Remember When Supporting Celtic Was Fun?

Growing up supporting Celtic in the early 2000s, I was fortunate to witness Martin O’Neill’s team of stars mix it with the best in Europe, reach the UEFA Cup final in style, and win domestic trophies against tough EBT funded competition. At that tender stage in my Celtic supporting life, it was all about the football. It was Larsson, Sutton and Hartson. It was a sea of green and white at away games all over Europe and in England for testimonials. It was a simpler time as a kid watching great football.

By the time I reached my teenage years, I had become more aware of what Celtic was about. I had grown up with the basics about Brother Walfrid founding the club for charitable purposes, the Irish moving to Glasgow during the famine and my reason for being born into Celtic being that my Grandad was from Ireland. However, I now became aware of the club’s political identity and origins – as well as the politics of Ireland and the Irish diaspora. I studied the history of Celtic in great detail, and did the same with other topics such as the Troubles. I became an author and wrote a number of books about Celtic, the support and the club’s history. It was now a way of life. Charity, politics, football, culture, atmosphere all combining into what I believed was the greatest club in the world to support.

I started going to games more frequently from the 2010/11 season, a campaign that is etched in my mind for the phenomenal atmospheres that were generated at almost every away game and big match at home (though contrasted by how quiet the run of the mill home games could be). It was a season when the Green Brigade really emerged properly and there was a colour and passion that was exciting and well embraced. There was a togetherness among the support and between the fans and players/management. This is largely due to the despicable bigotry that Neil Lennon and other Celts from the North of Ireland faced that year. Bombs and bullets. Then there was the referees strike, Dougie gate at Tannadice, the so called ‘shame game’ and so on.

The following years saw mockery as our rivals went bust, thunderous atmospheres for victory over Barcelona, the loudest noise I’ve heard in a stadium when Celtic drew 3-3 with Man City, being reduced to tears as Tom Rogic secured an Invincible Treble, and enjoying the best night of my Celtic life in Rome.

Ange Postecoglou revived the excitement, after a terrible Covid season, with stunning football. Performances in the Champions League were there but missed chances prevented results following. But there was hope and a great sense of unity at the club again.

Since Ange left, the atmosphere has completely died at away games and on European nights. The disconnect between the fans and the board is as bad as it has ever been in my life time. The regression this season has been as alarming, as the lack of ambition to push on in Europe has been disappointing. False accusations about fans hit the newspapers, a battle for the soul of Celtic seems to be commencing and results on the pitch have been as abysmal as performances for the best part of a year. Fellow fans are banned, the support is divided, and the club seems to be in disarray at a time when it should have been better placed than ever to really progress beyond domestic achievement.

Going to matches can feel like a chore right now and I fear that some of the apathy I feel about results is a sign of a great passion being lost.

Supporting Celtic should be fun. It is meant to be a hobby. For me, it truly represents a people and a cause. I can’t remember the last time it felt like it did back in the 2010/11 season, when being in Paradise for a derby game was the greatest spectacle in world football (to me).

We need fans to be united. We need to bring about a refresh. There can be no more mass bans of vocal fans, no destruction of the atmosphere, no fan media bans, no more attacks on the support. We need real change and most of all we need to get the real Celtic and the enjoyment that goes with it back.