I was interested to see the comments of former Celtic owner Fergus McCann concerning the use of Hampden by the SFA for international matches and cup ties.
There has been a lot of talk about taking games from Hampden, even finding a new home at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. That for me would be a step too far, especially when there are two stadiums – Celtic Park and Ibrox – in Glasgow that are fantastic venues.
Likewise. that’s not to say that Hampden in its current form isn’t a good venue – but it will never, ever compare to the old Hampden for me, with that big stand and those huge banked terraces.
I think it is some kind of generational thing; younger people don’t know any different, us older folk are a nostalgic bunch who liked the history of Hampden as it was. And for me, for two reasons - apart from the cup finals that I played there – Hampden was just a special place.
The first was when it hosted the European Cup semi-final between Celtic and Leeds United, in front of 136,505, and then 10 days later, when I played for Scotland against England, who were on their way to the World Cup in Mexico, a 0-0 draw, with 137,000 in attendance.
After those two games, in April 1970, Hampden Park always held a very special place in my memories.
Those experiences were back in the days when there was a Hampden Roar, and boy, you didn’t forget it, ever. It just seemed to electrify the air, and it wasn’t a place you wanted to be if you suffered from nerves.
Just how you can still talk about the Hampden Roar, when you only have a third of the crowd, is beyond me really.
In saying that, I also experienced a packed Hampden when you could have heard the proverbial pin drop – like when Billy Bremner scored the opener for Leeds after just a couple of minutes! And that was just as scary, believe me.
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