His departure is just a symptom of the free market it has happily exploited for decadesIn Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the father of Gonzo journalism, Hunter S Thompson, chronicled his drug-addled, two-day road trip. “No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride… and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well… maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: tune in, freak out, get beaten.” But who needs acid when you can step into the febrile world of men’s professional football?Indeed, Thompson could have been describing the supporters’ experience of following their club. And few other clubs scramble the senses of supporters and stir their imaginations more than Celtic FC. Even when hard reason tells us we are about to be emotionally fleeced, we run towards them. When we know we are being conned once more, we reach for the language of religious faith to reassure ourselves. All will be well because we are an anointed people on a sacred journey. Continue readingreadfullarticle
