A 100 Years Of The Hoops Poem by Daniel McDonagh

A hundred years of the Hoops in 2003,
A century of wins for the fans to cheer,
From the days of playing at old Celtic Park,
To the modern day stadium that Fergus built.

History has unfolded to old Irish eyes
Who saw memorable games from old Celtic stars,
Where pride was played in those green & white shirts,
As men of the ‘30’s struggled without work.

As the war in Europe, saw football decline,
Some stars of the Celtic fought on the front line,
They never returned to lace up their boots
Or wear again the famous Hoops.

When the fifties appeared, fans of the Hoops where in heaven,
As the Rangers goal was hit by seven,
And Bertie Peacock, the man from Coleraine,
Held high the trophy as Celtic captain.

When Jock Stein was asked, if he would come back,
to the Hoops, the fans and Celtic Park,
He shook the hand of Sir Robert Kelly,
And took the Celtic into football history.

Like David & Goliath, those Celtic men,
Outplayed on the pitch, Inter Milan,
And their fans would walk in Glasgow with pride
And paraded their colours of green & white.

But legends can’t live, with results from the past
As big Jock Stein departed from the halls of Celtic Park,
For Billy McNeil to continue his reign
And to make heroes again out of Celtic men.

In a midweek game against the Rangers we played,
How the cameras had wished they had stayed,
When four goals from Celtic brought us glory
As we polished again, the League Championship trophy.

The eighties appeared, Celtic with class,
From the talent and skill of Charlie Nicholas,
Who wore the Hoops for the fans of the “Jungle”,
Where they would raise the roof from Charlie’s goals.

But McNeil & Nicholas, they both travelled south,
Their love for Celtic had grown bitter & sour,
The fans where wishing for the old winning days
When appointed as head coach was Davie Hay.

The power in Glasgow had seen a turn
As Ibrox had captured one of Liverpool’s sons,
Souness had bought a championship team,
And knocked out the stride of the bhoys in green.

But in ‘88, big McNeil had come home,
With special orders from the Vatican & Rome,
“Bring the fans victory, show Rangers no fear”;
Celtic won the double in their Centenary Year.

Then darkness lay heavy over Parkhead‘s sky
As Brady & Macari, as managers, captured no prize,
But in 1995, the Scottish Cup returned
As Celtic were led by the faithful Tommy Burns.

But Burns fairytale story came to an end
And replaced by a stranger by the name of Wim Jansen,
Who brought to us Larsson, the talented Swede,
Who’s eye for goal brought us the Cup & the League.

We’ve also had Venglos, Dalglish & Barnes,
Who nearly turned our history, into a sham,
But we returned so proudly from the darkness of hell,
As our tradition was restored by Martin O’Neill.

So in 1888, Celtic became a team,
But it was in 1903 that we saw the Hoops of green,
So for the future players who play the Celtic way,
Shall wear with pride, the green & white jersey.

April'2nd 2003