A few recent posts and threads have got me thinking about our support: where we've come from and where we're going.
The Club was formed for the sheer love of football by passionate and ambitious young lads. We had no political or religious links (those came decades later, and admittedly, formed a large part of our identity throughout the 20th century), and simply wished to strive for footballing excellence in a fierce sporting rivalry with Celtic.
As a club in the 21st century, we've moved on. The world has moved on, and we now have a worldwide support from all walks of life.
If we want to stay true to our real roots, and grow as a global brand, shouldn't we focus more on the football and our founders, and separate ourselves as much as possible from this Old Firm nonsense?
IF Scotland does end up independent from the UK how would this change the Loyalist/Unionist aspects of our support? (Would it make us more inclined to express our Scottish identity, or would we look more outwardly?)
And finally, with so many kids from all over the world, including Scotland, being obsessed with the EPL, will this have an impact on our future support at home and abroad?
Will we still be selling 40-50 k season tickets generations from now?
May I address your comments from someone who has been around and seen the changes from 60 years +.
Our club moved on essentially from when Souness was recruited 1986.
Pre that time we were an essentially an all Protestant club.
I remember season tickets torn up when we signed Maurice Johnston despite the paedos being apoplectic that a good RC who had played for them joined us.
He was met with great distrust by our support until he scored a last minute winner against them giving us a 1-0 victory.
How joyous it was revelling their abject misery.
I mention these things as a seismic moment in our history.
Even decades after that when RC’s played for us if they should cross themselves was met with derision and they were advised not to do so.
Rangers have evolved since those days on the playing side and in my view no longer does our support give a hoot whether a Rangers player crosses themselves or what religion they are and that’s how it should be.
As a boy when watching football there were chiefly two elements of football supporters which were us and them.
The Scottish National team support who attended games was made up of say roughly 60% minimum Rangers supporters.
This is now the next seismic event that has happened in my lifetime.
Where we now have 3 distinct categories of supporters in this country.
2 of whom despise us which is the paedos who have always despised us and now the rest of Scotland with the exception of Rangers supporters.
We are now the last bastions of unionism within Scotland.
Essentially that is our heritage.
We’ve always had a support from all walks of life and this is nothing new.
Imo we should not remove ourselves from the OF nonsense as let’s not kid ourselves as this is the only reason Sky is in any way interested in Scottish football.
We will never be a worldwide brand exacerbated by the tinpot league we play in .
We do have worldwide supporters which is a different matter.
We also should divorce ourselves from Nationalism which history is littered with reasons not to go down that route.
I remain proudly Scottish and British and they are not exclusive.
I hope our support will never change and the UB gives me hope we will continue with the traditions that make us as a club.
I am not ashamed of any of this nor do I see a reason why Rangers should not continue to flourish with 50k plus attendances.
Remember this is also a new phenomenon post Souness and prior to that very few only a few thousand ostensibly wealthier fans had season tickets.
We can never truly be a worldwide brand.
