Why We Have The Best Support In The World

[minstral 5,375]

We will follow Rangers by Hugh Taylor, very evocative book

"The Scots arrived in Wolverhampton with the clamour and ungency of an invading army. They wore no arms or armour, but their blood was set on fire with the excitemet of combat to come; there was a hint of the pomp of war about the banners they carried, their fierce battle hymns and their touchy, defiant chant: 'We Are The People'.

To English eyes they must haver been bizarre and alarming - as were the bearded, tattered clansmen who followed Bonnie Prince Charlie south of the border in 1745.

But it was perhaps as well that no one in Wolverhampton made that comparison, for the Scots who had taken over their town that April of 1961 would have given the romantic prince short shrift - would, indeed, have been his most bitter enemies - for their proudest boast is that they are the Loyalists of Loyalists, the Protestants of Protestants.

Their banners had no foreign flavour. They were Union Jacks and Scottish Standards.

The Scots were supporters of The Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

Ten thousand of them had travelled to England to see their club play Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-final of the European National Cup Winners trophy.

And Wolverhampton, a teeming industrial town of 160,000 inhabitants who thought they new something about football partisanship, gasped; for they had never seen such fanatical supporters.

All day the Scots paraded the streets, singing, shouting and waving their banners. 'They were the noisiest supporters we have ever known' said a police official afterwards.

The English, who had thought that Scots were dour, phlegmatic, often mournful, lacking humour, looked on amazed.

Welsh choirs had no more fervour than the Scots from the Glasgow streets, the Highland moors, the Lowland Housing schemes as the chanted: 'There's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers.'

Their were tears in their eyes as they bellowed, fervently: 'Follow, follow, we will follow Rangers'.

And the English wondered what it was all about when, now and again, a derisive chorus filled the air: 'Haffey, Haffey, Haffey.' That was the Rangers supporters' way of poking fun at their great rivals, Celtic, for goalkeeper Frank Haffey, of that club, was the man who had lost nine goals at Wembley when England humiliated Scotland the previous Saturday.

Excitement mounted among the Scots when the game started at Molineux Park. Rangers blazed their way into the final by drawing 1-1 with Wolves, whom they had already beaten in the first leg at Ibrox 2-0. And at the end hundreds of Scots swarmed over the barriers on to the pitch to cheer and hug their idols.

When the triumphant Rangers fans finally left on the midnight trains, flabbergasted Wolverhampton people were still asking:

Just who are The Glasgow Rangers? What have they got to arouse such feelings among their fans? Imagine 10,000 supporters travelling all this distance for a club game?

The answer from any of the supporters who were going north tired but happy would have been simple. It would have been this:

Rangers are the greatest team in the world

[Tumshie 205]

Brilliant find Minstral.

There is indeed not a team like the Glasgow Rangers

[GOAT 30,449]

Brilliant. There's not a team like the Glasgow Rangers, and their never will be.

[Misteral 2,932]

......................no not one and there never shall be one......................

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

Nice read.

[*Manticore* 1,893]

Apart from where he compares us to Jacobites

Well the original jacobites were fighting for Monarchy and The Union.

They just wanted the wrong 'monarch'.....

[Thommo 708]

Great read.

[KingKai 439]

If only Hugh Taylor was around today.......

[The Trooper 3]

Worked with a guy (sadly passed away a few years ago) , who was a wide eyed teenager (Wolves fan)at that game. He became hooked on The Rangers from that day on , and through his life followed on, home and abroad whenever he could . Gerry Peers R.I.P

Fine post Minstral

[Turnberry18 3,204]

And a great song to mark this occasion-one of the classic songs in the Club's history

[bunter 0]

Yeah we're the best supporters in the world till we're callin a fellow bear a tit for wearin a kilt or likewise for supportin england...

[GovanFrontGers 1]

Yeah we're the best supporters in the world till we're callin a fellow bear a tit for wearin a kilt or likewise for supportin england...

Or when we are saying football hooligans are ok as long as they are Rangers ones.

[thebooler 4,509]

I actually have this on my desktop, and I very rarely don't have a copy in my wallet to pass out to people who are either interested, or don't know any better.

[mrmytto 220]

Good find old chap.

We are the people.

[MacWoodburn 2]

Or when we are saying football hooligans are ok as long as they are Rangers ones.

What you angling at now?

[NeilRFC 10]

Good read.

[minstral 5,375]

Or when we are saying football hooligans are ok as long as they are Rangers ones.

We are not hooligans, we never threw beer bottles, only beer cans.

[Big Laff's Dodgy Barnett 20]

Great find Minstral

[Martinblair1690 2]

We are the people , nice read.

[KingKai 439]

We are not hooligans, we never threw beer bottles, only beer cans.

Vague recollection of a song about that...

[RFC55 110,312]

Or when we are saying football hooligans are ok as long as they are Rangers ones.

will you go fuck yer dog or something ffs

[RFC55 110,312]

Btw minst thats a fine read sir and another great find from you. Thanks mate

[MacWoodburn 2]

Btw minst thats a fine read sir and another great find from you. Thanks mate

Indeed! A Minstral classic!