The Heart Of Football
The heart of football
by Stuart, Ball Street
I was going tell you about Ball Street, however I can’t let events at Ibrox pass without comment.
It’s a tale of self-destruction with a vengeance, true of all parties involved in the toxic cauldron of Scottish football. But that’s for another day. Today let me tell you a story about football and the fan.
Rangers are the club of my uncles, two of whom had heart attacks at Ibrox watching the Rangers. One sadly passed; the amazing medical staff in the ground saved the other, who was the first to take me every other week.
It’s also the club of my late father, who worked on the rebuilding of the Main Stand and salvaged the old wooden seats and fittings to craft a handsome fireplace for his living room. Every time we went to the back shops, we would occasionally stop by old Jimmy’s to see if he needed any messages. Only later did I find out that Jimmy was Jimmy Smith, scorer of 225 goals in 234 appearances for Rangers between 1928 and 1946.
I know my history. I know that a love that’s been shared by generations of my family doesn’t exist on the balance sheet of Sevco 5088. The club can’t be taken away by liquidation, player departures, rulings or the ill-feeling of others.
A football club lives only the hearts of its fans. That’s true of any club. As Kevin Drinkell said recently: “Rangers fans who were supporters yesterday will still be supporters today. That's the bottom line.”
Sure it will be hard to see the likes of Naismith and McCabe grace other arenas - they've lost their chance to be legends - but Ibrox will always have its heroes. There may well be a succession of journeymen on the horizon who might never have climbed the marble staircase, but among them will be legends that we’ll still talk about in years to come.
Like many others, I’ve long said we should start over in Division Three. We should take our medicine and let others have theirs. I’ll look forward to Glasgow derbies with Queen’s Park and trips to Montrose where we holidayed as kids. And then I’ll be able to tell you more about why every league is a premier league.
More Posts from Ballstreet and Others
AFR x Ball Street x Ian Wright
It’s a Friday night and there’s one thing on our minds: football. What else? The guys over at Ball Street have invited us, alongside several other blogs, to do what we do best: talk football. Joining us on our very first Google Hangout will be former Crystal Palace and Arsenal striker, England international, Ian Wright.
We’ll be discussing the issues and problems fans and their clubs have to tackle. It’s a broad, but very interesting topic, with plenty of talking points and who knows where it’ll take us.
UPDATE: You can watch the Hangout in full here.
Repping AFR tonight is our man Dom at 8PM GMT. Watch us on their YouTube page and keep up with the project through Twitter @Ball_Street.
Send us your fan video
In true Ball Street style, we need you to ClubTogether with us!!!
During our live transfer deadline show on Monday 2nd September 7.30pm-11.30pm we’ll be featuring videos from our followers and fans about their team’s transfer window.
We’d like 30 seconds on each of the following:
#DayOfHope
Everyone hopes that their team makes the right deadline day moves – what business would you like to see your team do on deadline day? This could include players you are being linked with or positions that still need addressing.
Your window so far
How do you rate the business that your team has done in the window so far?
What transfer broke your heart?
Tell us about a player leaving your club and why it left you broken hearted.
Best moves of the summer
What are the signings you’ve been most impressed by?
PLEASE FILM THE CONTENT SO YOU'RE CLEAR IN VISION, DON'T SIT IN FRONT OF A WINDOW, MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE USING A SMART PHONE, YOU USE IT LANDSCAPE (ON IT'S SIDE) NOT PORTRAIT (NORMAL WAY UP)!
ONCE YOU HAVE FILMED THE FOUR ANSWERS, PLEASE SAVE THE FILE AND USE A FILE TRANSFER SYSTEM (WETRANSFER IS A GOOD ONE) AND UPLOAD THE VIDEO AND SEND IT TO INTERN@BALLSTREET.CO.UK
VIDEOS BY MIDNIGHT THURSDAY 29th AUGUST PLEASE
Ball Street is looking for talent!!
We're talking #Top3Foreigners on our 451 show: This man would have been in there if the internet was around back then!
David Ginola au Matra Racing. (1988-90).
This is our new YouTube football show with Ian Wright and Jimmy Bullard: 4 Leagues | 5 topics | 1 show. We'll be covering more than the top 6.
Here's the intro to our new show 451 over at www.youtube.com/ballstreet
The Beast, Ade Akinfenwa of Northampton Town, surprises Wrighty on set during episode two of 451.
The Beast - aka Ade Akinfenwa! - was released by Northampton Town today. We've been covering him through the playoffs - here's the 3rd and final episode of BEASTCAM this season...
WIN A SIGNED PELE or MARADONA SHIRT
The Ball Street #clubtogether competition. Click this link (http://bit.ly/SRSBRW) for how to enter and T&C's. Good luck!!
As Europe searches for drama, the Eredivisie’s title race rises
With seven games remaining in the Eredivisie the destination of the championship is no clearer than it was at the beginning of the campaign. At this time of writing four sides are in contention separated by three points making this the most eagerly anticipated climax to any of Europe’s major leagues. Like the season finale of a gripping television drama series, its one not to be missed.
How this has come about is attributed to a new economic reality, one that has slowly weakened Dutch clubs, as a result the gap between the traditional old guard (consisting of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV) and majority of the division isn’t as wide as it once was. You get the feeling this season won’t be a one-off.
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