velo army

Fuckin NOOOOOOOPE!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSS!!! (aye, still hefty buzzin)

Thank you to whomever furnished me with extra greenies. There should be a greenie amnesty on what seems to be P n B's VE Day. Spread the love a'bdy.

That waistcoat fair gives G-Man away though.

Also the arsehole voted to sever the livelihood of millions of poor and working poor. She can't f**k off enough. Back to the present. I honestly feel like I'll never be sad again. I just feel such intense joy. It's at moments like these that I grieve for people who aren't football supporters. They haven't the faintest idea what they're missing. I reckon this will be spoken about for generations to come. The significance of it, not just from a football perspective, but from a national perspective, cannot be overstated (but I could give it a good go tbf). What the team did last night was to change the narrative of what it means to not just be a Scottish Football Player of supporter, but to be Scottish. The "nearly" story that has underpinned and undermined various world cup campaigns has also informed the national psyche. We've seen this play out politically in the varied failures of independence/devolution referenda, and I don't want to get into another Yes/No debate (I'm enjoying the unity surrounding the team just now) but I see them all as a wound to the national psyche that perpetuates the narrative that we "cannae dae it". For anyone who has changed their own story, whether that be doing the therapeutic work of moving from a story of victimhood to one of empowerment and agency, or from a narrative of avoidance and separation to one of engagement and integration you'll know how much courage and character it takes, and how powerful the impact of the change. When we change our own story we also change the story of generations to come. A man from a long line of alcoholics who heals his own wounds will cease the perpetuation of the shame and silence which defined the men of previous generations of his family. The story of what it means to be a man in his family has been transformed. Last night the team decided that the story of Scotland being a team who fall at the final hurdle and choose self sabotage over success has been re-written. It's not to say that we won't fail to qualify again, or that there won't be a last minute mistake that results in heartbreaking loss. What it means is that after last night those events, should they occur, won't have as much say in how we define ourselves as they have in the past. Before last night conceding a last minute goal was "typical Scotland" as we tell ourselves that to be Scottish is to f**k up and that to be Scottish is to not sit at the banquet with all the other countries, but to look in from the outside like the street urchins we are. Last night represented a shift from that, and we all felt it. Now when we experience failure it won't be a validation of our own unworthiness, it'll be just that, a failure. An opportunity to learn and grow, and fuel for the next success. Deep down we all want to feel pride in being Scottish, but our own cringe has held us back. The fear that we don't deserve to enjoy success and it'll be snatched away at the last minute has held us back from truly believing in ourselves as a nation. I have a strong feeling that the tears that poured out of us yesterday and today are from the knowledge that things have changed irrevocably, and that we can finally give ourselves permission to achieve. Tl;dr; Birthday caird pish.

We're gonna ragdoll them aren't we? We're never losing again. Having another chance to watch this team of absolute stauner merchants so soon after their swording of Serbia feels like all my birthdays at once. Slovakia 0-3 Scotland.

Republic of Ireland. I'm not a glory hunter, and now that we're a team of routine qualification Euroshaggers it's time for me to step aside and seek a new challenge among the sub pot 3 dross. And dat's all oi hav to say abow dat.

They tried one of those. They split up. Bit of a messy one. It was a bit of a big deal at the time.....

I bought beer for my mate and Kombucha for me (I'm a fuckin health freak) Only regret of the night. Enjoy your French voddy (voddet?)

Anyone have a spare can? I ran out.

Declan Gallagher was utterly immense tonight. Mitrovic will never want to see him again. Totally nullified his aerial threat. I'm gonna get no sleep tonight. I can't fuckin believe a) that this has happened in the way that it has and b) how fuckin good this feels. I'm an emotional man but there aren't any tears just now. I'm just ecstatically stunned. I love you all right now. Fuckin love being Scottish.

I fuckin love this team. I was absolutely shocked how good we looked tonight. We strolled that for 80 minutes and everyone, and I mean everyone (SOD making me eat my words about him too) played incredibly. I'm beautifully stunned by this and I don't think it's overstating it to say that this will have given the entire nation a huge lift. I think it was Szamo that said "announce indyref2", but you could announce UDI and I don't think anyone would object. What. A. Fuckin. Team.

Aye Brene Brown (check her out by the way if you haven't already) calls it "scarcity culture" in which we always focus on how we don't have enough and aren't enough. As you pointed out, we're encouraged to aren't we? Advertisements telling us that if we have this new thing we'll be sexy/desirable/a worthy member of society. Contentment puts the breaks on the wheels of commerce. Something I need to start doing is working on gratitude. I fall into the trap also of believing I'm not educated enough, not muscly enough, too chubby (I'm not, by any metric, but I see what I want to see), not handsome enough, not secure enough etc and it keeps me in a loop of anxiety and sadness. Gratitude is simply choosing to be grateful for what I have and accentuating the positive. It doesn't mean that I have to put up with a malnourishing situation, but if I've rewired my brain to be grateful then I'm more likely to believe I'm strong enough, clever enough etc to improve my situation. That's the idea, but f**k me I reckon I'd find it easier training to run do an Ironman than doing a 10min gratitude meditation every day. I managed 10mins last night but it's a battle with the inner demon voices.

Dons 1888 has replied with comprehensive wisdom here. I'll add a couple of thoughts. The isolation many are experiencing will inflate the sense of loneliness they already feel. Even the most introverted person needs interaction. It's as necessary as food or water. We must never, ever forget that. And we need to stop minimising the effects of this denial. Numerous (and some fucking harrowing) studies have been done showing how necessary physical and verbal interaction is to both the developing child and to the developed adult, both in terms of psychology and physical health. We wouldn't gaslight our need for water or food, so addressing loneliness as an urgent fuckin emergency is a start. In regard to your pals, I'm wondering what your intuition tells you. It sounds like you are concerned for them, certainly. It sounds like moving towards them and reaching out would be beneficial to you both. If someone really wants to work on their shit then it helps to see examples. Rarely will you jump into the water first. If we see that there are people swimming already then we'll go in. In the case of being in a depression, if someone else talks about their struggles first it creates an atmosphere of safety where they're given the signal that it's ok to swim and there are no sharks in the water. So my invitation to you would be to step into your vulnerability and have a go at saying how hard lockdown is for you. Saying that., being in struggle can often simply be mitigated by the honest and genuinely loving presence of another. Playing a game of online CoD or having a takeaway and easy banter can be every bit as helpful as tackling the issues head on.

I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and seeing the extent to which other forum members both reach out to others with vulnerability and also the extent to which others offer advice and compassion. It's really moving to bear witness to. I'm part of an organisation called the ManKind Project, which has men's groups all across the country (and in Europe and the US) and, in these times of Covid isolation they have organised online connection groups where men can show up and let themselves be heard. I would invite any man on here who feels a desire to be seen, heard and welcomed by other men just as you are, in a space where you can let down your armour for a bit to click on the link below. https://mankindprojectuki.org/international-mens-day-registration?fbclid=IwAR3ZSdGMFv2-mKl_YYHYB4u5bZHtlWO6BjihDR5wDVabjpwl-4WblrL-tNg Any further questions on this or any questions you have relating to this, men's mental and emotional health work or anything else not listed then please PM me.

f**k sake I've gotten myself excited for this too. First Scotland game I ever watched on telly we pumped France 2-0 with MoJo getting both. I remember us getting knocked out by Brazil after Leighton spilled it and my dad (for whom this was the 5th WC in a row) said that was "typical Scotland". I wish that were true and that the depths of our diddiness had been plumbed by going out at the group stage. As a previous poster has said I reckon this has come a year too early for us. We're developing as a team and I think we can do well in qualifying for the next world cup. I'm still fuckin believing though and will be looking up famous (preferably non-genocidal) Serbs so I can re-create that Norwegian commentator's "you boys took a hell of a beating" proclamation afterwards. Furloughed as f**k the noo, so have all day to do uni work and think about the game (I foresee no uni work being done). P.S. I'm 5'5'' and won a UEFA cup winners medal while playing at CB. Stick that in your pipe Pep.

Ken; Baresi couldn't tie Tierney's loafers.

Just watched the highlights on YT from the Falkirk lads. Good commentators and seemed pretty balanced. For all the complaining about conceding a late goal that seemed like a cracking game and pretty even. We played some nice stuff going forward and Cardle seems to have rediscovered some form(what a ball for our second goal) and was our MOTM I think. I actually like Williamson going forward and I felt we were a constant danger down the right hand side. I like the look of the boy Dowds for Falkirk, and the lad Leitch on the left wing was a threat.

In my experience that once you've offered help and guidance that is repeatedly ignored then it's best to let go. Be available, but put some distance between you and them. That's for real life. In this instance I'd use the ignore function. If you're still concerned about the person, dropping a PM is a worthy shout, but it seems to me (reading between the lines of your post) that interacting on the forum is enervating.

Ooft. Just had a wee check on the thread hosting DAFC's latest heidmelt. Frankly mate you got off lightly.

Get Your Own Back Lives Matter

This strikes me as the type of "wearing a dinner jacket to lunch" snobbery that is more OFTW than choosing to wear a fitba top on holiday (gasp!!). It's thinly disguised class snobbery, made less thinly disguised by the "wearing a polo shirt is fine" pish that reminds me of wanky golf club nonsense. In short, i'm a 37 year old "fully grown" man who wears a jags/scotland top on holidays. It's comfy and, aye, it's a talking point, especially when I wear it to a tantra festival or some other similar thing. I quite like the juxtaposition, but I also love the connection to my inner child. It seems tragic to me that we demand that adults stick to certain rules of dress simply because we're adults. But in saying that, seeing someone with an OF or England top on holiday gives me good info on their good guy/w**k credentials.

You familiar with the Jungian concept of the shadow? Bringing them out into the open is desirable as you can then identify and engage with the problem, rather than having it hidden (in this case, racist attitudes) and deniable.

hawmstring injury, I believe. Stick Armstrong up there and we'll be just peachy though.

It took me ten years to watch the highlights of that game. I've now gotten over some of the trauma by realising that we weren't robbed at all (they had a goal wrongfully chopped off for offside and our goal was, in fact, offside) but I still also have flashbacks to Faddy's chance. I rate that game as the best one I've ever been to. The fact that I was sitting beside Lesser Hampden at about 11pm absolutely crying myself hoarse over it is part of it. Sounds like a weird thing to say, and a strange one to choose rather than, say, either of the France games, but everything about that game was special. It was an end to end, even and dramatic game. The noise was constant. I remember thinking about the game for weeks, and then walking down to the stadium with my cousin from my flat, which was up the hill from Hampden, seeing it as a seething cauldron of light and noise. I wonder if I would have remembered it so vividly if we'd won. Anyway. I'm not going to engage with the stated intention of this thread. I'm superstitious as f**k and think the moderators should launch this thread into the sea before the Gods of fate catch wind of it and deliver a 5-0 pumping.

Sizzling King Prawn McCoys is the correct crisp choice for this. "Driven by hatred". A wild take on a light hearted wind up post that seems to have hooked you in something special. Take a few deep breaths man. Tartan Army da's are there for the mocking; the hats are ridiculous and they tend to have more interest in getting blootered than watching/talking about the game. (awaits greenie from Gordo for correct use of a semi-colon).