Jungle Memories

All of this and much more !! not for the faint hearted. Last time I remember being in it was that judas bastarts first game there for them ..... the * noise was incredible ... still got ringing in my ears to this day .

 

That's why you couldn't go for a pee , some days was a * war zone under there . you wanted a few beers before the game " don't go to the jungle "

 

Great stories guys!

I never made it in there. When I first went to games my dad took me into the south stand, then once I was older we went into the Celtic end, round beside the corner flag by the fence. By this point the Jungle probably wasn't as it was back in its hey day though.

 

http://m.heraldscotland.com/news/12628360.The_jungle_drums_fall_silent_as_a_Parkhead_legend_dies/


Wee article from 1993. You'll never guess who wrote it

 

I started going to celtic park in 1966 at the age of 10 and hardly missed a game, home or away ,til I got married at the end of season 74/75 . At home we stood in the jungle, Celtic end straight up from the 18 yard line about 20 feet from the back . That might sound a bit too exact, but that's how it was, you saw the same faces every game, and got to know them all by name. What was it like..?

I was in the jungle hundreds of times and I can honestly say, even as a wee laddie, I was never scared once. I never saw any of the gang stuff other guys are writing about,
Most of the men had a carry out, usually 6 cans in a bag , and a half bottle in the top inside pocket of their suit jacket. Yes suit ! . For a lot of people it was collar and tie .

Yes, when the cans were empty, they were used as * pots, and I've lost count of the number of women i saw squatting for a leak . No tights in those days, their dresses or wide skirts hid them, and they were either knickerless or put a hand under to pull the crotch aside. As a 15 or 16 year old I was caught staring quite a lot, one particular 'lady ' used to give me a cheeky wink when she stood up. Probably go down as child abuse nowadays, but I just put it in the * bank .

Macaroon bars and spearmint chewing gum, every game, macaroon for me, if I remember rightly it was a tanner. Goggle it .

Would i go back to those days?? In a * heartbeat. If I was young, but I'm not. I'm getting on a bit now and like the seats .

To sum up 'The jungle ' imagine the green brigade allowed a carry out and take away the toilets. THE JUNGLE WAS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!!!

 

Ha ha... forgot about the macaroon bars and spearmint chewing gum. The wee cap men always preceeded it with "get the last of ..." even when there was a tray full of them !. Bovril was better back then too.

 

I'm a bit too young to have experienced it first hand, but from what I know of it, it would be like the current standing section plus another 5k or something on top of it, with plenty of booze added into the equation.

In other words, * madness :smiley-laughing002:

It would never be allowed these days. It's still a surprise to some that we've got terracing back at all, in the form of safe standing, but they'd never allow it to be the way it was before.

Too much has changed and progressed in terms of safety, hygiene and all that.

 

Hilarious

 

Loved reading these stories, sadly my first game was sitting in a temporary stand type scaffolding rig as they where building the Jock Stien stand. Just missed the Jungle gutted. Born too late/too young for ma da to take me.

 

Great memories: I was six years old(1966)when my dad and his mates first took me to Celtic park, they always stood in the Celtic end half way up and behind the goals.Once they got in position, my dad would take me to the very back of the Celtic end terracing under the roof and lift me onto the steel framework to stand(All the young kids had spots here above the heads of the crowd to view the game)and told me not to move and he would see me at half time.
I had a great view of the pitch and the whole stadium, especially the 'Jungle'...it was packed and seemed to heave and sway with the tempo of the game.
At the end of the sixties, my dad was working most Saturday's, so two or three mates and I(yeah at nine years old) would walk from our homes(just at Tennants Brewery&Duke St Hospital) to Celtic park, we had to plan our route well,even at that age we were aware of gang no go areas!!!!!! .We also hid our 'Celtic Tammies' up our Jumpers until we were near to the stadium in case any of the funny mob spotted us!....on many occasion we had no money, but confident we would get a lift over the turnstile...."mister gonny gies a lift oer"......it was unusual to get turned down, and we would meet inside at the same point...between the Celtic end and the Jungle. It never failed to excite me, the turnstiles entrance was lower than the pitch and once inside you climbed a few stairs to gradually see the whole pitch and stadium in front of you...still lives with me!!!
We would stand at the edge of the 'Jungle' and kid on we were part of the crazy squad that we would see going in past us heading towards the centre of the enclosure, with 'Carry oot bags' filled with cans of Pale Ale,Bottles of Buckfast,Lanliq(Lannie),El Dorado(LD.),Cider and their smokes!!!....some guys already steamin being carried in by their mates.
We also heard the different gang groups coming past us to go into the middle: Fleeto, Gaucho, Shamrock,San Toi, Baltic, Calton Tongs....all 'carry in' ....sharpened steel combs etc.Thats when at that young age the pull of Celtic?..also realised and appreciated other accents attending the games, supporters from all over Scotland and of course Ireland,friendships made forever.The noise generated from the Jungle was amazing.
As we got older and into our teens(and taller )we ventured more into the Jungle.....at times,usually at half time, you felt this rumbling/vibration in your feet and if we looked towards the centre of the enclosure,supporters were moving towards you in a rush(can only liken the noise to a herd of wilderbeast running at us)...a fight had started in the middle and people were running from it.....then it would settle with the polis charging in from the trackside.Quite often you would see the polis hats gettin belted off their heads when they tried to break up a fight.
The polis would often get abuse or a pie thrown at them if they stood on the trackside for too long, cause they were blocking the view of some of the supporters at low level.
I Remember standing in the Jungle with my mate, heard this almighty loud slap and this woosh of gravy and mince flashing in front of me, I turned to my mate and said did you see that, he replied as he was reaching for the back of his head "A * pie has just skelped me on the back of the neck"..that was 40 year ago...still makes me laugh

Memoriesf Jimmy Johnstone throwing his boots into the Jungle, as did Tommy Burns and Paul McStay...all very emotional. Was present when a guy ran on and punched/booted wee Strachan when he was playing for Aberdeen.The songs( specially 'Walk On ')and the noise generated from the Jungle was unequaled in any club I have visited, when a goal was scored you could be lifted off your feet by the packed crowd and end up nowhere your starting point....H&Safety not a chance, very dangerous...but what a buzz!!!!
The Jungle was the heartbeat of the ground then with some colourful characters.
Now, after many years in the North Stand above the GB, I have now moved to the lower tier in The Main stand and can observe the GB in their full glory....folks you are now the heartbeat of the ground,very proud...go on and make memories for other young supporters.
Hail Hail to the Celtic family, past present and for generations to come.

 

my first time in the Jungle was the 2-2 European night v Ajax in 1982 it was my first time at CP travelling from Inverness as a 16 year old and I remember coming in to the stadium at the away end corner and just seeing the jungle in full voice about half an hour before kick off. That first sight of the Jungle made me realise how important it was for the team to have that sort of backing. I remember we scored and I was flung what seemed about 5 yards forward and lost my mate for the rest of the match the whole Jungle seemed to be in constant sway the whole game .. I had no perception of the famous Jungle beforehand but for me it felt I had arrived properly as a Celtic supporter .. The popular song then I remember was the Roaming in the Gloaming one .. £2.50 for a ticket that night & I got to see Johan Cruyff although I don't remember much about the game it was the memories of the fans support that night which stayed with me.