Bill McMurdo - Thatâ??ll Be The Day

[ian1964 10,625]

September 12, 2012 · by billmcmurdo · in Uncategorized

 

I have made no secret of my feelings concerning the Scotland team and my own allegiance to Rangers: Team GB.

 

These are my own feelings on the matter but I have been engulfed with support from those who share my views. And my allegiance.

 

So it would be easy to gloat this morning, on the back of two disastrous games for Craig Leveinâ??s side.

 

Yet I confess to more a feeling of sadness, rather than satisfaction.

 

Scotland is divided in two, as I have been saying on my blogs of late, and this is a grievous situation, albeit a necessary one.

 

The division is political â?? although, in a sense, it transcends politics â?? and is being felt in every sector and area of society.

 

It has reached the sporting world this year, marring the stunning success of the Olympics with petty jibes and gestures such as a daft wee lassie refusing to sing the national anthem while competing for the nation.

 

And, as you would expect, it is being manifest now on the football field with the chasm that has opened up between Rangers FC, a traditional Unionist club, and the Anglophobic haters of the Tartan Army.

 

Some voices in the Rangers ranks have suggested that Scottish Rangers fans not surrender their allegiance to Scotland because of the Tartan Army but continue to support their country as a defiant â??alternativeâ? force.

 

This idea has gained very little traction among Rangers fans, especially when they hear reports such as the one yesterday of Tartan Army fans booing a lad wearing a Rangers top on the streets of Glasgow!

 

There was a time when Rangers supporters could wear their club scarves to Scotland games and many did so. Now any sign of support for Rangers is likely to have you abused on the day Scotland is playing and the racist bigots who support the team are in town.

 

We used to talk about the Old Firm divide. Itâ??s still there â?? the divide, that is, although fans on both sides vehemently maintain the Old Firm is no longer.

 

Now there is another divide â?? a gaping wound at the heart of Scotland. It is not a divide between those who hate Scotland and those who love Scotland. It is a divide between those who love Britain and those who donâ??t. Thatâ??s the subtle difference.

 

I am one of those who love being both British and Scottish. For me itâ??s a both/and proposition, not an either/or one.

 

Curiously, perhaps, I am joined in my British AND Scottish viewpoint by many Celtic fans, although they may have to mask their own Unionist leanings in the face of the aggressive republican minority that infests Celtic Park.

 

The simple reality is that, between Rangers fans who support the Union and Celtic fans who do likewise, there is an overwhelming majority of support for the Unionist cause in Scotland in terms of the two fanbases.

 

I realise there are those who do not like my reference to this politicising of Scottish football. Well, I wasnâ??t the one who brought the politics in but I am not going to take the standard media approach and ignore it.

 

I am happy to talk about the elephant in the room.

 

Those who are seeking to separate Scotland from the United Kingdom are only too aware that support for the Union is the dominant prevailing allegiance of most Rangers and Celtic fans.

 

Perhaps this explains why, in the run-up to the Referendum in 2014, both clubs are separated by the length of the senior gameâ??s divisions and yet still bitterly engaged in their perpetual feud.

 

It may also explain why the SNP have done nothing to help the plight of Scotlandâ??s biggest team in its recent hour of need.

 

It may also be the reason why the Scottish media keeps throwing petrol on the flames of the Rangers-Celtic feud in an effort â?? it would seem â?? to keep it aflame.

 

But, of course, to suggest these things leave one open to being termed a conspiracy theorist.

 

And who would believe there could be a conspiracy involving Rangers Football Club?

 

The sad reality is that this bitter divide is just going to get worse as Alex Salmondâ??s megalomania drives us toward the Referendum.

 

This will be keenly felt in households, businesses, friendships and every part of society as people fall out with spouses, parents, best friends, colleagues and siblings.

 

Its toxic effect has already seeped into Scottish football.

 

David Murray and Craig Whyte have a lot to answer for in terms of what they did to Rangers.

 

But when Scotlandâ??s national side and Scotlandâ??s biggest team are in open hostilities toward each other, there is something more going on. Murray and White cannot entirely be blamed for the state of affairs that is taking place in Scottish football today.

 

There has been a hijacking of the game towards political purposes and ends â?? and Rangers as the bastion of Unionism in Scotland is the target.

 

There seems to be a frenzied drive to find Rangers guilty of more and more misdemeanours and to inflict the most severe of punishments upon the club. This drive is akin to a sort of religious fanaticism in its hatred of all things Rangers.

 

I am well aware that there are people who donâ??t like me writing about this inquisition against Rangers FC and who is behind it.

 

They want me to stop.

 

Seeing as I have set a precedent in this blog for referring to Westerns, I will quote John Wayneâ??s character in The Searchers in response to these people:-

 

â??Thatâ??ll be the day.â?

 

Thatâ??ll be the day I donâ??t defend the team I love.

 

Thatâ??ll be the day I donâ??t resist the attack on the Union.

 

Thatâ??ll be the day I donâ??t fight Scotlandâ??s enemies.

 

As Buddy Holly would sayâ?¦

 

Thatâ??ll be the day that I die.

 

http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/1497/

[Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose 0]

Sorry Bill. How is this politcal? Anyone who correlates their vote with their football team should have their vote taken off them. I've always supported my country and always will. You cannot turn your emotions for your team and country on and off like a tap. As for team GB? Do me a favour. I couldn't give a flying fox about team GB. Means nowt to me and I suspect that this pro team GB/England love in is just a pathetic attempt by some to wind up the tims

[Juancornetto 1]

Sorry Bill. How is this politcal? Anyone who correlates their vote with their football team should have their vote taken off them. I've always supported my country and always will. You cannot turn your emotions for your team and country on and off like a tap. As for team GB? Do me a favour. I couldn't give a flying fox about team GB. Means nowt to me and I suspect that this pro team GB/England love in is just a pathetic attempt by some to wind up the tims

 

Bravo Max, I've felt really uneasy with all this "fuck Scotland" bravado lately. It seems you can't be an Uber Rangers fan or "a good Proddy" (I have no wish to be either btw) if you support Scotland in 2012. We have our own zealots and they have really come to the fore in recent months, my pride in the Rangers support in the way we have pulled together since Feb 14 has taken a huge dip.

[andy steel 0]

Sean Connery was just as bad after the tennis, banging on about Murray being Scottish, not British. From what I can see Murray seems perfectly happy being both - Connery did the independence vote a bit of harm with that one.

 

Just as anyone tying being British to Rangers will do a bit of harm to the Unionist vote.

 

Be as well avoiding the subject in sport altogether.

[alexscottislegend 2,222]

Sean Connery was just as bad after the tennis, banging on about Murray being Scottish, not British. From what I can see Murray seems perfectly happy being both - Connery did the independence vote a bit of harm with that one.

 

Just as anyone tying being British to Rangers will do a bit of harm to the Unionist vote.

 

Be as well avoiding the subject in sport altogether.

Agree re Connery (of Irish extraction BTW) - everyone now surely knows Andy is both Scottish and British, and it just seems churlish to go banging on about being Scottish. But it does raise a question; if in 2014 the vote goes for independence where will we as RFC supporters stand? Will we still tip the hat to the Union Jack etc? For me it's a false dichotomy. I'm a Scot first, Brit second - GB team means sod all to me.

[andy steel 0]

Well, Rangers exist and have always existed in a purely Scottish context - representing the Scottish FA at European level, playing in Scottish leagues, usually employing Scottish staff & players (until relatively recently) and so on. I as an RFC fan will stand just where I do now should the 2014 vote go for independence; but I must say, I don't think there's the slightest chance of that happening.

[GovanAllan 0]

I used to be a proud Scot first, but the way Salmond and his stormtroopers are handling this stupid waste of public money on a stupid independence drive, followed by the all out assault on Rangers by the SFA has left a very bad taste in my mouth.

 

I'm actually quite ashamed to be a Scot at the moment and never felt more British, here's hoping in two years time I can still say I'm British and proud and we haven't walked like Tartan zombies into the beginning of the end. As for the Scottish football team if it curled up and died tomorrow I would give a cheer and that feeling isnt changing anytime soon.

[EDGE 0]

I just want to support Rangers and just want to support Scotland. I can't be arsed with all the shite that I am supposed to be because I support Rangers.

[Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose 0]

I used to be a proud Scot first, but the way Salmond and his stormtroopers are handling this stupid waste of public money on a stupid independence drive, followed by the all out assault on Rangers by the SFA has left a very bad taste in my mouth.

 

I'm actually quite ashamed to be a Scot at the moment and never felt more British, here's hoping in two years time I can still say I'm British and proud and we haven't walked like Tartan zombies into the beginning of the end. As for the Scottish football team if it curled up and died tomorrow I would give a cheer and that feeling isnt changing anytime soon.

 

Fair doos GA but I just don't get how one politcal parties views affects how you feel about the natonal team. For me, they are XI guys wearing dark blue, playing football for their country. As for the British thing goes, I can honestly say that I have never felt British in my life. When I've travelled abroad I never declare myself as British. I always state that I am Scottish. This isnt based on a anti English thing as I love England (amazing country) Its also not derived from anti GB thing as I respect people who feel part of the Union. It just not for me

Edited September 12, 2012 by Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose

[Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose 0]

Agree re Connery (of Irish extraction BTW) - everyone now surely knows Andy is both Scottish and British, and it just seems churlish to go banging on about being Scottish. But it does raise a question; if in 2014 the vote goes for independence where will we as RFC supporters stand? Will we still tip the hat to the Union Jack etc? For me it's a false dichotomy. I'm a Scot first, Brit second - GB team means sod all to me.

 

Dont get the relevance of Sean Connery's Irish extraction. I'm of Irish and German stock but I feel 100% Scottish