My Story, View and Passion on Celtic FC.

Aged 10

I'm upstairs playing on the PlayStation 1, Celtic are playing Rangers, I'm 100% Sunderland through and through, why am I feeling nervous? I'm only 10, I have no direct link to Celtic? I hear 5 of my Dad's mates swear, I chuckle to myself, I don't want to go down stairs, I get all shy! I hear the TV commentary getting louder, this can only mean one thing....Rangers are attacking with menace, I hear the cries of devastation as Rangers take the lead, I smack the wall, but then get annoyed with myself, Mark, your from Sunderland, you've been to Sunderland games since you were 7 years of age, your older mates tell you all Celtic fans hate English people, if I were there now, I would get told to * off by the Celtic people I was told by older kids at School, I still feel passionate, nothing they say will change the utter Love I have for this football club.

More swearing is unleashed by the blokes downstairs, I hear them shout "Go on, GO ON, GO ON" I hear Agathe, that can only me one thing, he must be attacking them with pace down the flank, I sit on the stair case, I watch the TV from an angle through the mirror, I see Hartson get his head on it....It's like slow motion, for one second the room is silent, you can hear a pin drop.........

That one second of silence is broke by the screams of full grown men, kissing eachother, I'm not keeping this back, I burst into the room grabbing the first bloke I saw, hugging him, he lifts me into the sky, nearly drops me, I don't care, nothing else matters at this moment, Celtic have scored! I watch my Dad kick a full can of Beer over the new carpet, this means my Mother will have his guts for garters when she comes in, I still don't care!!!

I knew then there was something in this, for years I had hid my emotions, too hard for people to accept, "Why Celtic" people would ask me, I couldn't answer them, I just knew when they lost, I would hurt, Sunderland lost I was annoyed, Celtic lost my world was over

Aged 14

My Love for Celtic was now growing into a passion, I attended my first game, terrified people would hate me, they didn't, they took me in and embraced me as a Hoop, they didn't question me, they included me in the conversation, I impressed people with my knowledge, I watch us beat Motherwell 2-0, I loved every minute, I had my first proper drink, I drink a small glass of Fosters when my Dad was talking to his mates, I hate the taste, but I look around, everyone else is drinking it, if I wan't to be a Hoop, I need to do this! I down it, instantly wanting to feel drunk, I feel sick, I stick to the Coke!

Aged 17

I'm into my 3rd season ticket with Sunderland, I get the scores from Celtic from my mates, I'm now 100% commited to the Celtic cause, Celtic are playing Man United in the champions league, my friends at College are loving the prospect of Rooney sticking 5 past Boruc, I keep quiet, I let them think what they want, I've been asked to write a essay about something I love, without thinking, I've already typed my first word, Celtic........ I've been in the room 4 hours, I look around at people struggling, I see people with 1 page, I'm on page 8, I'm nowhere near done, I've gone through the Lisbon Lions, I've talked about the role the players play on the pitch, I've talked about the passion Scottish people have for their clubs, The pure hatred between Rangers and Celtic, I'm telling them about a certain Larsson, Naka, I even write a pre-match report on what I think will be the team's tonight, we were playing Man United, we needed a win to qualify, Celtic, in the final 8 of the Champions League, it all seemed too much, I wanted the game to come, I didn't want it to come, because then it could all end so badly, does anyone know the feeling? I'm shaking watching the TV, I hear YNWA and I'm not joking, I felt like crying, I was going against my own country, I was a Scottish fan, I just wanted to beat Man United, Man U, so much more wealth, better quality players but they knew walking on that pitch, it was 90 minutes of war, War it was.

I remember watching Naka score THAT free kick, I didn't move from my seat, I didn't think it was in, I actually checked the linesman, it's offside, how can it be offside you plonker, WE'VE * SCORED!!!! IT'S A BEAUTY!!! WE CAN DO IT! That night, watching Saha miss the penatly, it was meant to be, I went to bed, I never got to sleep.

Now

I watch us on Sunday, I see a football team with good footballers, but no real communication, I don't see a scrap of passion, I see players who are playing for themselves, not for the team, I see the SPL hit a state of desperation, I see Celtic slide 10 points below Rangers, I see a team who just don't have that fight in them required for this league, I come on TalkCeltic, I read the comments, I get a sense of comfort knowing other people feel the same, I then feel for the poor fans who made the journey, some probably couldn't even afford to go but did what they had to do to get the tickets, they have more passion for the team than what the whole team did put together.

I sit down in this very chair, I think events over in my head, I come back on TalkCeltic despite having only just signed off, I go through more comments, I see people already giving up, that was hard to see, I come out with knee * comments to my family, "Sack Lenny" "Maj isn't good enough for St Mirren" "I'm not sure I can go through this anymore, maybe I should just stick to what I know, Sunderland".....
I then feel guilty, like having said something to your Mother that you can't take back, I then feel sick and depressed, the passion is still burning strong in my stomach.
Maybe I supported Celtic at the wrong times, I saw Celtic get to the UEFA cup final, I watched us beat Liverpool at Anfield, I saw us beat Milan, Man Utd, Juventus, I saw us at a great time, I'm not used to seeing things this bleak, I suppose that makes me the lucky one eh?

I then see something that changes everything, I go in a bar in Sunderland by myself, I buy a pint of Carling, I sit down with every intention of feeling sorry for myself with my pint alone, I see a man look over at me, I see him wearing a Celtic scarf, we get talking and he tell's me he has been going to games for over 40 years, he's saw it all, the good times and the bad, this is a man who lives in a council house, he told me he would happily give up eating for two days to watch us play, I admire him, I ask's him what he thinks about this current situation, he replies with something almost identical to this...

"Son, it doesn't matter, we are Celtic, we'll bounce back, it might be next week, it might be next year, If we give them * a fight this season, I'll be happy with that, your so young, you have so many good times ahead of you, you will see us reach another European Final, you will see us scoring a last minute winner against them, you become a stronger person watching Celtic go through bad times, if anything, it makes you a better supporter"

It's only 10 points, it's not 20, they draw a couple off the belt we've made it half the difference already, we can do this, it's not over, we are Celtic FC, we will bounce back. If that man, who lives in Sunderland with me, can support the team with limited money and nobody to go to the games with, surely we don't have an excuse for supporting the team and not turning our back on Lenny.

I'll moan every time we lose, I'll make silly statements in anger, I'll say things I don't mean, but me, and everyone reading this I imagine, have that Fire in our stomach, this will keep with us until the day we die, that passion is good, it's what makes us so unique, we are footballing fans, we are Celtic nothing will ever break that pure love.

Hope you've all enjoyed my Story, from the Heart I suppose, just felt I had to share with you all.

 

Great stuff..... Hail hail

 

Great post. Well said, mate.

 

Great post mate

 

Goosebumps reading that Mark, excellent post mate. This is what Celtic is all about

 

Great story. The guy you met in the pub has got it spot on. Win, lose or draw we gotta fight on till the end of the season and beyond.

 

excellent stuff mate!!

 

Well said mate!! Your posts are always long and class!

 

Teary eyed stuff.

HAIL * HAIL!!!!

 

Brilliant post mate. Reading that there it was reminding me of myself at times. Mon the Hoops.

 

great read mate

hail hail

 

Had to read that again mate, brillaint.

Things might not be going well atm, but we just have to get behind the team, get behind Lenny.

I was reading some posts the other day after the Hearts game, about people slating the team, telling players to * off etc, and they were saying, what if the players where on here reading some of they posts? Well, maybe if the read posts like yours Mark, they'd realise what Celtic is all about and what it means to be apart of the Celtic Family.

The guy you met in the pub is correct. We WILL bounce back.

In Lennon We Trust

 

Great post mate!

 

Very well put, been a bad couple of weeks for all of us, but most can relate, some if not all you've spoken about here, given me a smile to know that there's guys in our support like you bud

 

I have just watched one of the most moving films I have ever seen in my life and have been crying for about an hour [ its called "Biutiful " and stars Javier Bardem ]
Then I come on here to get some comfort and am drawn to your post [ now I see why]. Everything you have said resonates with me especially the bit about not wanting the game to come in case it goes bad. Thats how I felt at the last old firm game and on Sunday against Hearts. I had a bad feeling but tried to reassure myself. I prayed the game would be called off due the weather so we had a chance to get some of our better players back but my husband told me dont be daft we'll win 2-1. Since Sunday I have been in dispair and came on here looking for some kind of comfort. Most of the posts I have read have made me feel worse except your post.
No one who knows me can understand how a middle aged mother of three can be so obsessed by celtic that it has almost taken over my every thought recently. I even tried thinking give up the season book and try to forget about football as it is making me so upset and then I read your post and thought like you "its in the blood" and you cant deny it or escape it but you have to learn to make something goog out of it [ just as Javier Bardems character has to do in the film] so win lose or draw I will get behind the team and the manager and wait for us to bounce back

 

Top class post pal. Thanks for that.

 

Thanks so much everyone, I only came on to check my emails! I just had to type my emotions into a forum where people can relate to me. I've just read through every post, your all just like me, we are all the same!

 

Brilliant !!!

C'mon U Hoops !!!

 

Lovely post Markey, one of the best I have read on this forum. One thing is for certain the good times will come back, it's just a case of when.

 

An immense post Markey. Great read.