The Green Brigade come of age

Has the troublesome teenager matured into a responsible youth?

Last night’s win over Hearts will be remembered for many things but amongst the emotions of the evening the relief of finding out that there hadn’t been a fatality is to the fore.

From the moment that Anthony Stokes dinked in the second goal it was obvious that something serious had happened at the junction between the Lisbon Lions and North Stand.

The euphoria of the goal was quickly lost as a section of the stand cleared, paramedics arrived and the Green Brigade were silenced.

To a man (and woman, Andy and Richard) they stood silent, distracted from the match as a fellow supporter was fought for their life. More and more fans cleared away from the area with the attention of supporters around the stadium drawn to the drama.

It could have been anyone, the guy you nodded to every week, the supporter next to you in the Ticket Office or Superstore. Someone that had stuck with the team through the miseries of December, celebrated Sammy’s goals at Ibrox, cursed Willie Collum at Hamilton and looked forward all day to the Hearts match.

As the players turned the screw on the park putting in their best performance of the season there was a horrible guilt watching the action knowing that one of our own may have drawn his last breath and been taken from his family.

Imagine the horror of family and friends excited by the result being taken aside to be told that a loved one had died at the match.

The scene looked grave as one paramedic could clearly be picked out pumping away at the casualties chest. More paramedics arrived.

After twenty minutes of treatment it looked tragic as a stretcher removed the supporter from the stadium… with The Green Brigade breaking the silence to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone.

It was a poignant moment.

The remainder of the match was played out in front of a slightly subdued support.

Despite a third and fourth goal being added the memory of seeing a supporter stretchered out of the match after 20 minutes of treatment remained.

Thankfully back home and on-line there was no news of a fatality, a stroke was mentioned but message boards weren’t swamped with RIP’s.

Having been the sole supplier of atmosphere for most of the season The Green Brigade encountered some competition last night.

The toe-tapping to their songs and chants from around the rest of the ground was met with sound as supporters in various areas burst into song.

They were watching a team develop in front of them, there was players to admire and indentify with. Biram Kayal going off to a fantastic ovation, the much maligned Charlie Mulgrew excelled, Thomas Rogne played like a veteran, Scott Brown looked a £4m player and up front there were two strikers expecting rather than hoping to score.

Celtic Park hasn’t been a harmonious place over the last couple of years.

Football can change in a week, any Celtic manager is three defeats away from a crisis, but the thunder is almost back and inspired by The Green Brigade there’s passion in the stands with the players realising the extra dimension that can come from some of those once empty green seats.

Get well soon Robert Coyle.

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