Nothing much happens here on Saturdays bar watching football. I had an afternoon of much fun watching the romantically named, Heart of Midlothian, struggle as I have watched them doing so many, many times before, against lesser opposition. The commentator fussed much about this being umpteen years since the also romantically named, Queen of the South, had beaten the Hearts at Tynecastle, I know not why, I think since 1963 we have only played them here eight times. I did realise as they spouted the usual nonsense that I was at that game way back in October 1963, several years before I was actually born.
Scottish Football has many romantic names, Hamilton Academicals, Partick Thistle (who don't play in Partick), Raith Rovers, where the chances of watching them 'Dancing in the streets of Raith,' is very thin, and Brechin City, a city with less than 8000 people!
The Heart of Midlothian team that October day were a formidable outfit, Jim Cruickshank, Davie Holt, Norrie Davidson, Willie Wallace (who reached a hundred goals in less than 4 seasons) and the great Willie Hamilton, a man of outstanding ability of international level. He ought to have been playing with Law, Baxter and MacKay for his country but rarely made it, the drink did not help, indeed it killed him at 38 years of age. That great Hearts team played a Queens side that was heading for relegation and naturally in front of 10,817 spectators we lost by one goal to nil! I cannot mind what the 'Boo Boys' said that day, but they would have been out in force at the end I expect. Queens dropped down a division, a drop down that has, as yet, stopped them ever returning to the highest level of football. We had to drop down to play them!
I say that defeat in 1963 was much worse than this. That day we were in fifth place seeking to go higher, they were eleventh and heading slowly downwards. It is a long and indeed popular tradition among the Heart of Midlothian that we lose to relegation threatened sides, Most such sides have done this to us, a tradition that will, rest assured, continue. You will remember the Lord Provost at the Heart of Midlothian's 50th anniversary telling his audience how "The Hearts are good for Scottish football, they beat all the big teams and lose to all the small ones," a tradition maintained to this day.
The 'Woke' generation are grumbling loudly and offensively, but they need to develop the natural cynicism that comes with following the Hearts. I think I became cynical by about 1967 myself.
Indeed while this game was a problem for many I find a much worse crime is lying at our door. On TV at the moment we have a World Cup Qualifier between Netherlands and Latvia, fine so far. However, I just realised the referee is a woman! A woman at an important football match refereeing? What's the matter, have all the pie stalls been closed by Covid? Blatant sexism, false equality, a women refereeing something as important as a football match! The end is nigh indeed.
