The Rangers Brand - what does it stand for?

[MacK1950 2,376]

5 hours ago, Rick Roberts said:

(e.g. stop singing about the UVF and Bobby Sands)

TOTALLY AGREE this will mean nothing to the majority of our team nly to the choir that sings it and most of them will be lucky to know about him.

[Bill 13,717]

The responses to this topic have been fascinating and far more revealing than anything I had expected or hoped for.

 

The main revelation is that no one seems able to describe the Rangers identity or what the club stands for, which is a little surprising given how much time we all spend focussed on the club and the emotional capital we devote to it. Yet no one has been able to express with any clarity what values they associate with Rangers. Far more time has been devoted to suggesting what isn't part of our identity. This hasn't exactly come as a surprise, since I've experienced the very same difficulty.

 

I'm grateful to@JohnMc for his lengthy and intelligent analysis but even he restricted himself to examining certain key attributes, each of which he then rejected as core brand criteria. Almost everyone else either deflected or were otherwise unable to contribute. For such a dedicated support to be unable to make a coherent assessment of the Rangers identity is rather mystifying - but it surely tells us something very important about the club, the support and the image projected by both. You might even conclude that we lack any clear sense of identity, that there isn't actually anything obvious we stand for. Or is it, for the sake of debate, that we don't actually like what we think the club stands for, especially in recent times? Are we experiencing a crisis of identity because we know the club hasn't come close to matching what we would like it to be? I say this because several people dwelt on what they thought we should be, as opposed to what we are.

 

Why does something as fundamental as identity cause so much difficulty?

[Gonzo79 15,293]

42 minutes ago, Bill said:

Why does something as fundamental as identity cause so much difficulty?

42 minutes ago, Bill said:

This hasn't exactly come as a surprise, since I've experienced the very same difficulty.

Maybe because there is no fixed identity.  It evolves alongside society (which has changed significantly in most of our lifetimes) and on top of that, the club means different things to different people.

 

For me, Rangers FC is a football club, first and foremost but is also a sporting focal point for many Scots of a Protestant background and more so recently (thanks to devolution and the rise of Scottish nationalism), Unionist Scots.  It's also about winning.  

[Bill 13,717]

2 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

For me, Rangers FC is a football club

There’s no pulling the wool over your eyes 🤣

[Gonzo79 15,293]

37 minutes ago, Bill said:

There’s no pulling the wool over your eyes 🤣

Having mainly attended matches on supporters buses, I've witnessed many examples of fans who treat football as a side issue.  Supporting Rangers is just an excuse for a day out and a piss up.  

 

I've never really understood that but it's certainly not uncommon amongst our support.

[CammyF 8,094]

22 hours ago, Bill said:

I really don't understand your reluctance to participate in this topic without having to probe the views of other people. But it is what it is I guess.

I have participated and your initial post was probing other people for their views. It is what it is I guess. Goose and Gander and all that.....

[CammyF 8,094]

The reality is Rangers are many things to many people. From simply a football team to a whole identity, and everything indetween. 

 

There isn't and shouldn't be a "fixed" identity but we should always embrace or history and our "culture" (perceived or otherwise").

 

We should and are a "broad church" and the "identity" will change generation after generation.

 

Things that should remain constant are our charity foundation and the work it does locally, nationally and internationally. This work has rightly received acclaim locally, nationally and internationally.

 

There is no right or wrong answer to the original question.

Edited November 19, 2022 by CammyF

[Bill 13,717]

32 minutes ago, CammyF said:

The reality is Rangers are many things to many people. From simply a football team to a whole identity, and everything indetween. 

 

There isn't and shouldn't be a "fixed" identity but we should always embrace or history and our "culture" (perceived or otherwise").

 

We should and are a "broad church" and the "identity" will change generation after generation.

 

Things that should remain constant are our charity foundation and the work it does locally, nationally and internationally. This work has rightly received acclaim locally, nationally and internationally.

 

There is no right or wrong answer to the original question.

If course there’s no right or wrong, only a fool would think about it in those terms. But there is personal opinion and the fact is no one seems able to express it, certainly not with clarity. Imagine that. 
 

You’d think describing the defining characteristics of Rangers would be second nature to any supporter. The intriguing question is why is this apparently so difficult. 

[CammyF 8,094]

14 minutes ago, Bill said:

 

You’d think describing the defining characteristics of Rangers would be second nature to any supporter. The intriguing question is why is this apparently so difficult. 

But each supporter will have a different answer, defining characteristics will be different between supporter to supporter. 

 

To me it's the charity work the club undertakes, to someone else it'll be the links to loyalism and royalism, to someone else it'll be links to Union Bears or ICF and fighting fans from other clubs, for someone else it will be family tradition. There are endless answers, not just one. All legitimate answers and all personal to each fan.

[Gonzo79 15,293]

48 minutes ago, Bill said:

You’d think describing the defining characteristics of Rangers would be second nature to any supporter.

I'd say most posters on this thread have covered one or two of the same things.  

 

It's what the majority of Bears think and also how the neutral observers (noted when reading foreign articles) and our enemies see us: Protestant and British.  

 

Some Bears don't want to be associated with these two things, others are just a bit uncomfortable with it but most are quite proud of it.  

Edited November 19, 2022 by Gonzo79