Week Five (Mar. 4-10, 2007)

I had an opportunity on Thursday night to attend my first European football match: Glasgow Rangers FC vs. Osasuna FC (Spain) at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, just across the Clyde from my flat. I got to the game a few minutes late, and by then, visiting Osasuna had already scored a goal. The score remained 1-0 until the final minute, in which the Rangers scored a dramatic game-tying goal. The home-crowd activity enlivened at the end of the game to something close to what I anticipated; unfortunately, since the home team was losing for the majority of the game, I missed out on a lot of the singing and chanting that normally accompanies the cheering throughout the game. I did hear quite a few disgusted, "You're just a bunch of wankers!" jeers directed at the home team in thick Scottish accents, though.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw, which seemed odd to me until someone explained how the final team rankings are based on the results of a multi-game series, where each team plays each other at home and on the road.

Since the draw was a better outcome for the Rangers than a loss, the crowd that had remained in the stadium for the entire game left happy - and I was able to witness a bit of the legendary soccer "hooliganism" in the city as fans (probably leaving the pubs as opposed to the stadium) made their way home after the game. Nothing violent - just young yahoos being obnoxious in the subway. One train I passed seemed to have been commandeered by singing street punks smoking, drinking and kicking the doors to the beat of a team song!






The "Old Firm" rivalry between the Glasgow Rangers and Celtic Football clubs has historically been exacerbated by sectarian tensions between Protestants and Catholics. Both teams have been promoting messages of tolerance in recent years in an attempt to reduce that element from the competition. This "Blue Guide" accompanies Rangers season ticket passes and contains "Pride over Prejudice" guidelines for cheering for the Rangers in a positive and sportsmanlike manner.

The campaign for tolerance clearly visible at the game.

This week I received the keys to this Toyota Celica for my use while in Scotland. This is no Mr. Bean car. I'll primarily use it on weekends since it's not practical or economical to try to drive and park at work downtown. My use of the car will be restricted by the fact that petrol (gasoline) costs equiv. US $7/gallon. Big gas-guzzling SUV's are not a common sight in Glasgow.

Swanky black leather interior of the Celica. Takes a bit of getting used to sitting on the right side of the car and shifting gears with my left hand. Oh, I guess I have to drive on the left-hand side of the road as well.

This weekend I practiced driving around my Partick neighborhood, which presents plenty of challenges in narrow & windy roads, lots of pedestrians and enough roundabouts (non-signalized traffic circles) to make an astronaut dizzy.