Shortly before James published yesterday’s article on the ballsy YouTuber who decided to do the two main Glasgow stadium tours in their rivals tops – if you haven’t read the article or watched the video yet I’d highly recommend it – I messaged him to pitch the idea of an article on the video, when unbeknownst to me he had already started his.
We agreed to have me do a piece on two separate points, which I had wanted to raise.
The first point is about the comments the YouTuber received online regarding the video; he gave a run-down on them after showing the tours. In all honestly, he made some good points about how ridiculous it was for anyone to wish him to die because of going to a football stadium tour with a certain colored top on; I don’t think many would disagree with that.
With that being said, I do believe that it should have been put in context.
Most of the things that are said online would most likely only be said online, and in no normal outside setting.
This is my own opinion, but if any of the people who had made those vile comments had been on the tour with him they would never have had the brass ones to say those comments to his face. Social media is full of “hard men” who are nothing of the sort.
Now that is a big point for me, and maybe more a commentary on how social media has become a safe haven for the vilest of comments and people, but the response he got would not have been a shock to anyone who reads this blog, as we all seen some pretty vile comments on the likes of Twitter and Facebook over the years.
For me, that is an important point in regards to the video; those comments are not reflective of football fans, but more about the online community as a whole, and social outrage, where people find themselves wanting to turn the volume up to 11 on their rage.
This is clearly not their usual state of mind in a normal social environment or we’d have anarchy.
We seen the real reaction of fans at the tours, the way one set of fans treated him like a victim of the plague and looking at him with pure hate in their eyes … and then the other set of fans who treated him like that silly uncle at a wedding, a lot of banter and laughs and not one look of disproval.
No guesses needed for which set of fans were which, nor which set of fans is moaning about it even today; one Sevco website just published a piece trying to debunk the whole thing and accusing the guy of trying to whip up controversy.
These Peepul have no sense of perspective at all, nor any sense of humour to speak of.
Which brings me on to my second point, and this is about what our club encompasses, and about our ethos and our fans.
I’m referring to the heartfelt speech the tour guide gave on how football fans should treat each other; simple words that sum up so much.
“You don’t need to play for Celtic to represent Celtic,” he said. “As soon as you wear that scarf or wear that Jersey, you represent Celtic. If you got to a match and you cause bother, people don’t see you causing bother, they see a Celtic fan cause bother.”
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Our friendly YouTuber admitted himself that he totally bought into that, and above all else it is what we, as a fan base, should always remember.
Every time we step out in Celtic clothes that we represent our club.
It was noted, too, that this passionate speech by the great tour guide David was not replicated at the club across the road; maybe that lack of message to their own fans explains why some of them go so badly awry at times.
Their own lack of good representation is an indictment on their club.
How are they supposed to get these supporters to behave if they don’t occasionally hold up a mirror to them?
This is another area where we’re miles ahead.
Ross McAtasney is a Celtic fan and blogger from Glasgow.
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