Scotland's oldest fan on her stamina at 94 and 'the most faithful fans in the world'
Her lifelong love of the Tartan Army comes 80 years after she first watched Scotland play
'Scotland fans are the most faithful supporters in the world', says Moira Brown, the oldest member of the Tartan Army.
Turning 94 this year, the North Lanarkshire lass travelled Stateside to see Scotland play in the World Cup after waiting almost three decades, the longest wait between her now four experiences watching her team in the global tournament.
“It’s very noticeable the drop in fan support for other countries after big tournaments,” she said.
“But our fans are honestly the most loyal. And it’s not without good cause we have been awarded the best supporter in the world award. Although they can be a bit loud, drink too much in many incidences, they never, so far, cause real big problems.
“I think the Scotland fans are a very good example to other countries that have problems among the fans.”
Her lifelong love of the Tartan Army comes 80 years after she first watched Scotland play an international game in 1946, just after World War Two, when they beat England 1-0 at Hampden.
Since then, the veteran fan, affectionately known as the matriarch of the Tartan Army, has attended the World Cup finals in Germany (1974), Spain (1982), France (1998) and now the US.
Moira’s love for the fans naturally comes from her love of football, which stems right back to her childhood.
“I lived in a house overlooking a park and as soon as I could walk, I went into there and watched people playing football,” she said.
At aged four, she asked her dad, Robert Jackson Smith, if she could go with him to support his team: Motherwell FC.
“He said as long as you don’t jump up and down and definitely don’t boo, which, because of that, I have never done at a football game in my life. I have been tempted to do so. But no.
“And that’s how my long love affair with football began.”
At about aged ten, Moira’s father said she could choose whichever football team she wanted.
“He knew I wouldn’t go for Rangers or Celtic as I don’t have an ounce of sectarianism in me, that God. I chose Airdrie.”
Despite her passion for the sport, during her time as a young girl, women weren’t allowed to play football.
“I wasn’t a very good pupil at primary school was because all I did at lunchtime was wanting desperately to play,” she said.
“But it was a time when we were segregated from the boys.”
The lack of opportunity, however, seemed to only fuel her love for the beautiful game even more. Even while working as a nurse and raising a family, she tried to attend as many Scotland games as possible.
In 1974, the first time Scotland had qualified since 1958, Moira went to the World Cup in West Germany with her husband and eldest child.
The Scotland team, featuring the likes of Billy Bremner and Joe Jordan, beat Zaire and famously drew with Brazil. They were sent home undefeated after another draw with Yugoslavia.
Despite sheer disappointment in the result, Moira stayed on to attend the final, West Germany v Holland, where she watched Franz Beckenbauer, one of her favourite ever players, take home the trophy.
“I think this was the best game of live football I have ever seen,” She said. “Beckenbauer is of my all time heroes.”
In the 1980s, Moira, by this time, had trained as a teacher and travelled to Egilsay in the Orkney islands for work. She said the role as head teacher at a school was the best job she had ever had and she loved working on a remote island. It meant, however, that she had to pause jetsetting off to football games for about a decade until she retired aged 60.
Then, it was back to football.
As for a favourite player of hers closer to home, in the Scotland team, it is midfielder John McGinn.
“He never gives up,” she said. “And that is what I love about him.”
Moira described McGinn as one of “the thinkers” in the team while explaining that her fascination with football is as much about the mental as well as the physical side.
“I love to have thinkers in football as well as the basic footballing skills,” she said.
“The kind of players who know exactly, or more or less, where their team are on the field, while covering and thinking what their next move is.
“It’s not simple. Really good players all have this ability to think things out and be strategists, a bit like those playing chess.”
Scotland’s captain Andy Robertson and midfielder Scott McTominay are also thinkers in her eyes.
The veteran fan shows as much stamina in supporting fellow fans as she does in her globetrotting pursuit of football.
Celebrations of games or get-togethers with other supporters at her home in Glasgow have been known to go on well into the night.
“It might be a 2.30am finish but sometimes the boys keep going until breakfast,” she laughed.
“I love making big pots of homemade soup and rolls with beef square sausage on them.”
Moira puts her never ending energy down to good genes and looking after herself.
“I was always strong,” she said.
“But to put it down to my stamina I think I inherited pretty good genes and, although there wasn’t much money available in the house at the time of the depression, my mother could always make a good balanced nutritious meal from next to nothing.
“My father also planted a lot of vegetables.”
She added: “Of course I can step aside once in a while with convenience food like French fries.
“And I do like my demerara rum and coke. “
Her only allergy?
“English commentators,” she laughed.
“I say that tongue-in-cheek. Although I have to say I like making the dig.
“As for the whole anti-English thing I am certainly not that. I am just anti-establishment.”
As with her love for thinkers in football, her stamina is also, quite clearly, down to her mentality in life.
“One of the greatest pleasures for me is seeing people do well, even when it’s just encouraging them, it’s so worthwhile,” she said.
“I like doing things for people and I have had so much kindness extended to me it’s honestly a sheer pleasure in my life to do things for other people, which I will continue to do until I drop.”
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