Like any football fan, I enjoy watching the business end of the World Cup. As someone who has played and watched the game with great enthusiasm since a young age, I can’t help but marvel at Messi’s magic and will Morrocco to upset the odds by continuing to progress.
I didn’t want the world cup to interject the league season, but I have enjoyed the games that I’ve had time to watch. That said, I can’t wait for Celtic to come back. Football just isn’t the same without having a horse in the race.
As an English born person, who strongly identifies with his Irish heritage and Ireland’s freedom struggle, I have no team to really be invested in. As is usually the case in major international tournaments these days!
Celtic almost serves as an international team of sorts for me. It encapsulates my identity and culture more than any national team does. The specifically political nature of many of the Irish songs sung at games point to a subgenre within Irish music that appeals directly to my identity and own Irish connection/culture. The expression of wider left wing and anti imperialist sentiment at matches also encapsulate much of my world view (I get this isn’t for everyone); meanwhile, the charitable dimension is another key facet which resonates with my character.
Those aspects, combined with the atmosphere, unique Celtic songs and the club’s historical footballing achievements are all things which warm the heart in a way that patriotism does for others when the world cup rolls around.
Celtic means and symbolises different things to different people, yet we all share a common passion for the club. I’ve missed the daily discussions with fellow fans about the previous Celtic game and who should be selected for the next fixture. I’m looking forward to meeting with friends at our CSC in Bournemouth again and making the trip to Scotland for games in the New Year. The banter, the build up on the bus, the live bands in pubs, songs from Sean South to Willie Maley and everything in between. Follow that up with Ange Postecoglou’s relentlessly attacking football and the battle to secure more trophies, and the thought of returning to football in the flesh produces an unquenchable excitement.
Celtic is a phenomenon. So, roll on the clash with Aberdeen this Saturday. The World Cup has been entertaining but the football we live for is coming back.
