A Day to Forget...and Remember!

SATURDAY proved to be a day of real highs and lows...and that wasn't just our Play Your Cards Right game! The good weather forecast for the weekend failed to materialise on Saturday morning and so it was we set off for the piggery under a dark cloud, a sign of things to come. If only we had set out earlier and caught the good lord Wullie's winner in the old crocks match it wouldn't have proved such a wasted journey. As it was, we came, we saw, we dominated...and then we inevitably chucked it away in the dying minutes...normal service resumed then.

To be totally honest apart from the result it was a reasonable workout and the general concensus so far is that had we been playing anyone else then we'd probably have been happy enough. Obviously though it wasn't just anyone we were playing and to lose out to that Second Division second rate outfit proved, as always, to be a real kick in the chankers. So much so we thought about calling JJ and asking him not to bring the team back to the pub, for their own safety that is! That said you can never underestimate the ability of Killie fans to bounce back from the depths of despair when the chips are down, an art we've honed and refined down the years.

The players turned up, looking just a wee bit sheepish, but were welcomed into the fold nonetheless. A big thank you from us to all the punters that turned up to meet them and managed to contain their disappointment. We were all obviously still gutted, but the players seemed as peed off as we were and it’s gratifying to know that they were hurting as well. To their credit the Rugby Park contingent hung around for half an hour for photos and autographs, including the new guys who should have signed by now if all goes to plan and it wasn't long before the party was in full swing. The biggest problem was trying to get from one side of the pub to the other through wall to wall Killie fans!

Magnus Hipposson got the Mastermind underway and despite leading after the specialist subject round on Killie, the Messiah (who else) was pipped at the post by Susan Miller who capitalised in the general….beep beep…we’ve started so we’ll finish…knowledge round. Cameron McClurg and Graeme Brown took the table footy title beating Jim Kennedy and David Rennie 8-7 with the last ‘kick’ of the ball in the final. Gillan Knox took the ‘Play Your Cards Right Crown’ despite some dodgy dealing by Mrs. ‘Dolly Dealer’ Hippo and a spirited fight-back by the Cheeky girls, but there was nothing for a pair, not in this game (groan).

It was a fantastic night and in true Oscar style we have to thank a few more people. In no particular order...Iain McEwan for the PYCR stuff, Davie Morris for running the table footy comp, Jack Sharp for the Mastermind questions and Kergo for his black leather chair! Billy (get well soon fatty) and Annie from The Howard for the buffet and putting up with us and the Lighthouse Foundation for donating raffle prizes. Mrs. Dolly Dealer Hippo; Saz and Jen for selling ALL the raffle tickets; Davie Mack and JJ for bringing the players along but most of all to everyone who bought an AAA pass, sent or handed in a donation and turned up on the night. It wasn’t easy, especially after the mornings events, but we’ve yet to hear of anyone who never went home happy. It's nights like Saturday which make it worth enduring the mental anguish we have to suffer following Killie and go to prove what we've always said...it's not just about the club, it's about the fans…without one the other wouldn't exist.

Trust at the Open Day

THE Killie Trust will be running a number of events at this years open day on Sunday to continue to raise the profile of the Trust in the local community and to raise funds. A balloon race will be launched with tickets costing £1 with the winner being the person whose balloon travels furthest and has had its label returned by November 1. The lucky winner will receive £100 of vouchers to spend in the store of their choice. The release date for the balloons will be a home match during September.

The Trust has also organised a Football Aid type match between supporters and a team of Killie Old Boys and this kicks off at 3:30pm with 20 minutes each way being played. The fans have a squad of 16 taking part and hopefully a big crowd will be present to see them turn out at the Theatre of Pies against their old heroes. We are also hoping to run a ‘Throw the Dice’ game with the idea to throw seven sixes to win a prize valued at £2,000. If we get no winner everyone who takes part will be entered into a draw for a voucher to spend in the Killie Shop.

The Howard Arms has also lent us their set of stocks and we will be giving people the chance to pelt some of us with wet sponges on the day as well as some staff from Kilmarnock FC, should be a good laugh so come along and have a go. As well as these fundraising activities there will also be the opportunity for members to renew their membership for season 2004-05 as well as giving those who have still to sign up the opportunity to do so…Steven Lockhart (Trust Chairman).

Well done from B&H to all the lads and lassies who did the sponsored walk from Rugby Park to the piggery. Again the weather didn’t help much but they raised over £1,000 and despite the tough going they all made it in time for kick off. Bet they wish they hadn’t though!

Chris All At Sea

You may remember a month or so back we featured some profiles from exiled Killie fans. We know through the website there are hundreds of Killie fans who can only follow Super Killie via internet, radio and newspapers. Chris Ross is in the Merchant Navy and was home for a few months until last Monday when he headed out to sea knowing he won’t see Killie for many months. Chris sent us the following shortly before he set off:

The first game I ever went to was against Meadowbank. However it wasn’t the one where we won 8-1, we lost 1-0! Despite that I loved the old days of Division 2 football. The way I ended up supporting Killie was through my dad Ian, who along with his friend David Devoy thankfully took me along to games when I was young. Making me, to my knowledge, the only Killie fan in the East End of Glasgow at school during the 90's! My next real Killie memory was promotion against Hamilton to the Premier!

However, my favourite games have to be 5-2 against Morton in Scottish Cup ‘97, the Scottish Cup win itself, stopping Rangers winning ten in a row (Glaswegian for my sins, got battered in school the next day for just turning up!, OK, I was smirking). But, my favourite game was when we beat Rangers 3-0 and singing “we want four!” I feel guilty that it rates above the cup final win, but I was nervous during the whole final, winning was a relief!

This will be the third time I have become a Killie exile. The first time was when I was a student teacher and went to Denmark for four months. That was a nightmare for myself as we reached the league cup final when I was away, although I did get to see Dargo’s semi-final goal via a video I begged my dad to send me. However last year and for the whole of next year I’m at sea.

Life in the merchant navy means football season is on a 5-week time delay via letters from home. My ship doesn’t even have internet access and phone calls are limited, much to the derision of my mother who complains when I haven’t phoned all month and the first question is, “so mum put dad on, dad, the Killie scores if you please”. However, when I’m on leave (next March by my calculation) I’ll be at Rugby Park or wherever following Killie. Hopefully we will win something this year, but I’ve been told by fellow fans if we do I’m not allowed to comeback - like I’m a jinx or something!

Choosing my favourite player is difficult. Growing up I adored Tommy Burns, Monty, Tom Black, Gus and Ally (don’t ask which one, we all know there’s only one super Ally but Dylan Kerr springs to mind right away. I idolised him a bit and used to love the banter of his interviews. Paul Wright runs him a close second though. I know I’ve written a lot of gobbledygook, but I just started typing happy Killie thoughts and it sort of cheered me up before I go. Off on Monday after the Yahoos game to Hamburg and then onto Texas/USA. So that will probably be the last time I see Killie for best part of a year!

A big hello and thanks to mum and dad, Hippo, Baz, and all the guys and gals who post on the Killiefc.com website. Also thanks to David Devoy and his family for making a wee lad from Glasgow feel at home in Kilmarnock. I better not forget an even bigger hello to my fiancee who not only goes to games with me, but has the grace to learn the offside rule! Take Care…Chris Ross.

Who Pedalled the Medals?

We’ve been hearing a sorry story this week about the squad who brought the Scottish Youth Cup to Rugby Park for the first time ever. Apparently the bunglers at the SFA only supplied a limited amount of medals for the winning team and some of the squad and the coaches have had to do without! The likes of Greg Gilroy, no longer with the club, played in almost every youth fixture and missed the final through injury, and he only got one because sub Gary Wild (still at the club) gave him his. What about Alan Robertson and his staff who made it all possible?

They’ve contacted the SFA but have been told that they are to get no recognition either. We see this as nothing short of a disgrace and are quite sure that it wouldn’t have happened had Rangers triumphed. Livi got six extra medals for their coaches when they won the CIS…so why are we being singled out for the stingy treatment? Winning a tournament as prestigious as the Youth Cup was no easy task and should be rewarded fittingly…once again the top brass have shown that they have little or no knowledge of how to run our game…lets see credit where it’s due…give them more medals!

Read the B&H column in the Kilmarnock Standard every week