Friday 4 April 2008

Views From The Interior Of The Death Star

A good idea of how low down we were sitting.
Main Stand at Ibrox. The upper tier was added sometime in the nineties.
Thistle fans gather in the lower Broomloan
The Govan Stand. Taken from the entrance to the seating area.

Hello! It's been a wee while............

The last time I was at Ibrox I must have been about ten years old. It was a friendly against Chelsea if my memory serves............I was taken along by friends of the family as a wee break from the trials and tribulations of following Partick Thistle.

My return, this time to see Thistle in a Scottish Cup Quarter Final tie, saw me ensconsed in the lower level of the Copeland Road stand, in seats that were so low they were almost beneath ground level. Each time the play moved into the other half of the pitch, you lost track of things. Nothing worse than giving it "C'mon, get it in the box!", only to look up at the video screen in the corner and realise that launching the ball into the box from forty yards out isn't a great idea. Unless yr Bobby Law, but that's another story.............

The frustration at the view was more than made up for by the eerie silence of the home support, the comedy antics of Charlie Adam (apparently he's a footballer!) and a brilliant goal from our loan signing Damon Gray. The joy was to last all of 90 seconds, as Rangers took advantage of one of Thistles few defensive lapses on the night and barged the ball over the line. Reset the scores and all back to Firhill on April 13th. Oh, and it seems someone doesn't like us. We somehow managed to get the shit seats again....................

With regard to the ground itself, it's extremely impressive, especially at night when it takes on the feel of an indoor arena. If the Rangers fans had made half as much noise as we did, there would have been a really good atmosphere to feast on. Andy Cameron provided half time and pre-match 'entertainment'.' Oh dearie me! They say the guy's an institution. I say he belongs in one. Also a word on the 'Subway Loyal'. They were off their marks quick smart again. Having said that, on leaving the ground, one can maybe see why. Snaking queues for both Ibrox and Cessnock stations and tailbacks along Paisley Road West. needless to say, we just hiked it back into town for a pint before the subway shut.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just imagine trying to get the bus home through that (I live just past Ibrox on Paisley Road West) when you time the buses wrong and your sympathies lie on the other side of town...

Re: the first picture, I believe if you were any lower down you would be in the fiery pit itself!

iLL Man said...

That was with a crowd of about 35,000. Can't imagine what it would have been like on Saturday there with the Old Firm game on.

iLL Man said...

"the first picture, I believe if you were any lower down you would be in the fiery pit itself!"

Some Thistle fans would contend that even the best seat in the Club Deck of the main stand at Ibrox is akin to a holiday in Hades.

Malcolm Cinnamond said...

I love the idea of Ibrox as a 'footballing outpost'. Give the Jags a shout for me on Sunday.

iLL Man said...

Cheers Malc. Yeah, Ibrox is one of the more salubrious grounds on the trail. Still, it's only the 2nd time i've been in it and though it's just a subway ride away, it might as well be on Mars..........

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