April 29, 2010

US Paper Publishes Article on Celtics & Rangers: and a fight breaks out. Who would have thought the fans of these team would take their pugilism to another country?

posted by yerfatma to soccer at 08:46 AM - 6 comments

N.B., the original article has been removed from boston.com and even the cached version has been edited to remove the more inflammatory rhetoric.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I also don't get why Irish-Americans identify with an SPL team, regardless of the religious preference of its fan base. I think the name (in print, at least) and shamrock confuses them. And yes, I do own a jersey, but it was a gift.

posted by yerfatma at 08:48 AM on April 29, 2010

Who would have thought the fans of these team would take their pugilism to another country?

"Reference to the Ibrox disaster of 1971 has been removed from the article, as there was no evidence that fan violence was involved"? That was surely asking for trouble.

I've no time for sectarian bigotry of any kind, but at least get your facts straight.

posted by owlhouse at 08:51 AM on April 29, 2010

Reactions from the other side of the pond.

posted by boredom_08 at 12:39 PM on April 29, 2010

I also don't get why Irish-Americans identify with an SPL team

Oh, I can understand it, even if I find the whole "Oirish-American" thing cringeworthy, especially in the northeast US.

Who would have thought the fans of these team would take their pugilism to another country?

It's not exactly another country, but there was a time when the wrong answer to "Celtic or Rangers?" could get you shot in Northern Ireland, which is perhaps why people started choosing English teams to support.

The Globe shouldn't have run that piece, because asking an obvious Celtic fan to talk about Rangers neutrally is never going to work out well, but the plan to host an Old Firm derby in Boston, despite its best intentions, seems equally crazy and naive. There are club rivalries that are fierce without being toxic; Celtic-Rangers is not one of them.

posted by etagloh at 01:27 PM on April 29, 2010

Oh, I can understand it . . . especially in the northeast US.

I know, one more thing for the "Yah Dudes" to have to fight about. Because they were running short of reasons.

posted by yerfatma at 02:29 PM on April 29, 2010

Over-react, much?

posted by StarFucker at 12:31 AM on May 02, 2010

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