One of my favourite football memories was as a 15 year old boy going to Pittodrie to watch Aberdeen play Rangers in November 1983. As a Dons fan growing up in Cumbernauld near Glasgow it was not always easy .
I attended Cumbernauld High School where my school mates were mostly Rangers fans and we would engage in some banter whilst walking home from school . Gary was a friend of mine loved football and loved Rangers. He stayed in the same street as me but we had not gone to the same primary school as he had attended a local Roman Catholic school, Surprisingly then that he supported Rangers, but it was his team and he rarely missed a game even though Rangers were struggling at that time. I think he felt a little sorry for me as he saw that I too loved my team but didn’t get to go to as many games as he did , so he invited me to go with him to Pittodrie for the next Aberdeen v Rangers match on his Rangers supporters bus with another friend Fraser.( I am not sure but I think maybe Roddy another schoolmate also went too).
So , early on a cold Saturday morning at 6:30 am we walked to the Twa Corbies pub in Carbrain to board the bus for Aberdeen, now this is not something I would recommend any Aberdeen fan do now, but I felt ok about it, my red and white scarf was discretely hidden away and the only ones who knew my true allegiance was my school mates who were all cool about it .
Arriving at the bus, the supporters bus convener was also a neighbour, who again knew my family loyalties and gave a rye smile as I boarded the bus, it appears in those days love for the sport was more important than anything else.
The behaviour on the bus was exemplary and I had been on rowdier Sunday School outings. There was no swearing, no singing and no drinking, at one point someone started clapping along to the music and the music stopped.
Arriving in Aberdeen we were dropped off and we made our way up Union Street, I was able then to show my true colours and as we walked around about Aberdeen we got some funny looks and odd comment of what are you doing with them, but it didn’t bother me, we went our separate ways I took my seat in the Paddock and they went to the Beach end, at that time it was being used for away fans and it was full , this was Jock Wallace’s first game back in charge of Rangers . There was much anticipation on their part. I remember a fan running on to the pitch to put his scarf on the centre circle before being arrested . The songs were belted out by both sets of fans and there was a full house of 22000, it was brilliant, Aberdeen were quickly in their stride Simpson, Hewitt and Porteous all scored in a comfortable 3-0 win for Aberdeen, the game ended and I made my way to a agreed meeting point again hiding away my scarf before the long journey back to Cumbernauld. It was a great day , one that I can reflect on now with a smile over 35 years later .
As the new league starts and the two teams play each other in the first game without any fans present, it is nice to reminisce about those days and the atmosphere. The football was special then, there was competition. Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United were all competing at the highest levels of European Football and Jock Wallace turned Rangers around and had them rise up the table to be competitive. The football was entertaining and teams played positive football. Let’s hope the first game of the season sets a tone for the whole season of great entertainment and competition even without the supporters there.
The fair-weather fan 