It's not easy being a glory hunter

When I say 'it's not easy', I mean the blogging part. I can't be bothered tonight and I've writters block already but I promised myself I'd try and do this every night, so here goes.

Oh and if it is a lot of mince bear with me, maybe tomorrows will be better. I'm going out for dinner first so there should be a few drunken ramblings up some time, before I probably have to remove them on Saturday morning.

Now that's out the way, what glorious MFC related topic can I witter on about tonight?

John Sutton leaving to chase the glory at Tynecastle? Funny, but not tonight.

Fraser Wishart leaving to chase the glory at Love Street ? Even funnier but hell no, never.

In fact I'll get to players another night, Managers take the glory, or carry the can more so than players.

A mangerial career can be made or ruined on the back of a few games or a wrong choice of club to a greater extent than a player.

Believe it or not I usually like to see ex Motherwell Managers being successful when they leave Fir Park, but only if they keep going and leave the country. Obviously it's easier if they're not coming back to Fir Park trying to beat you, or worse, leave then try and pinch half your squad for an SPL rival. It sounds despicable and I can't believe such things would take place, but there are rumours, aren't there Mr Brown.

Who would have thought that after Mark McGhee took his fall back job at Pittodrie that I would ever get more joy and satisfaction seeing Aberdeen lose and finish below Motherwell than I did once again this season. The, I was going to say gentleman but no, the person I have to thank for that is Craig Brown.

Now this is nothing against Aberdeen or their fans, some of my best friends like to interfere with sheep but merely a bitter, Glory Hunting Well Fan's personal grievences against two ex managers.

Now to give Mark McGhee his due, he made no secret of his desire for glory at bigger clubs and I can even understand his pull to Aberdeen after what they acheived in 1983. It may simply be that once he left Motherwell I saw him for what the St Mirren, Kilmarnock etc fans all saw him for when he was at Fir Park.

Craig Brown however is a totally different kind of person.

You do know when I say person I mean c**t?

It's actually easier than I though being a glory hunting Well fan, just let the bitterness flow.

Not my kind of glory hunter

When I say glory hunter, you may be thinking of someone who likes winning, but then don't we all, I certainly do. 

It may depend on what you're willing to do to win, or in this case, what you're willing to do to associate yourself with winning.

Is it more important to follow a successful team, in order to bask in the reflected glory of league titles or Scottish Cup victories than to follow your local team? 

To many in Scotland the answer is, unfortunately, AYE.

As a record 54th league title is celebrated at Ibrox, Parkhead also rejoices in 35 Scottish cup victories, also a record, showing that successful teams will always attract the most fans.

Now this sounds pretty reasonable, as I said who doesn't like winning and teams that keep winning keep the fans coming. Remember the old firm crowds in the 70's and 80's, especially when Aberdeen emerged as a dominant force, here and abroad. Pay at the gate, unheard of now at Parkhead or Ibrox was the norm.

Before I go on, don't take this as a cheap shot at the old firm, this has been the case all over the world and will continue to be until we legislate for compulsory supporting of local teams.

Being a different kind of glory hunter myself I can see the attraction of following a successful team, especially after Saturday's disappointment. I don't want to wait another twenty years to see my team lift a major trophy, but I will if I have to. That's the point of supporting a team in body or just in mind, like I usually do.

Having previously confessed to being a glory hunter of sorts myself I can't condemn too harshly those who are simply better at it than me, but do they get the same satisfaction? I very much doubt it.

I very much doubt that had Motherwell won the cup the celebrations and reactions would have been the same. I very much doubt Celtic fans will name any of their kids Mulgrew. I very much doubt Celtic fans will still be talking about it after their next cup victory in the next year or two (probably). I very much doubt many Celtic fans will be able to name any cup final winning team off the top of their heads after a few years. 

The obvious exception being the Lisbon Lions and that really proves my point. Celtic and Rangers aren't glorious in Europe, not very often anyway, so when they are, it matters.

I know, Motherwell aren't very glorious anywhere very often.

Hopefully old firm fans will remember this the next time they play what they see as a diddy team in a final.

It may be a diddy wee cup to you most seasons but to the rest of us it's Lisbon or Barcelona, let us bloody enjoy it. Stop patting us on the head, telling us to calm down; it's only a cup final. If I want to be (can't help but be) hyper all week and drive everyone I know to despair then LET ME BE!!!!!

I don't get to glory hunt very often.

Why I now glory hunt

To some it may be glory hunting, to me it's lethargy.

For the game I grew up loving. . . For the ground I always wanted to be in. . . .  For the team I could not bear not to watch. . .  I do not like it!!!!!!

I lay the blame for this solely on ALL SEATED STADIUMS.

I used to love going to Fir Park, firstly standing there with my dad, then my pals as I got older. As a 6 year old at Fir Park, the football was usally the sideshow for me. I was transfixed with the noise and atmosphere coming from the 'Cage' and over the years I managed to persuade my dad to stand closer and closer so I could soak this up.

Those who have been to Fir Park, especially in the away end may snigger at such suggestions of atmosphere and noise, but that's what I remember from the 80's and 90's.

Think back to your own grounds though, remember the roar that used to come from your own Cage, Shed, Enclosure or Jungle. It didn't matter if it was a miserable Wednesaday night in Novemebr against Partick Thistle or Dundee. It didn't matter if the terrace was half empty. It didn't really matter what the score was half the time. It mattered that you were standing there with your mates, standing in your wee bit of terracing, beside other people, there for the same reasons as you. A wee sing song, a wee jump about and to shout abuse at wee boys, just like you from some other town.

To me that was a big part of going to the football. The atmposphere that was created on terraces up and down the country is what kept a lot of us going, even when the football was rotten, even when the grounds were dumps, and even when the pies were honking, there wasn't much else apart from the blind loyalty that clubs still rely on today.

That's why I'm now left seeking out what tiny shardes of glory that find there way to Lanarkshire.

An end of season European push brings in the crowds, the atmosphere gets cranked up and the hairs rise on the back of your neck, that's when you remember what it used to be like every week. European qualification has graced Motherwell of late and there is obviously plenty of glory there for a Well fan. Travelling abroad to see your team goes beyond glory,  for this Well fan anyway.

The Scottish Cup holds a special place in many hearts and with crowds increasing it leads to reminders of the past, no more so than the final, still too fresh in my hazy memory. Away trips to lower league grounds are special as you see there are still fans of smaller teams who still follow football the way we all used to, on a smaller scale but far more bloody enjoyable I bet.

These may all be glorious and a pleasure to attend, but there's only one type of game that can get my pulse racing like it used to and it doesn't get any less glorious; A RELEGATION BATTLE. The atmopshere at these matches is nothing short of electric and takes me right back to the mid 80's, to the football I loved.

Thankfully it's been a few years since we've flirted with the drop, or reconstruction as we call it, but being a realist I know it will be here soon enough and while I obviously hope we stay up, I look forward to the battle, the atmosphere and the GLORY.

I need more glory

Now you may think that a glory hunting Well fan is somewhat of an oxymoron. Let me tell you there was still plenty of glory in supporting Motherwell on Saturday even after we lost in the cup final. Our players were applauded up the steps to receive their runners up medals from all those who stayed until the end for good reason. A top six finish, league cup semi final apperance and a slightly more than narrow cup final defeat  is a tremendous season for Motherwell.
Now as for the glory hunting Well fan, there are two kinds I found out this week, those who, like myself are lapsed somewhat in that we no longer attend regularly but were desperate to see our team in our first Scottish cup final for 20 years, but more of that later.
Then there's the new kind that I and no doubt many other Well fans discovered, the dreaded one week Well fan, you know, people who don't support Celtic. Again there are two types here, other fans of provincial teams like Motherwell, who usually cheer on smaller teams when playing the old firm, especially in finals, your support was much appreciated, Motherwell fans will no doubt return the favour when the time comes, and then there's Rangers fans. Most would support anything playing against anything in green. To them I say, keep your support unless, if you can support your local team when they're playing Celtic, try doing it on a regular basis and with bigger crowds we may acheive more glory, then I'll go more often.