Joy of European adventure sparks mood swing among Rangers fans

Published on Friday 9 May 2008 23:35

FOR supporters of a Scottish football club, the rarity of reaching the final of a major European tournament may not have the life-changing effect of scooping a national lottery jackpot, but it does seem to have the kick of a mind-altering drug.

One of the most striking symptoms is unusual behavioural patterns on a massive scale. This curious phenomenon was to be seen everywhere at Ibrox three nights ago, when Rangers played Motherwell in a match in which victory was utterly crucial to their prospects of maintaining their notional advantage in the Premier League; anything less would have transferred the initiative to Celtic.

As the referee signalled half-time, the score stood at 0-0 and Walter Smith's side had clearly struggled to impose themselves on opponents who had been in control for most of the first 45 minutes by playing an intelligent, accurate passing game.

It was a very familiar situation, perfectly arranged to prompt a cascade of derision and disapproval from the home fans in the stands. This is, after all, the conventional reaction from supporters frustrated by their own team's failings whenever high achievement is expected.

Instead, the opposite occurred. The vocal backing actually became more intense and was entirely encouraging, the players heading for the tunnel to the accompaniment of cheers and, it was not difficult to sense, gratitude. As a departure from the norm, the impulsive, positive support could be called eccentric.

Memories of the booing that had been heard all around the stadium as recently as the first leg of the Uefa Cup quarter-final with Sporting came instantly to mind. At the end of that uninspiring, scoreless 90 minutes, Smith and his players would have been deeply wounded by the savagery of the criticism from the crowd.

The mood, however, had swung towards appreciation for the team's efforts by the time of Fiorentina's visit for the semi-final. Once again largely negative and unthreatening in the match, also 0-0, the players on that occasion were showered with praise.

Immediately behind the media gantry at the front of the main stand, a group of supporters shouted, "Well done, Rangers!" and applauded with such force that they might have crushed a ball-bearing slipped between their palms.

The kindly disposition of the fans towards the team in the Motherwell match, however, was the more significant for having been evinced in a different competition; the one, in fact, said to be prized above all others, the championship itself. The Rangers fans' new-found tolerance and forgiveness is reminiscent of how their great rivals at Celtic were affected by their team's appearance in the same final five years ago.

Anyone who was around at the time and who has not developed amnesia in the interim will readily recall the day they arrived at Ibrox for the Old Firm match less than 72 hours after they had beaten Boavista to qualify for Seville. The sombreros, deck chairs, beach balls and other paraphernalia associated with an expedition to Spain carried by the Celtic fans indicated not only their team's European success, but something much more significant. It was that they were at Ibrox for a party and it was impossible to miss the implication that the result of the match was of secondary importance.

This was, remember, not only an Old Firm fixture, but one which could have a decisive impact on the championship itself. And yet, the normally life-or-death feverishness attached to the event seemed to have been submerged in the joy of the European adventure.

At Ibrox on Wednesday, a re-enactment of the experience left the impression that, if Rangers fans were forced to choose either Uefa Cup or Premier League triumph, a substantial number would – sacrilegious as it seems – opt for victory in Manchester.