Some things are bigger than a white ball

This weekend in football has seen more than it's fair share of sadness this weekend. At times like this my thoughts are with those who have loved and lost in the spotlight of football.

It is that time again when finals are played and relegation is to be avoided with skins of teeth! 
I was almost sectioned by my neighbours the other day due to Raith Rovers! My Internet went down at kick-off aaahhhhhhh, I need my Raith Rovers Abroad.  to get me through my Saturday afternoon. Luckily Barcelona city has an ok free WiFi service, so I went out to my local bench in the sun and listened, and jumped and cheered and screamed and almost cried at Damian Casalinuovo last kick equaliser. 

Anyway again enough of my gabbing and I will let you settle down with Paella and Bovril. 


PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEAM AND ALL WHO SAIL WITH HER!



Paella and Bovril

Spring has sprung here in Barcelona, the sun is shining, the locals are starting to move away from the thermals, hats and scarves and opening their windows to let the sunshine in! This time of year also means a lot to football fans, Champions League gearing up for the final stages, relegation battles to be lost, titles to be won, “la primavera” really is a great time even if you are worried about going down. However I imagine that this spring is not the spring Rangers had planned!

Now I know that Rangers is not everyone favorite club, some might even say worse things, but regardless of what you might think or say about them they are someone’s employer. One comment on Twitter “how many of their fans genuinely support the club?” did get me thinking, does Rangers have too many armchair fans, does sport have to many “lazy” fans?

A few weeks ago I took my behind to Montmelo to see my beloved F1 cars. With the football spring also comes with the start of the F1 season, and I love it! Nearly every Sunday you will find me well placed on my sofa ready to watch Jenson Button and co race round and round. So because I do not fork out the thousands of pounds (if not millions) needed to follow this sport does this make me a terrible fan? Until the point I have enough pennies saved to jet off round the world following something I love I will have to make do with the test days on Mount Melon (montmelo) for the princely sum of 22 euros. And that is just it, not all stay at home supporters can afford to come out and pay to see their heroes.

The other night I was watching the Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen and for every one of the 7 goals Barcelona scored I could hear the neighbourhood cheer, so why, if there were so many fans kicking around town at home and in bars, was Camp Nou so empty! Maybe the "la criiiiisssiiissss" has finally hit, fans can't afford the terrible Champions league prices, or maybe it is the blasé attitude of well they have plenty more rounds to go we will go next time. FC Barcelona is a massive club with nearly a whole nation as it's supporters club but even it can't fill the stands! I heard someone say that Scotland per head of population had the highest number of football supporters through its doors, does this mean that with our half empty stands we may not be able to find more supporters?

Scottish football is going to suffer from any club disappearing. I know that some find my love for the Scottish game a little bizarre, why follow Raith when you could be at Camp Nou, because Rovers are my team, as Rangers, Motherwell even Dunfermline are someone's team. Yes some supporters are more fannies than fans, but at times like this can beggars be choosers?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Formulaic fun

Image
The festive season is creeping up on us and there feels like no escape. We can only hope that the weather is kind to the Scottish football grounds. A few weeks ago the topic came up "what would you change about the scottish game". This wee serving of Paella and Bovril gives you an idea of what I thought. What do you think? This was first seen in the Programme of the Scottish Cup tie with Deveronvale on Saturday 1st December. Raith went thru to the next round with a 2-1 win Paella and Bovril It seems that every 5 minutes somebody somewhere wants to sweeten the Scottish game it by changing it’s structure. Mix this division with that league, add a dash of grass roots, stir them about and voila! -the perfect cocktail of football. Well that is what they keep promising to serve up to us. What would give Scottish football the perfect flavour? Regional divisions or fewer teams, maybe bigger leagues; but what about the actual 90 minutes? On a recen...
Read more

The wheels on the bus go round and maybe more £s

Image
To quote a great Mr Simpson "see you in spring toes"! It is the festive "fat-up" here in Barcelona. I am in the middle making my THIRD Christmas dinner in less than a week! In 2013 I think I will be staying out the kitchen for a few days and running a wee bit! This serving of Paella and Bovril comes from the Fife Derby against Cowdenbeath on the 29th December. After a being 2 goals down at half time Raith came back to get a point. Enjoy. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MATCHDAY PROGRAMME. Paella and Bovril When I was a wee teenager I would regularly be found on a football terrace. Being a pupil at Balwearie High, just behind the railway stand here at Stark’s Park, meant that I could use my “study” periods to come watch one of the reserves games that used to be regularly played.   Of course you do not expect a large crowd at these matches, I am sure that at some of these games I was the only supporter there. But it was a reserves match ...
Read more

day out at the football!

Image
The calm before the excitement Monday morning has never been my favourite period of the week. This Monday, I have to admit I feel a little tender.  I decided that cause Raith were having a big day at Stark's Park, I would have a "big" day in Barcelona. But I did not think that this was going to happen. Scottish football ain't a big crowd pleaser in Catalunya so trying to find a host for my day out was tougher than I thought. This serving from Paella and Bovril comes from the Scottish cup game against Celtic at Stark's Park. Raith played well and the 3-0 defeat does not reflect the performance.  PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEAM Paella and Bovril Unthinkable to believe that Stark's Park has never played host to the miles of cables and the numerous cameras that come with live games. The ground's previous live TV outing was seen in Iceland when we played host to Akranes.   How exciting today the stadium will ...
Read more