GLF 53: GB has a day out at the museum.
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM
One of the perks of being the programme editor is that you occasionally get asked along to things for free.This year I,along with all the other Scottish Programme Editors,was contacted by the curator of the Scottish Football Museum to go along and be shown round and also take part in a stadium tour.
I had been to the museum before but it was good to have one of the staff take us round and explain the highlights of the different collections.The first one was based on the origins of the game and was centred round the Scottish Cup which is permanently housed at the museum.The only time it is taken from the case is for the presentation to the winners of the trophy at the end of the final.
The museum has the usual collection of strips,medals and caps that you would expect but they are not presented in a dry fashion.There is also a section devoted to fans and their influence on the game,with a number of fanzines on display.
One of the strange things for me was how heavy strips even from the 1980's looked compared to those of today.Yet when you see them on TV and in the papers they look trendy and up to date.Going even further back I am not sure how players could've run about in some of the heavy strips of the time,along with the massive boots they also had to wear.
It was then on to the tour, which I hadn't been on the last time I visited the museum. The first port of call is the tunnel under the ground where buses arrive,and I was amazed at the overall size of the tunnel.From there it was into the away dressing room, which has 20 lockers in the main area of the room. Along with two other rooms that allows them to cope with events such as the Claymores American football side.
The Ball Persons rooms are almost as big as some of the Dressing rooms that there must be in some of the smaller clubs grounds.The refs room was a good size as well, and had also been used by Tina Turner when she played at the Stadium.
We then were taken up the tunnel and out into the technical areas,at this part of the tour a tape is played to re - create the Hampden roar as you step through the doors to the playing area.I am a sucker for this type of thing and I got goose bumps as we headed through the doors.
The reason we were all asked along was to make sure that when we returned home that we wrote something positive about the museum and encourage people to go along.Well that's exactly what I would encourage any football fan should do.I believe that any football fan who goes along the museum will have a fascinating few hours out.
I would also suggest a quick trip round the corner to see what is left of Third Lanark's Cathkin Park, where the three sides of the terracing bowl still eerily exist as a reminder of what can go wrong when a football club isn't run properly.
Graham Barnstaple
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