i can't really figure out why the Scottish league is filled with such political, religious, and philosophical hatred. It's a shame that this is what we talk about when we discuss Scottish football.
I'll give a bit of a history lesson, as a Rangers supporter, i'll try and be as impartial as possible.
In 1872, Rangers were founded by four men. These guys just wanted to play football with a team competitively. Back then, Scotland was arguably THE place to play football. The national side were pretty dominant and the still existing and currently amateur side Queen's Park FC were one of the best at the time. They were also a big club from the city of Glasgow. Scotland is a majority Protestant country, which is what made up the majority of the Rangers support. Many of these people had Unionist, working class leanings and many were Northern Irish immigrants with the same culture. For the first few years, Queens Park and Rangers formed the Glasgow derby and often fought it out for dominance, then, in 1888, Celtic FC were founded by an Irish Catholic priest in Glasgow who felt their wasn't enough help for the Irish Catholic minority at the time. Rangers and Celtic then became the premier clubs in Scotland and perhaps even world football at the time, attracting crowds well into the hundreds of thousands for Old firm games. Over time this divide was clear to see. British Protestant v Irish Catholic. We get to the 1970's, and the troubles in Northern Ireland begin to explode. This resulted in even further division (with Rangers fans taking the side of the UVF/British Army and Celtic taking the side of the IRA), and where most of today's songs and actions which would be regarded as sectarian have arisen from. Naturally Rangers and Celtic have a long founded hatred for one another due to being constantly fighting over Scottish dominance and sometimes even European dominance. Recently though, you will find that many of the people in West Central Scotland who follow the clubs are indistinguishable, with sectarianism and divisions tending to wait until the weekend when the bile tends to spill over on matchdays, with sometimes violent displays happening. '90 minute bigot' is the term used. The rivalry is as fierce as ever, but the reality of division is nothing like the media would make out. It's far more watered down than what i imagine outsiders would see. Of course, their has only been one Old Firm game since 2012 when Rangers went into administration and were demoted to the Fourth tier of Scottish football, and we have been fighting our way back since (We're now in the second tier and look set to be promoted this season judging by early signs), which in itself is a story for another day, such as the nature and drama of it all.
Side note: Till this day you will find a huge culture of flute bands in Scotland called the Orange Order which celebrate the victory won by King Billy at the Battle of the Boyne 300 years ago over the Irish as well as the Northern Irish troubles. The counterpart is IRA parades with Irish roots celebrating the work of the IRA.
However, i will till the end of my days maintain it is the greatest footballing rivalry in the entire world. Rangers have 54 top league titles, 33 scottish cups, 27 league cups and various other cups and competitions including the European Cup Winners Cup. Celtic have won 46 top league titles, 36 scottish cups, and 15 league cups.
Best Home fans in the world
and best away fans
One day i hope to see NYCFC have the same fierce rivalry with the Red Bulls.
