Celtic Soul Search – The Away Support
· Yahoo Sports
Throughout this season, one of the biggest disappointments for me has been the decline in the Celtic support. The atmosphere at home games has been atrocious, the stadium was half empty at 1-1 in the midst of a title race against Hibernian last week, and Paradise has began to feel like a soulless place, where we get outsung by visiting fans.
It lead me to question what we are fighting for at one stage. Indeed, the fans are the club. Back in 2020 when there was disgruntlement at the way things were operating within the club, the support still had its passion, its heart and soul; so it felt like there was a club there worth fighting for. Change was worthwhile. However, this term I’ve questioned, what are we even fighting for? If the soul of the club has disappeared, then will boardroom change even mean anything?
Visit catcross.org for more information.
We used to have a crowd that was revered around Europe – the whole stadium getting involved on the big nights and the ground visibly shaking as 60,000 people bounced in unison to Just Can’t Get Enough and the huddle. Since 2022, that stadium wide participation has dissipated. But now we’ve got to the point where we would be glad to just to get a few hundred people mustering a Hail Hail at Parkhead.
Up step the Celtic away support.
That soul search for the identity, atmosphere, and the passion that makes us unique, and has largely been lost at home games, is well and truly at the forefront on our travels. The backing that the team received at Rugby Park was phenomenal, culminating in wild celebrations and a volcanic eruption of Celtic’s version of the Muchachos at full time.
This week, in Germany, thousands of fans turned out to give the team relentless backing in what was never going to be a fruitful second leg for us. The sound of the away section roaring ‘This is the day that we win away’ reverberated around the ground and served as a reminder of who we are and what our support has always been.
In my opinion, it is a great positive that our next few crucial games are away from home. Perversely, the atmosphere will be less toxic for the team than when playing at home. There’ll be no booing of our own players, no silence in terms of songs, no visible division among the fan base, and no heading for the exits with the game in the balance. The new players will see what it means to play for this incredibly unique club when they walk out to see the free Broomloan in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, let’s hope a reduced allocation can roar us to victory tomorrow.
Matches away from home are certainly to our benefit at this key time.