A Commuters Cup Final

I left Edinburgh at 3:30pm on Wednesday 15th April to make the 34 hour journey back to work. Jane and the kids drove me out to the airport and we said our goodbyes. With a final reminder to make sure she got the tickets for the final I was away. We had gone through the same routine two years previously when we met Rangers in the 1996 Cup Final. That time I applied for my Shareholders free ticket before I went back to work, leaving Jane with instructions for various emergency procedures to implement if things went wrong. This year was more complicated. There were no details out yet about ticket sales and I was relying on her to organize everything. We all wanted to go to the game but I had doubts about getting four tickets. Anyway it was now out of my hands, I was on the way to Amsterdam, Bangkok and finally Songkhla where I would meet my workmates. There we caught the chopper out to the rig. 28 days at work meant I was due off on Friday 15th May, only 33 hours before kick-off. In my bag were my scarf and Hearts shirts to wear on the flights home or in case there were any delays or alterations to my schedule.

Once settled back into the routine at work I kept in touch with Hearts on the Internet. It now looked like our league challenge had run out of steam, just as the Glasgow press said it would way back in November. Well done the Daily Ranger, if you stick with a prediction for long enough it will surely come true. Hearts net page is excellent. While at work I think I probably know more of what is happening at Tynecastle than when I'm at home and relying on the Evening News to keep me informed. So it wasn't a surprise to find the details for applying for Cup-Final tickets on the net before Jane had seen them in the paper. I telephoned home and faxed her an application form. One thing was clear though, it would be unlikely that we would get tickets for us all. However she got in touch with Kevin and Euan who I go to the games with and made a joint application to try and get seats together. Euan has 3 wee boys and wanted tickets for two of them. The third is still a baby and was going to watch the match with his mum on TV. Now it was time to sit and wait and see how many we were given.

Being stuck on a barge in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand isn't as isolated as it would seem. Contact with home is simple but expensive. Jane can telephone or fax 24 hours a day on a direct dial number. So we speak to each other a couple of times a week. Naturally every call home included the question, "Have the tickets arrived yet?" The answer was always a "No", and on the Monday before the game Jane telephoned the ticket office and was told all the tickets had now been sent out. I was starting to panic. What had she forgotten to complete on the application? What would I do if we got no tickets? Why didn't I have a normal job at home? These were some of the questions I was asking myself. Then, our Wednesday night phone call. Brilliant, finally the tickets had arrived, however only for 3 adults and 4 children. After all her effort and putting up with me going on at her for 4 weeks Jane didn't get a ticket. She said she didn't mind, but I knew she would have loved to have been coming with us.

As usual "The Channels" set in on the last couple of days at work. That's a nautical term to explain the feeling a seafarer would get as his ship sailed back into the English Channel and he was only a few days away from home. This time the excitement was even more intense. I wasn't only going home to my family and to celebrate my birthday next Tuesday, but also to see Hearts win the cup. I never contemplate Hearts losing and with all the anticipation of my journey to the game I was even more confident this time. Hearts had been my sole topic of conversation for at least a week and I think it was starting to bug my Australian workmates. They were trying to wind me up with reminders of 1996. I had brainwashed them at the time. The match is shown live in Australia and I persuaded them to watch the game when they got home. Telling them Hearts were going to hammer Rangers. As we all know, things didn't quite go to plan after Gary Locke was carried off after only 5 minutes. I even talked them into watching the League Cup Final after that when a bad decision by a linesman cost us the game that day. This time we would do it I assured them and just to shut me up they finally agreed to watch the game if they were sober when they got home.

At last Friday morning arrived. I work night shift and had been up since 4:00pm on Thursday afternoon but the excitement of the occasion kept any tiredness at bay. I have a T-shirt printed with "Songkhla Hearts Supporters Club", and decide to wear that for the first leg of the journey. It's about a 70 minute chopper ride back to the beach where we are met and given our air tickets home. That's where we can get the first beer any of us have tasted for 28 days. Even Thai beer tastes good after that long. Carry-out in the cool box and we were ready for the journey by mini bus to Hat-Yai. That's where we get the flight up to Bangkok and was the start of the party. We managed a few extra beers this time to celebrate my birthday. Consequently when we arrived in Bangkok any thoughts of having a few hours sleep in the hotel before the flight to Amsterdam were forgotten. We headed into town and made for a little hostelry we frequent called "Lucky Lukes", in Nana Entertainment Plaza. Somewhere I can recommend to any Hearts supporters visiting Bangkok. By 5:00pm thoughts of the following days match had deserted me and all I could think of was bed. Tiredness had eventually caught up with me, with possibly a little help from the beer. I said goodbye to the Aussies and went back to the hotel remembering to ask the reception for a wake-up call at 7:30pm. Only 2 hours time.

I really don't know how things can change so quickly, 2 hours ago I was a wee bit tired but full of fun. Now my head was being hit from the inside with a sledge hammer and someone had filled my mouth with sand. I needed to get up though as my check-in at the airport was in an hour. So after a quick shower and 2 Paracetamol (all I'd eaten since breakfast on the rig), I jumped in a taxi and headed for the airport. After checking in I started to feel a bit better and decided it was time to eat. After 28 days of mainly Thai food the Burger King was great. Thoughts of the game had started to come back to me now and I was ready for a beer again. The healing powers of Paracetamol are phenomenal.

The Bangkok to Amsterdam flight was over an hour late in departing. I had 3 hours to wait for my connection when I got there, so it didn't really matter. After the meal on the plane and a Drambuie night-cap much needed sleep came to me. I woke up again and we were over Moscow with less than 3 hours to Amsterdam. Less than 12 hours to kick-off. I'd had about 6 hours sleep. The time spent in Amsterdam was a drag. I have a card for the Executive Lounge and spent the time up there. I took a shower and got changed into my clean Hearts shirt and hung my scarf around my neck. Traveling home to the final two years ago I met a Dutch Hearts supporter who was on his way to the game too. We've been on the same flight a couple of times now, so I was looking out for him or any other Jambos heading my way. There was no sign of him this year. When I got to the departure gate there was however a Rangers fan with his top on. We exchanged a silent nod of acknowledgement and boarded the flight. During that last hour across to Edinburgh my stomach was churning. What were the plans for the day? I didn't even know how I was getting through to Parkhead. The flight was 30 minutes late arriving. We landed at 10:40am and after a quick kiss and cuddle Jane told me that Kevin, the kids and myself were getting the bus from Ardmillan Hearts Supporters Club at Haymarket at 11:30. Euan and his two boys were driving through and had left already. We had to rush home and collect Cristy's scarf as she had spent the night at a pals house and hadn't been home yet. Then Jane ran us down to Haymarket where we met Kevin. Driving down Gorgie Road every person we saw seemed to have a Hearts scarf on. Little did I know what scenes we would witness in this same street later that night. I didn't make any plans with Jane as to when we would be home, just said I would phone her after the game.

It was easy to find Kevin as the club was packed inside and he was amongst the overspill standing outside. The first thing I noticed was the weather, it was a beautiful day and everyone was wearing only T-shirts, including me. It was a lot cooler than it had been 16 hours earlier in Bangkok but much more comfortable. The buses were late so there was still time for a pint before and I caught up with all the news from Kevin and the kids while soaking up the atmosphere. It was a great day to be a Jambo and even better to be a Jambo at home. The game is now history. As in 1996 there were tears again at the end. This time however they were tears of joy and not sadness. We had just taken our seats when they kicked off and immediately drama. Unbelievable, Cup-Final, awarded a penalty in the first minute, against Rangers, in Glasgow. Then Mickey scored and we went wild. Euan and the boys had still not arrived. When they did show up a few minutes later we all celebrated the goal again. Rangers tried hard to get themselves back into the game but our defense was soaking up all the pressure. Half time came and all the talk was positive. For once it wasn't only me who thought we could win. Rangers still had to bring on their secret weapon though and sure enough Ally McCoist came out to start the second half. The pressure increased and when the long kick from Rousset found Adam his goal was totally against the run of play. Who cared. It was 2-0 for us and our singing was magnificent. If the other 25,000 Hearts fans were like me and starting to lose their voice, it didn't show. The tears were in my eyes. Were we really going to win the cup? Rangers came at us again and with ten minutes to go it was nearly over. Super Ally had other ideas however and pulled a goal back. Surely not. This wasn't going to end like all the others. I've never felt tension like it before. Everyone was on the edge of their seats and the Rangers fans were singing again. Those last 15 minutes as they turned out to be felt longer than my 28 days at work. We seemed to be hanging on by the skin of our teeth. Then, I didn't hear it but the final whistle must have gone and I was crying. Not sat in my seat with my head in my hands crying like usual but jumping up and down hugging and kissing everyone crying like I've never experienced before. For half an hour we cheered as the players paraded the cup. Only leaving the ground when the last of them disappeared up the tunnel. Back on the bus Kevin and I sat and watched the scenes outside and couldn't speak. What do you do now, we asked ourselves? How do you celebrate? The whole bus was quiet on the journey back to Edinburgh. It didn't really sink in until we arrived back at the Maybury. People were lining the roadsides and cheering the bus as we drove past. All the way into town it got busier and busier, I felt like I was one of the kids again totally in awe of the occasion. This is what it was like to be a winner. I wondered if John Robertson was feeling the same as me right now? Haymarket was brilliant, there were thousands there when we arrived back at the club. I called Jane and could hardly speak, my voice was almost gone. I couldn't go home without seeing the team arrive back in Edinburgh. We managed to get a pint to lubricate our sore throats before joining the crowds starting to walk towards Gorgie. We arrived just in time. Here was the team coach trying to get down Gorgie Road through thousands of fans with the players standing on the roof. There were banners, flags, scarves and streamers everywhere. Every window was crowded with people waving and cheering. Champagne corks were flying through the air like artillery shells. It was like New Year in May. This was the start of the "Mother of all Parties". Finally the coach made it into McLeod Street and we struggled through the crowds towards home and my ever so patient wife. The last 48 hours had been a real mixture of experiences and emotions for me. I will go back to work and boast about one of the best weekends of my life. There's a new generation of Jambos who now know how to celebrate and they will not expect to wait 36 years to do it again. There's no way the next time we win silverware will be as good as this time was. This was a new experience for the vast majority of Hearts fans but one I hope will be repeated more regularly than in the past.

Unless I change employers it will be the year 2000 when I next arrive home on Cup-Final day. Hearts will be there though, I'm confident, let's hope Jane will be too. We both went down to Gorgie the following day to see the parade and make sure it hadn't all been a dream. It wasn't, even the dogs were wearing Hearts scarves. She was able to soak up some of the atmosphere and see a sight never seen in Gorgie Road before. Hearts parading the cup on an open top bus. Everyone tells me they used a tram the last time. I'm sure she is pleased though that there isn't a Cup-Final every time I come home. As for my birthday on Tuesday 19th, it was a bit of an anti-climax after the celebrations of the weekend. Who wants to celebrate being 43 anyway?

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