fans. They went bananas, therefore he must have done something truly awful. The only problem with this is that when Boruc was filmed in December at Ibrox blessing himself and only blessing himself, the reaction was identical. Indeed the only 'evidence' against Boruc was the statements taken from a number of Rangers fans, hardly impartial witnesses.

 

I am also troubled by the fact that the nature of the alleged 'other gestures' kept on changing from genuflection to a GIRUY to a 'come on', an inconsistency mirrored by the Crown Office taking three attemots to get their statement right.

 

I am deeply sceptical that Boruc did anything other than bless himself that day. I am absolutely certain that even if he did, many Rangers supporters were far more angered by the blessing than anything else.

[Super_Ally 0]

Nice post BC2, but lets be honest, what McMillan or any idiot on a phone in (most the "Rangers" fans on these things are usually tims at the wind up) said is irrelevant.

 

If the Crown office said it was other gestures I beleive them. It's not like the man has a spotless record is it?

 

Instead of trying to muddy the waters of one incident, you shoudl look at his catalogue of indiscretions and ask why?

 

Even if they got that one wrong, it can make up for all the times he gets away with it; see the Hibs game. The man is an arse, an embarassment to your football club and not as good a keeper as is made out. (Don't get me wrong he's good, but if Dundee was a return to form keep it up). Perhaps if he concentrated more on catching crosses instead of acting like a ned he would be the keeper many claim.

[craig 5,199]

BC2,

 

A well mannered post as usual and one expected of you, you certainly seem intelligent enough.

 

However, if you for ONE minute think that Artur Boruc dpesn't know that he is inciting by blessing himself in front of the Rangers fans then you are either deluded or in denial.

 

It is blatantly obvious with his antics that he knows what he is doing, blatantly obvious !

 

You quote an article in tfrom the press... ONE article... does that mean that the Times Online should be the gospel when it comes to events on a football pitch ? I wouldn't have thought so.

 

You have a right to defend Boruc if you so please - but if he didn't act like a tit all the time there would be nothing to defend. It isn't as if this is his only indiscretion...... or do you really need reminding of his antics which embarrassed even Neil Lennon after the OF game last season ?

[BC2 0]

Ally and craig

 

Thanks for replying. As I said at the start of my post, I don't condone players making inflammatory gestures at rival fans. Whatever happened in February 2006, Boruc has certainly been guilty of this on other occasions. The highest profile incident, however, was Ibrox and something stank (in my opinion) about the whole thing.

 

Regarding how good a keeper Boruc is, you have to remember what Celtic fans are used to. He is easily the best Celtic goalkeeper of my lifetime. While he does have weaknesses (crosses), he is a superb shot stopper and has the same arrogance that made Schmeicel (?spelling) and Goram the great keepers they were.

 

Finally craig I have to say that there are very few places in the world where it would be possible to cause offence by blessing oneself, and I think it says far more about the offended than the alleged offender. It is rather like a racist being offended at the sight of a coloured person.

[Wija 0]

BC2, it is nice to see the other side can actually come on here and speak with some level of maturity and sense. Of course I said some...

 

I do believe Boruc to be a very good keeper, but arrogance is begining to show him up a little.. Schmeichel was good enough to do it, but Art ain't.

 

As fir there being very few places on the planet to find blessing ones self offensive why does it surprise anyone in a Protestant country that it is offensive to the majority of people who live there.? In my eyes religion and sport have no place beside each other. Why do players HAVE to bless themselves when taking to the field, or when they score? Of course people can have there faith and they are welcome to it (no matter how blind you have to be to believe in God, Allah etc etc..) but it should never be in a place of public viewing where it could cause offence. Is that such a " bigotted thing" to ask?

 

 

I would also add that the reason behind there being very few places in the world where blessing ones self is not offensive: The Church of Rome gave orders to countries such as Spain, France and Portugal to go forth and discover countries and urn them to Catholicism. If the indigenous people did not take up the offer, they were to kill them as heretics and devil worshippers. Thus Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Central America and most of Central Africa.

 

So a little bigotry these days is better than massacre in the name of God isn't it... oh that is on both sides as I am sure you will agree!

[BC2 0]

Jimmy - you may be surprised to learn I am a proud atheist, and probably find the Catholic Church even more abhorrent than the Church of Scotland, although it is a pretty close call.

 

While I wasn't aware of the Church of Rome's orders, I do not accept that this is the reason behind blessing oneself causing offence in Scotland. With the exception of Northern Ireland (perhaps the exception that proves the rule), it does not cause offence in any other country in the world, catholic or otherwise.

 

Argueing that Boruc does not HAVE to bless himself misses the point. It is not, to any normal and tolerant individual, an offensive gesture, and your question is only relevant if it is asked to a bigot.

[craig 5,199]

Why then is it so offensive to the masses at Parkhead for people like Gascoigne to mimic playing a flute ? Surely mimicking a musical instrument should cause no offence ? That is how silly this all is.

 

The thing is BC2.... whilst I actually agree that blessing oneself should not cause offence (it doesn't offend me one little bit when utilised as a religious blessing) it WILL cause offence when the person blessing oneself KNOWS that it will cause offence and, more importantly, blesses himself because he WANTS them to feel offended and wants to very loosely use his religion as a means to achieve it. That is inciteful behaviour.

 

Boruc is a very good keeper (recent blunders aside) but he actually does believe his own hype. Gary Caldwell's remarks about him being "undoubtedly the best keeper in the world" was actually cringeworthy given there are some keepers who are significantly better than him such as Buffon, Cech, Coupet to name but a few.

 

I have a feeling that his antics and gesticulations to fans could well cause him a move to a bigger club - Celtic's gain I guess but certainly not his own.

 

Sadly he acts like a child when on the pitch.

[Wija 0]

Jimmy - you may be surprised to learn I am a proud atheist, and probably find the Catholic Church even more abhorrent than the Church of Scotland, although it is a pretty close call.

 

While I wasn't aware of the Church of Rome's orders, I do not accept that this is the reason behind blessing oneself causing offence in Scotland. With the exception of Northern Ireland (perhaps the exception that proves the rule), it does not cause offence in any other country in the world, catholic or otherwise.

 

Argueing that Boruc does not HAVE to bless himself misses the point. It is not, to any normal and tolerant individual, an offensive gesture, and your question is only relevant if it is asked to a bigot.

 

The reason a sign of the Roman Church is so offensive is that in what we have in Scotland - all and sundry are rounding on Rangers on singing offensive "party tunes". Now they can be seen as religious and as such are being stopped. Now the Blessing of ones self is strictly a Religious thing and it is strictly offensive to any non Roman Catholic as it is a sign of there following of the False Church of Rome. This in itself to any proud Atheist should be an afront.

 

Besides, as I said this is a Protestant nation. Why should we put up with it. I can guarentee any flute mimicking in Dublin would not be, and the flute is hardly a Religious instrument. Religious intolerance on all sies is quite apparent, so why not keep the Religious side of your life private and behind closed doors?

[Gribz 743]

A player blessing himself before going on the pitch has always confused me anyway. His job actually doesnt last just the xx amount of minutes he is on a pitch, I wonder if they do it before they walk into training etc.

I dont know of many people who go into work and bless themselve when turning on a laptop and sending an email.

 

I just think its a fashion statement half the time but it it doesnt bother me.