THE “OLD FIRM” IS DEAD, CELTIC MUST STOP ENTERTAINING THE ILLUSION THAT IT ISN’T
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 minute ago
- 3 min read
As time evolves, so too does language. Even in the relatively short time (coming up for 20 years) that I’ve taught English as a second language, certain words and phrases have come and gone.
There are things we said in the past that no longer say today, either due to being deemed offensive by modern sensibilities or a total loss of relevance.
From the perspective of most Celtic supporters and indeed a significant number of other football fans in Scotland, the term “Old Firm” is another such phrase. It is long overdue for lexical retirement.
Celtic Must Totally and Unconditionally Distance Itself from the “Old Firm” Brand
As I predicted yesterday when those b*stard children of Papa Smurf and Spider-Man, The Union Bears, decided to stage a riot because, hmm, (checks notes...) their team lost a football match, it brought home exactly why Celtic need to put as much distance between itself and the shambling corpse that still calls itself Rangers as possible.
Now, Celtic’s marketing team already know just how toxic the Old Firm branding is and how unpalatable it is to most of the Celtic support. In recent years they’ve taken to using the term “Glasgow Derby” whenever we play the current denizens of Snake Mountain.
However, we still allow players and managers to answer questions directed at them using the term “Old Firm”. Now, we all know that the maintenance of an “Old Firm” brand is part of the wider revisionist push by Scotland’s mainstream press to pretend that Rangers never went into liquidation, nor did they have to start again as a new club in the 4th tier.
However, yesterday showed exactly what you get when you pander to the fantasies of historical revisionists. The extremely ugly scenes which followed the conclusion of yesterday’s match are the natural endgame for a strategy of appeasement.
If Rangers and their supporters want to maintain the delusion that they are “Still the Same Club” and that the “Old Firm” (a tag that many Celtic fans rejected long before that prince of men Craig Whyte showed up) is still a thing, then let them. The mainstream media however should not pander to these delusions, nor should Celtic actively help them to do so.
I’ve made it clear on numerous occasions on this blog that I don’t want gutter-trawling ghouls like the Daily Record or The S*n anywhere near Celtic Park, especially not at the expense of our own fan media.
However, if we must continue to allow these dying outlets to attend press conferences at Celtic Park, then it’s time we set some new ground rules.
Any questions regarding or referring to the “Old Firm” derby in anything other than the historical past tense should be met by club players and officials with the same stock response.
“There is no Old Firm, next question please.”
We’ve played their game long enough. We’ve let Scotland’s newest club and their sycophants in the press dictate the narrative for far too long.
There is no Old Firm. That is not a fringe conspiracy theory, as so many among our media will have you believe. It is a simple matter of undeniable fact. Any fantasist who wants to pretend otherwise may do so at their leisure, but not on Celtic’s time, and not to the continual annoyance of Celtic fans.
Stop playing their game. No more guilt by association.
