Are you a fan of a particular team whether that is football, rugby or whatever at a national or international level?
As a fan, you probably have a rivalry with your nearest competitors at whatever level they play at?
Manchester City vs Manchester United
Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Liverpool vs Everton
Scotland vs England
Pakistan vs India
Celtic vs Rangers
That rivalry may be because the two teams are the biggest in their particular league and are direct competition for every trophy.
Or it may be amore local rivalry with two teams that rarely win anything yet love seeing the other team lose as it enhances their own bragging rights.
But I wonder does that ever become unhealthy verging on obsession?
As a Celtic fan, I want my club to do well, to improve their standing in European football .. even if we are nowhere near what we used to be, being in the Champions League last 16 or later is my measure of success.
Well about 5 years ago, I started working with a company out in the India Of Inchinnan building, it’s gorgeously restored Art Deco design which famously was used to build airships, a million years ago.
I’d worked with this company on a separate occasion a few years previously, but left to work in the bank I’m currently with.
Todays story occurred on my first few days when I was back for the second time.
By this time, they had been taken over by a much bigger company and integrated into the centre of their open plan offices and the small group on my team was surrounded by people from the various other companies that were part of the group.
Anyway .. I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself, back in Glasgow working for better money, the new M74 was in place and my journey time was great .. A big difference from driving to Edinburgh as I was at the time.
On this particular day, the sun was shining, I had the top down in the car and feeling pretty good listening to the radio and was just arriving at the office when Superstar by The Carpenters came on ..
Now I have to confess to being a secret Carpenters fan and think Karen had a terrific voice ..
Yeah I know .. I’m blushing already. but not as much as I will be in a minute.
So I arrive at the office, park up, bounce up to my desk saying hello to everyone and full of the joys.
Plug the laptop in and make a cup of tea.
Now its an open plan office and I’m surrounded by people I don’t know, including a few particularly attractive women.
But the noise level was pretty high, so I thought, I’ll get my headphones on and listen to some music while I work.
Aaah I thought, I’ll play that Carpenters song, the one that didn’t finish on the way in.
So I’m sitting there, working away, oblivious to the world, humming to myself
“Don’t you remember you told me you loved me baby …”
When the guy next to me taps me on the shoulder, I pull off my headphones and he says
“You do know that you are playing that out loud don’t you?”
I looked up and everyone was looking at me ..my face is red now thinking about it and I felt like a complete plonker ..
Not only for putting my headphones in the microphone slot .. But now my choice of music was public.
My secret Santa gift that year was Carpenters Gold .. Which I obviously had already but someone was sending me a nice wee reminder!
First of all the offender, already convicted and served a sentence for offences against children then carries out a sequence of crimes against three separate women over a number of years .. And he only gets an 8 year conviiction which means he’ll serve 4 and be supervised after release for another 2 years.
Completely inadequate sentencing when this guy is clearly a danger to women.
But what caught me eye is that there are a couiple of surprising details in the case, firstly that one of the women says she was raped on different occasions and locations?
Why wasn’t he arrested after the first occasion and if released on bail a condition or restraining order placed preventing further contact?
Why was this guy allowed to carry on his catalogue of offences when clearly he was a danger to women?
What I’m struggling to understand is why would the women retain contact with the guy for it to happen a second time?
But what surprised me most that he was also convicted of abduction against separate women, locking them in his flat on repeated occasions over a period of years.
Seriously .. How many times does that have to happen before the women say enough and the police are involved?
Scenario .. You’ve locked me in your house .. And I’m sitting here cold wondering where you are and when you’ll be back.
Aye right .. I’m right on the phone or breaking a window.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for locking up these offenderrs and for supporting the women involved.
Nothing justifies the treatment these women received and society should be protected from these scumbags.
But the old adage .. Fool me once shame on you, feel me twice shame on me .. Comes to mind.
Once is one time too many.
Not only is the punishment wrong, but the support networks are failing if women are tolerating animals like this in their life’s.
Aaah the weekend comes again .. and what a weekend it is too.
Friends, family, Football, Music, culture .. you just can’t beat it.
Me, I’m off to see the man that is David Bowie ( or a very good tribute )
Then Sunday, the world famous Glasgow Celtic lift this years Scottish Premier League cup..
Meanwhile .. Some new team called The Rangers formed just three years ago are playing in some lower division in the play-offs to reach the top division.
I’d like to say that I hope they make it .. because apparently it will be good for Scottish Football.
But, I don’t really care!
They’ve been waiting around for a while now for their new chairman to pass the Fit and Proper test, funny how a man convicted of tax fraud can be allowed to be the chairman of a football club?
You’d think the SFA/Fans/Shareholders may have learned a lesson from the last few people they’ve had as chairman.
Truth is .. they deserve each other.
His quotes today, put a wee smile on my visog, apparently their business plan is so good that they are the envy of football clubs all over the world.
You’d think he was trying to sell shares or something ..
So Dave, what happened to that stock market listing you promised?
Anyway …
Glasgow is the best city in the world, check out this list of things to do in Glasgow at this bank holiday weekend.
DancingBhoy 