Sad - actually no its pathetic!

[thecraw]

On every forum I frequent there is one topic that splits opinion and descends into petty squabbling and name calling. Guess what its the Old Firm. How embarrassing it is to be Scottish and tarred with this brush when it kicks off. As far as I'm concerned its a national disgrace and shame. Fault lies at both doors and it looks like it'll never end.

Why does this not rear its ugly head on here with Everton Liverpool, Manchester United Manchester City, Aston Villa Birmingham???

It's a sad slight on Scotland. The Celtic thread from last nigh has gone exactly the way that I expected. Bitter childish nonsense.

On this golf forum I'd like to see Rangers and Celtic or Celtic and Rangers threads banned. People can't play fair or be cival on this topic.

Finally well done to Celtic on their Champions League run. It's great for SCOTTISH football.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Got to agree with that assessment. Not everyone is guilty of it but many are....

 

[Val]

I think you know the reason why it descends the way it does and its not because of football.

 

[MetalMickie]

I think you know the reason why it descends the way it does and its not because of football.

That's the point. I am a lifelong Birmingham City fan (spare me the pity!) and whilst there is, sadly, violence & other yobbishness associated with our games against Villa the divide between us neither religious or cultural.
My two cousins, they are brothers, are a Blues fan & a Villa fan. No problems.
Could this happen with the Old Firm? I don't think so but I may be wrong.

 

[Val]

That's the point. I am a lifelong Birmingham City fan (spare me the pity!) and whilst there is, sadly, violence & other yobbishness associated with our games against Villa the divide between us neither religious or cultural.
My two cousins, they are brothers, are a Blues fan & a Villa fan. No problems.
Could this happen with the Old Firm? I don't think so but I may be wrong.

It could and does happen with no problems, there are few pairs of rival teams in the UK who's fans are divided on anything other than football, unfortunately this is not the case in Glasgow.

 

[pbrown7582]

That's the point. I am a lifelong Birmingham City fan (spare me the pity!) and whilst there is, sadly, violence & other yobbishness associated with our games against Villa the divide between us neither religious or cultural.
My two cousins, they are brothers, are a Blues fan & a Villa fan. No problems.
Could this happen with the Old Firm? I don't think so but I may be wrong.

spot on the old firm is more than just football always has been and always will be.

once religon is involved it normally ends up with extremists from both sides sparring.

 

[bobmac]

How embarrassing it is to be Scottish and tarred with this brush when it kicks off.

I'm Scottish and I'm not embarassed by these threads at all.
If it's football, I just dont read it. Simple
Yeeeeeeeeeears ago I played with 2 guys in a club comp. When they discovered one was a Arsenal City supporter and the other followed Tottenham United, they didn't speak to each other for the rest of the round
Now, that's what I call silly.

 

[chrisd]

I guess that it's because you only have 2 big teams and they are supported by most of the country's fans. Down here, say Man u and Man City only have a fraction of the total support available in the country as a whole so, say someone like me who supports Crystal Palace doesn't get involved with their petty squabbles and name calling and I certainly dont see a thread being widely of interest if a Liverpool and Everton fan kicked off like a Rangers and Celtic pair. Add to that the English default position that Scottish football isn't really football as we know it - then the scope for a real wind up even better!

 

[jimbob.someroo]

spot on the old firm is more than just football always has been and always will be.

once religon is involved it normally ends up with extremists from both sides sparring.

The irony being that at the same time as the celtic/rangers argument was going on, the leader of the religion they both disagree over was resigning, and in that thread, there was nothing but religious jokes ...

 

[bladeplayer]

On every forum I frequent there is one topic that splits opinion and descends into petty squabbling and name calling. Guess what its the Old Firm. How embarrassing it is to be Scottish and tarred with this brush when it kicks off. As far as I'm concerned its a national disgrace and shame. Fault lies at both doors and it looks like it'll never end.

Why does this not rear its ugly head on here with Everton Liverpool, Manchester United Manchester City, Aston Villa Birmingham???

It's a sad slight on Scotland. The Celtic thread from last nigh has gone exactly the way that I expected. Bitter childish nonsense.

On this golf forum I'd like to see Rangers and Celtic or Celtic and Rangers threads banned. People can't play fair or be cival on this topic.

Finally well done to Celtic on their Champions League run. It's great for SCOTTISH football.

I think you know the reason why it descends the way it does and its not because of football.

Theres your answer in a nutshell ,

im suprised you think it reflects on all of Scotland , certainly from a distance when i hear about it i associate it with the 2 mentioned teams & no body else , and i think if i came on here and associated all of Scottish soccer with this id RIGHTLY have the Hibs , Hearts , & other teams fans on putting me right ..

Your are 100% correct when you say it looks like it will never end , it probably never will , because whats behind it (not football) is engrained in the next generation & will be in the generation after that ..

I didnt see the Celtic thread but like you the min i see any of these i know where they are going to end up , but do ya know whats worse , i have a fair idea who is going to direct it that way aswell , as do you an most of the regulars..

If as an adult someone cant come on here & debate in a committed but reasonable manner then maybe they should stay out of it ..
If anyone needs to rake all the usual stuff thats dragged up (both sides) it means they cant continue or defend the debate that was strarted , so i know lets rake up the other stuff & take the spotlight somewhere else ..

Best way for the forum/forumers to handle it tho is when soemeone trys to rake up the bad stuff , ignore their bile & continue the conversation around them , dont let them take it the way they want to ,
It takes 2 or more to have an argument so rise above (not easy i know) the muppets and dont let these people stop us openly discussing anything we want to ,

And breathe :sbox:

 

[Doon frae Troon]

As a 17/18 year old Hearts supporter [many moons ago] my circle of Hearts supporting friends would think nothing of going along to Easter Road to cheer on Hibs at a big match. It could be Real Madrid, Milan, Leeds in Europe games or Celtic/Rangers in a cup tie.
Pride in your local team/area/country was important to us.
When you hear of Rangers supporters that are happy for Celtic to lose in Europe and vice versa now that is the really sad issue. Mean minded inward looking individuals.

 

[Hobbit]

I wouldn't say it tarnishes the image of Scotland in the slightest. Even some of the passionate argument is just what football is all about. When it spills over into vitriol it only shows up the protagonist as being narrow minded and blinkered. But to be honest, to me, its just white noise and I click off it and find something more interesting.

It does happen south of the border, just not in the numbers you have in Glasgow.

 

[El Bandito]

On every forum I frequent there is one topic that splits opinion and descends into petty squabbling and name calling. Guess what its the Old Firm. How embarrassing it is to be Scottish and tarred with this brush when it kicks off. As far as I'm concerned its a national disgrace and shame. Fault lies at both doors and it looks like it'll never end.

Why does this not rear its ugly head on here with Everton Liverpool, Manchester United Manchester City, Aston Villa Birmingham???

It's a sad slight on Scotland. The Celtic thread from last nigh has gone exactly the way that I expected. Bitter childish nonsense.

On this golf forum I'd like to see Rangers and Celtic or Celtic and Rangers threads banned. People can't play fair or be cival on this topic.

Finally well done to Celtic on their Champions League run. It's great for SCOTTISH football.

I have to agree with the point. I of course understand that the underlying religion question is a part of it and that people are very passionate on both sides of that divide.

However - at the end of the day - WE are the forum. Its us that make the posts and if the posts are offensive, or even perceived offensive then its OUR fault.

I think it would be a shame to ban anything - but I'm new here so not in a position to say to much - just that I promise to preview my posts - because I'm all for banter, but I don't want to offend anyone - that not why I come here.

 

[bladeplayer]

However - at the end of the day - WE are the forum. Its us that make the posts and if the posts are offensive, or even perceived offensive then its OUR fault.

because I'm all for banter, but I don't want to offend anyone - that not why I come here.

No like button on here so ................


LIKE

 

[pbrown7582]

I guess that it's because you only have 2 big teams and they are supported by most of the country's fans. Down here, say Man u and Man City only have a fraction of the total support available in the country as a whole so, say someone like me who supports Crystal Palace doesn't get involved with their petty squabbles and name calling and I certainly dont see a thread being widely of interest if a Liverpool and Everton fan kicked off like a Rangers and Celtic pair. Add to that the English default position that Scottish football isn't really football as we know it - then the scope for a real wind up even better!

Any views on Brighton and hove? :lol:

 

[Dodger]

To be honest Craw me thinks you are a tad too sensitive.

A bit of humour and poking of fun from the green side and a bit of deflection of the achievement from the blue side is all that I saw last night and nothing sinister.

Which part has made you so concerned you fell the need to try and stoke things up with a brand new thread?

On that particular thread I can't see anything that would make you so sad.

This is a nothing story thread started by someone looking for a bit of mischief.

 

[Khamelion]

There's not much that will get me angry, someone having a pop at my family, yes, someone having a go at my golfing ability, no, I know I'm crap, someone having a go at the team I follow, No, someone having a go at the company I work for, no, but I'll happily join in.

Point is life is to short for petty arguments over subject matter for which you have no control and as my mam always told me, if you've got nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all.

 

[stevie_r]

To be honest Craw me thinks you are a tad too sensitive.

A bit of humour and poking of fun from the green side and a bit of deflection of the achievement from the blue side is all that I saw last night and nothing sinister.

Which part has made you so concerned you fell the need to try and stoke things up with a brand new thread?

On that particular thread I can't see anything that would make you so sad.

This is a nothing story thread started by someone looking for a bit of mischief.

I thought it was a fairly restrained thread too, the Chelsea/ Liverpool debate the other day got more heated.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Religion/nationalism - cos I think it is more the latter, than religion + football = heady mix, with common sense going out the window.

Don't get me wrong LFC V MUFC arguments on forums can get very ugly, very quickly. However, compared to the really bad days of the 1980's this has greatly improved.

I know the obvious answer is no, but generally have there been any improvements/initiatives that have worked over the last 20 years in the old firm rivalry? Can you see any light at the end of the tunnel? There must be some hope, of even just a slight improvement. Even Northern Ireland isn't what it was. The furore over the Union flag recently, would have had 10's of thousands on the streets 20 years ago, but only a few hundred or a few thousand recently.

 

[El Bandito]

To be honest Craw me thinks you are a tad too sensitive.

A bit of humour and poking of fun from the green side and a bit of deflection of the achievement from the blue side is all that I saw last night and nothing sinister.

Which part has made you so concerned you fell the need to try and stoke things up with a brand new thread?

On that particular thread I can't see anything that would make you so sad.

This is a nothing story thread started by someone looking for a bit of mischief.

Me again - but as a newbie I would observe the following:

Some of the posters are really active - and after a while it becomes clear that they have been bantering on the forum for a while, and in some cases have met and played golf...god forbid, even raised a glass together. Whilst these guys are happy to give as good as they get, some others (it is an open forum) stumble in - and it is a bit uncomfortable, or for some, offensive.

I just read the thread - and you can read it as a few guys poking fun at each other - but you can also read it as guys being quite close to the bone. Call me a muppet, but some of the bite in some of the posts could make people think that they don't want to post anywhere in the forum, lest they get roasted. I can't imagine that anyone wants that.

I've suggested before an 'opt-in' section of the forum where contentious (but civilised) threads can live, thrive and people can enjoy their banter - and where people who are not particularly interested can simply not opt in - but one of the Mods felt this was not the way forward.