Thirty nine years ago I was a young boy of 13 who along with my dad went to see my team at Hampden. I remember vividly the atmosphere. I remember meeting my hero, not for the first time, the enigmatic Ian Ure, who told me Dundee were going to win. I believed him. I remember vividly the action, the amazing performance by Bert Slater in Goal, to this day the best Goalkeeping display I’ve ever seen. I remember vividly the most amazing equaliser by a youthful Kenny Cameron to take us level after going a goal down.
I remember even more vividly the sickening disappointment when Rangers scored two goals in the dying minutes to take the Cup to Ibrox. And that feeling never died. It’s still there, the hurt, the pain. It’s lain dormant like a vile parasite alive within me. Only a win tomorrow can exorcise this forever.
Only a win. Against a Rangers side who’ve swept all before them, lifted the League Cup, won the league championship. Against the giant odds the bookies and the pundits have placed upon us, we go as minnows, supposedly to the slaughter.
Yet I travel the road to Hampden again with as much hope as I did in 1964. With dreams of glory that would be greater than any I’ve witnessed in over 40 years of being a Dee. Beating Rangers tomorrow would be as great as any result Dundee Football Club have ever achieved in their 110 years of history.
Thankfully I don’t travel alone, for such journeys into destiny should never be met head on without some to share the experience. Win or lose all have a need to exult or grieve in company. I will be travelling with 3 of my young kids team, not much younger than I was when I saw my own dreams shattered. They believe, as I did, and do, that Dundee will weather the storm and come out on top. I also have within the memories of my dad, who took me to see most of Dundee’s big games in the 60’s.
I could ask for no better inspirational figures on this great occasion for me and my team. The younger generation who see their first ever Scottish Final and the memories of one who saw the League Cup winning teams of the early 50’s, one who excited me with stories of Billy Steele in full flight. To this day I believe I saw the great man play, though of course I was much too young to have done so.
So, yes, my late dad will be with me tomorrow. I’ve also been having flashbacks to the 1910 Cup winning team, wondering what they must have felt in the early days of football when things were so much simplistic yet the winning must have felt as great.
So maybe it’s our turn. They say what comes around comes around, that history repeats itself. If so, it’s time for a return of the glory years for a provincial team who have suffered so much yet bravely battled through a continuation of relegation and promotion battles for a long time now.
How can I ever forget the first time we were relegated. Me and my dearly departed best mate, Davie Laird, sitting outside Dens Park, very drunk and greeting our eyes out. We felt a need to visit the spiritual home and that was a very moving moment in my many memories. I’m sure Davie’s spirit will be with me very much tomorrow as well. The older you get the more you carry the memories and thoughts of those who didn’t live to see this day.
It’s our turn and our day tomorrow. I feel that in my bones. I’m not over confident, neither am I despondent. Cup Finals are not league matches. The Old Firm have hammered teams out of sight in recent weeks in their run up to the deciding matches, Dundee among the many victims. But a Cup Final is a one off match, with both teams starting equal.
So I take my bairns on their biggest ever crusade tomorrow, a game they’ll never forget as long as they live. With tickets bought for them by kind Dees. And one bought by an Arab, maybe surprising to some but not to me. A scarf, programme and the fish suppers on the way home paid for also by Arabs. This isn’t a "we hate the Old Firm" gesture. More a heartening response by fans of another team who have also experienced the broken heart feeling and hope we go on and do the business.
It’s going to be a strange day for me. Win, and I’ll greet, exorcising old ghosts is an emotional experience. Lose and I’ll still greet, as I’ll feel for those whose dreams will be put on hold as mines have been for so long.
I have no doubt our players know the burden they carry. They carry the hopes and dreams of all dark blues tomorrow. Their entry into the history books, and more importantly, the Hall of Fame for all Dundee fans relies on their ability to pull of a shock result.
May their Gods be with them. And with us. Go on, my beloved Dundee, take us to that long awaited Promised Land. Your destiny awaits you.