On the 23rd of June, 1998, Scotland had just been beaten 3-0 by Morocco, putting them out of the World Cup finals. Craig Burley, hero in the previous game against Norway, had got himself sent off just after halftime - but we could have no complaints. We were pish anyway - despite the heroics against Brazil in the first game.. It was a lovely summers evening in Glasgow, and just after the full-time whistle, I got a call from my old mucker Morgan, only just back from Holland. He was outside Tennents on Byres Road. Chris, man, youve got to get yourself down here. Its amazing. When I got down there, it was indeed. Around 50 Scotland fans were outside the pub, cheering, chanting, banging bins. As if wed won. We hung around for a while, soaked in the incredible atmosphere, and then started off back to my flat. Expecting the sound to diminish the further we walked down the road, the volume actually stayed constant. Louder, in fact. We turned round, to see that the fifty or so fans had started to follow our route down Highburgh Road. Down the middle of the road. I think a piper might have been involved at this point, but thats possibly my wish being father to the thought. Anyway, we stopped and waited for the crowd to catch up, and we carried on down the road, singing, chanting, cheering, CELEBRATING. One of the songs was a wee bit fruity, shall we say - but only because of the England goalkeepers surname. And it was sung in fun, not in anger. We turned left down Clarence Drive and then finally made our way onto Dumbarton Road, heading back towards the bottom of Byres Road. By this point, we had a police escort, and people were hanging out of their windows, joining in. The crowd was over a hundred strong. Remember, Scotland had just lost their final group match and were heading home from the World Cup. Imagine if wed won? We eventually left them to it, after this wee impromptu parade which had lasted no more than an hour, passed without any incident, and which had indelibly burned a fish, a bird, a tree and a bell onto my heart. I can hardly think straight now, thinking about what tonight and early tomorrow will bring. But if it is, as I hope, a YES vote, please have a pint on me, my Glasgow family. Ill be there in spirit, banging a bin.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:02:03 +0000