Celtic Roll Back the Years!

Forgot I was signed up to this forum, until during the week, watching Celtic beat RB Leipzig. I'm Irish, and as you know, everyone a casual Celtic fan at least, even if they're not their first team. And watching from the TV, you forget how special Celtic Park is. You can even feel it from the TV. It's the first time I've felt that watching Celtic in Europe in about 15 years.

But I can't put my finger on what makes Celtic Park so special. South American teams, and Turkish etc, have hysterical fans, bunting etc, but Celtic Park rocking on a European night is simply different. Genuinly nothing like it in football.

I suppose the best way to explain it, is when the crowd get a sense "something might happen", something changes. You can even feel it from the TV. Theres a shift in the feel of the stadium, a belief takes hold in the crowd, and the team latches onto that and rally. It's a feeling and aura that I've never seen before with another team. Like Anfield is unreal when they get behind Liverpool, but theres just something different that takes hold in Celtic Park.

And because it's so long since I sensed that feeling watching Cetltic in Europe, I forgot just how mindblowing it is, many people in Ireland did. People here generally support United or Liverpool, but when they meet Celtic, something changes.

I remember being in the pub in Ireland when Nakamura scored that free kick against United. A pub full of lads in United jerseys. But as the game wore on, Celtic Park was rocking, and Celtic were pushing hard, something changes with Irish people. Whether they want to admit it or not, instinct kicks in, to row in behind Celtic when the chips are down. When Nakamura scored that free kick against United, the pub literally exploded, full of lads in United jerseys no less.

No matter what an Irish person says, if you think Celtic aren't that popular here anymore, if Celtic come up against United or Liverpool in an important match, as the game wears on, Irish people will always default back to Celtic, every time. And Celtic Park rocking last week, got alot of Irish to sit up and remember again.

It's been a long time since Celtic went on a deep run in Europe, the last 2003, and I remember it well. As the tournament wears on, it becomes of national importance in Ireland. We need more nights like last week to build on the renewed interest in Celtic in a lot of young people in Ireland. Irish people will always default to Celtic when the chips are down, it's a special bond! As I said, when the chips are down, everyone in Ireland is Celtic, whether they realise it or not!