There is probably a section in every stadium in world football which exists solely to be loud. You see it everywhere, from Anfield to the Amsterdam Arena.
As grounds became all-seater venues the onus on those sections has only grown.
But most fans of a certain vintage – and I include myself in that – remember that even in the days before seating we had those parts of the ground; at Celtic Park of course it was the famous Jungle which could be relied upon to provide the noise and colour.
As much as I love the singing sections at Celtic Park, I always feel that the atmosphere they generate removes the onus on a lot of the rest of us to do the same.
I’ve been at games where the Green Brigade was not present and where the soft buzz around me was such that I could have broken out my Kindle and concentrated on it without difficulty.
And fans like me have no business blaming the Green Brigade for that, or the club either for that matter.
The game earlier in the season where the standing section was essentially on strike for the early part of the game saw a lot of fire directed at the fans in it, but I thought that was pretty weak especially as there were tens of thousands of others inside the ground.
It should not be down to one section of the stadium to make all the noise in the ground.
Even when the Jungle was at its most vocal it was not the only part of Celtic Park capable of turning up the heat on an opposing team.
There are those who think that the Green Brigade have too high an opinion of themselves, yet these are invariably the same people who bemoan their absence as “selfishness” because the ground isn’t bouncing the way it should be.
It’s time the rest of Celtic Park got rocking too, and I count myself amongst those who will have to up his game.
The GB do have too high an opinion of themselves. That is fact. They do, however, generate a good atmosphere inside CP and they should be applauded for that.
As regards the Jungle, I was a regular there in my youth, You are right to say that it wasn’t the only part of the ground which generated the atmos. The result being the atmosphere wasn’t dependent on the Jungle. There were two reasons for that:
1) People who went to the Jungle weren’t precious about it. I’d quite happily go to the Celtic end if the Jungle was too mobbed. I even had occasion to slum it in the Rangers end if I turned up at a game late and the place was heaving.
As a result, who ended up in the Jungle tended to be a mixed bag. It wasn’t always the same crowd. I mind standing next to Andy Ritchie (famous ex Morton – player that fans of a certain age will remember, was on the books at Celtic early 70s) there one game.
2) Other than the Main Stand, all of CP was standing only. This obviously makes it easier to create a better atmos.
It’s easier for the GB to create the atmos as they all know each other. They all buy their STs for the same section so they can stand next to their pals. The rest of CP doesn’t do that. When I was a season ticket holder I just got my seat and was happy there. I didn’t know anyone around me and other than the odd comment about the game, we all kept ourselves to ourselves.
That’s not the GB’s fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just the way things are.
I too was a regular in the jungle but I wasn’t the biggest wee Bhoy and on most occasions I was tossed out by the polis “for being too wee” ???.. fantastic memories HH
Cant be banning the culprits must have cameras on them .last Sunday and today all talk about raith rovers stone wall penalty the one celtic got was a stone waller and some pundits says soft player gets booked 2 yellows he booked the wrong player what a bout the offside against celtic player award on side not a mention was it spoken about yes must have bbc seem to edit these controversy out
All of the spectators contribute to the atmosphere in a way that they’re entitled to, having purchased entry; not just a small part of that crowd.
You are as ignorant as you are mad. Both sets of my grandparents are Irish. You know nothing about my heritage so shut up. You want Sean to introduce his two young girls to rebel music at the age of 8 and 11. Their heritage you know nothing about. Like Sean I wouldn’t take my grandchildren to games yet. At their age I want them to enjoy all things Celtic without the need to think about anything else. By the way, I don’t sing rebel songs. Does that make me less of a fan than you.