Part 2
(For part one click here)
Well as a single parent and with my only offspring a daughter to boot, trips to Tannadice became infrequent over the early 90s. Domestic matters took top priority and trips to Dundee became ever more infrequent. Harder to get a wee lassie interested in football as well! Child minding was difficult too and I was holding down a full-time job at the time so going away to the football on Saturdays regularly was hard.
Hampden again!
Well the 1993-4 season was the one that saw us win the Scottish Cup for the first time, and for some reason I managed to go to all the cup ties on the way to the final, replays and all! My father managed to get two tickets for the final and so off I went, accompanied by an American friend Janet, who had become a United fan when she moved over here some years before. What a day that was! We stayed behind after the game to cheer the players as they came out of the ground to go on their team bus but then it was home to Hamilton (this being before I became Wishae Arab you see) and to be honest an anticlimax.
I certainly resolved never to repeat that experience again. The next time we get to a cup final, I've got the whole weekend mapped out! Up to Dundee on the Friday night, out on the town, down to Hampden on the Saturday in a supporters bus, and then either back up to Dundee to party, party, party the rest of the weekend away after the game – or else back home to Wishaw on the first train!
Yes, I've bought THREE Celtic tops!
Well a couple of years on from the Cup success saw a new relationship, and with it no fewer than three stepchildren – and one of them a boy too! Sadly, he was already a Celtic fan, but a typical part-timer who didn't go to the games (and he still doesn't!).
However, he was quite amenable to a few days out with his new step-dad figure and that being the 1st division season it saw me score quite a few grounds from my “still-to-visit” list! The best days out were undoubtedly the games at Greenock and Firhill, but sadly, the lack of a childminder meant I was confined to quarters for the Tannadice leg of the play-off against Partick Thistle. I may be wrong but I still swear to this day that the radio commentator took a full 5 minutes to actually say it was a United player that had scored just before the final whistle. Why oh why didn't they move the radio gantry to the George Fox stand when they built it!
At this point, I have to confess that three of our four children are the proud owners of Celtic tops and what's worse I bought them all! The girls aren't really football fans and indeed have only ever been to one game ever – at least it was a United game! I took the three of them to Fir Park one year but the two older ones didn't spend much time watching the game. They were too interested in Andy McLaren warming up behind the goals!!
First ever season ticket!
Well the season after we got promoted I went to most games, home and away (though not Parkhead or Ibrox) and the one after that I finally decided that it would be worth my while buying a season ticket! I'd strangely never ever had one before but I reckoned that I was certainly going to enough games to make it worthwhile financially.
I decided on the top tier of the East Stand and it was well worth it for the view alone. Whether by accident or design I ended up with an excellent seat bang behind the goals and in the second front row too! Not so much in the way of atmosphere though unless it was one of the all ticket games.
It took a while to get to know the people around me – despite what you may hear I'm really quite a shy person, and some of the people I sat beside were even more reserved than me, but eventually we got to the nodding heads stage!
I sat in the top tier for two seasons and then got involved in the formation of the Weegie Arabs supporters club – but that's part three of the tale!
Part Three soon.......