Every now and again, something cuts right across the noise of the rivalry and reminds you there are good people on both sides of the fence. This wee story sits firmly in that category.
He was a gent. That is the bit that really matters.
A pact between a Bear and a Celtic mate
Back around 2006, one of my best pals, a huge Celtic man, and I made a simple pact. We’d each take the other to our own ground for a hospitality day. No drama, no nonsense, just two mates seeing how the other half live.
I had him at Ibrox first, in the Members section, for what I’m fairly sure was a game against Hibs. Proper Rangers setting, good day out, and to be honest the football was almost a backdrop to the experience. Then it was my turn to cross the city.
He took me to Parkhead, into the McStay Suite, for a match against Inverness. Again, the game itself felt secondary. It was about the occasion, the hospitality, and seeing the other side of Glasgow through a slightly different lens.
Honest about allegiances, treated with total respect
After the match, the bit that has always stuck with me happened. We were sitting in the suite when Dixie Deans and another former Celtic player from the same era came over and sat at our table for about half an hour.
My mate didn’t try to hide anything. He told them straight away that I was a Rangers supporter, there as his guest. No point pretending otherwise. You half-wonder how that will go when you’re in the middle of their place, with all the history between the clubs in the background.
The way they handled it said a lot. They were absolutely professional, but more than that, they were warm with it. They hoped I’d had a good day, spoke about how it was brilliant that two pals could do what we were doing, and never once made it awkward. They got the rivalry, of course they did, but they didn’t let it define the whole interaction.
A quiet moment of respect that stays with you
I ended up talking more to Dixie, as we realised we both knew the same person. That broke any remaining ice straight away. It stopped being about Rangers and Celtic, and just turned into a proper, normal chat with a former player who was happy to give you his time.
Nothing spectacular happened. No big speeches. Just half an hour at a table that showed a different side to people you normally only see through the lens of the rivalry. For all the noise, all the anger and the back-and-forth that comes with being a Rangers fan in this city, wee moments like that remind you that there is still a lot of basic decency around the game.
He was a gent. Simple as that.
RIP.
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