Side By Side

 

As someone who was born in the swinging sixties and who vaguely remembers the summer of love and flower power, I have been known to look at football in the past through rose-tinted spectacles. My 17-year-old grandson dons a look of despair when I utter the words ‘I remember when I were a lad’ but I have to admit I don’t miss things like standing on an open terracing in the pouring rain and toilets which were little more than a brick wall with no roof and an overflowing drain of…well, you know.

However, I do regale young Jack with tales of standing on said terraces next to fans of the opposing team. Hearts and Hibs fans of my generation will tell you of standing alongside each other at Tynecastle and Easter Road and enjoying the game in each other’s company. The notable exception in my case was New Year’s Day 1973 but I won’t go into this…

I was reminded about this about a month ago when I took my seat at Meadowbank Stadium to watch FC Edinburgh take on Airdrieonians. There was a sizeable travelling support from North Lanarkshire and while there were some Edinburgh fans to my right, to my left sat around half a dozen aficionados of Airdrieonians who arrived about five minutes before kick-off having clearly sampled the hospitality of the splendid Artisan hostelry along the road.

‘Are you an Edinburgh fan?’ asked a rather large gentleman, bedecked in a red and white scarf and seemingly from a similar generation as myself.

‘Well, er...’ I replied, coughing nervously.

He put his hand out to shake mine and said ‘dae ye mind if we sit here?’

‘Not at all, my good fellow’ I replied, ‘you and your associates are most welcome’

He turned to his mate. ‘Whit did he say?’

‘He said it’s fine’ his pal confirmed.

Over the course of the following ninety minutes my Airdrieonians associate and I regaled stories of years gone by whilst keeping a close eye on what was happening on the field. I have to say he was very good company even if one of his pals had perhaps imbibed on a pint of ale too many at the Artisan as he bellowed his irritation at his favourites every couple of minutes or so.

However, the conversation was amiable enough and the Diamond geezer in the next seat told me he had been following his team since the late 1960s, around the same time as I had gone to my first football game. As someone with maroon tendencies, I was particularly pleased when we got on to discussing the sublime talent that was Drew Busby. ‘Buzz bomb’ as he was affectionately known was an icon of Broomfield, Airdrie’s former ground around fifty years ago before he moved to Hearts for what was a sizeable fee in 1973. Busby, who passed away earlier this year, remains a Hearts hero of mine, as I have mentioned in these pages before, so I was delighted to discuss the great man with a like-minded fan. He also concurred that Hearts had also tried to sign Busby’s strike partner Drew Jarvie at the same time, but he headed to Aberdeen.

We chatted about others who shared the Hearts-Airdrie connection such as Alex Macdonald, Sandy Clark, Gary Mackay Walter Kidd, Kenny Black, Jimmy Sandison, and Alan ‘Nipper’ Lawrence who once graced this very stadium in the colours of Meadowbank Thistle.

Of course my new found Airdrie chum didn’t share my delight at the outcome of the game although he did ask if he could look at my FC Edinburgh's award-winning programme. At this point I didn’t want to point out the Mike Smith mentioned in the programme was my good self in case he took umbrage at what was written but he did say the programme was one of the best in League One.

At the final whistle we shook hands and he made to catch up with his loud-mouthed and clearly upset pal who was still bellowing at the players as they came off the park at the end of the game.

It was a lovely reminder of days gone by when fans of opposing teams could stand or sit side by side, enjoy the game and share good-natured banter without the need to resort to verbal or, in the dark days of the 1970s and 80s, physical violence. ‘You’re gonna get your ****ing head kicked in’ was a common chant at many football grounds forty and fifty years ago but thankfully rarely heard these days.

I’m looking forward to renewing our acquaintance when Edinburgh visit the Excelsior Stadium in the day after New Year’s Day. I may even buy him a pint after the game.

Okay, I’ve taken that too far…

 

Mike Smith

 

Twitter @Mike1874