Hearts fan makes‘5-1’ pictures for cup keepsake

FOR one half of the Capital it is a celebration of a historic victory – and for the other a painful reminder of a game they’d rather forget.

Now, after being seen as far afield as the Taj Mahal and used by players, fans and even David Hasselhoff, the Hearts “5-1” celebration gesture has been given its very own book.

After seeing the idea to gather as many 5-1 pictures as possible together repeatedly coming up on football forums, Hearts fan James Christie, 31, decided to take matters into his own hands.

And while the radio producer from Fife expected a call for pictures to prove popular, Mr Christie said even he was amazed at the level of response.

“I thought I’d get a reasonable number of pictures sent in, but it was more like a flood. I had over 100 pictures e-mailed to me, and all those people said they also wanted to get a copy of the book.”

By the time all the requests for a copy of the book were in, Mr Christie, who originally planned to print around 50 copies, found he had far more orders than expected.

He said: “I ended up doing a print run of 400 and they’re all gone.”

Hearts fans who haven’t managed to get their hands on one are set to be disappointed with no plans for a re-print, meaning the existing books are already collectors items.

Mr Christie said: “I decided that there would only be one print run – it makes it more limited edition. I numbered them as well – number 51 got sent to Rudi Skacel!”

Skacel also makes an appearance in the book, along with a few other household names.

Mr Christie said: “I split it into different sections, the first being Famous Faces. You’ll find most of the players in there plus people like David Hasselhoff, Suggs and 400m hurdler Eilidh Child. That’s actually me with her in the picture – I met her at the Olympics and I knew she was a big Hearts fan.”

Further sections of the book includes Famous Places, The Fans, Police – showing fans and officers posing – Kids and As Seen on TV.

“One of the fan pictures is just amazing. I’ve no idea how it was done, but it shows a naked man on top of a building in Edinburgh making the gesture, and you can just see Easter Road in the distance,” said Mr Christie.

While Mr Christie didn’t make a penny from the publication despite his hard work, he said he has no regrets about donating the £2500 profit to Hearts.

He said: “I got to stand on the pitch just before a game to present the cheque – that’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to being on the team and it was more than enough payment for me.”