SOMEHOW, CELTIC ARE CHAMPIONS: IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC!
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Apologies in advance for any spelling or grammar errors that may appear in this blog. To quote my fellow Celtic fan, Billy Connolly, I’m a wee bit “tired and emotional” as I write this.
Celtic are champions, but for the longest time today, it looked like Hearts would be the ones celebrating.
However, I remember my first season as a Celtic season ticket holder, also the first season that Martin O’Neill blessed Celtic Park with his presence.
There were plenty of games in that treble-winning season where, much like today, we were either tied or losing at half-time, but the big fella that sat next to 17-year-old me at the games would always say: “Relax son, Martin will sort the boys out at half-time. We’ve got this.”
And here we are, a quarter of a century later, and the exact same story has played out once again.
To quote one of my favorite films, Highlander, when it comes to Celtic, all I can say is this:
“Hey, it’s a kind of magic”.
Celtic are Champions, Do Not Let Any of Our Detractors Forget It
I wrote the other day about how many otherwise neutral parties, even people that I really respect, like Gary Lineker, had decided to go all in on the “fairy tale” ending to this season of Hearts winning the league.
Football isn’t about fairy tales though. It’s about results. Celtic knew the assignment today. They left it late, but they got there.
And I can think of no image that better encapsulates the chaotic beauty of this season than Derek McInnes, face absolutely contorted with rage at Daizen Maeda’s crucial goal, with image blurred ever so slightly, by an emerald green smoke bomb thrown by a mischievous Celtic fan.
Yes, the mediocre coach, and failed karaoke enthusiast that is Derek McInnes has been shown up today for exactly what he is: a small, bitter wee man, outclassed by a manager who, frankly he isn’t even fit to be in the same room as: Martin O’Neill.
Of course, Celtic’s season doesn’t end here. There’s still the small matter of a cup final next weekend, where we have the chance to complete perhaps the most unlikely double since I took my Korean friend’s advice to partner black rum with Guinness!
The Cup Final is still a huge game. Under any other circumstances I would be wishing Celtic legend Neil Lennon and his Dunfermline side all the very best.
But not next weekend. Celtic have a double to complete, and after the season we’ve been through, I would say that the fans, at least, have earned it.
As for Hearts, my sincerest commiserations. It probably means nothing coming from a Celtic blogger as overtly partisan as me, but for what it’s worth, you pushed us harder than any Rangers team has in the past decade or so. You earned the respect of a great many football fans, and you will, I am sure, present a serious challenge to us next season.
Has a new order been established in Scottish football?
Time will tell, but for now, Hearts fans can, once the pain recedes, look proudly back on a season where they achieved great things. And if they jettison their horrible wee hatemonger of a coach and get someone in who actually understands analytics next season, I predict they will pose a genuine threat to us.
However, as strong as Hearts were this season, to once again quote a line from “Highlander”: In the end, there can be only one!”
