Calgary Celtic Supporters Club Also Has Rugby Rights Through Setanta
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
On my recent visit to Calgary, I stopped in early one Sunday morning to Peanuts Sports Pub, which is headquarters to the Calgary Celtic Supporters Club, and met with their members.
Neil Welsh, the president of the Supporters Club, hails from Airdrie, Scotland. The Celtic Supporters Club couldn’t be happier with the Peanuts Sports Pub location where they watch all the football games telecast live from Scotland.
“We have a great rapport with the bar staff who have been just first-class since we started showing the games here,” said Neil Welsh. “For the big games, we have a great five dollar breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns, beans and black pudding, and the coffee is free.”
Speaking about the loss of former Celtic manager, Martin O’Neill and the new Glasgow Celtic Manager, Gordon Strachan, Welsh said, “we had a real rough start to the season – Gordon Strachan came on board and it was probably a change of 10 to 12 players right away. Artmedia knocked us out of the Champions League, 5-0 away from home, it’s never been heard of before.
“Came back to Parkhead and won 4-0 but we didn’t make it, which was a blessing in disguise, because Strachan was able to concentrate on the team and put his ideas into the team.
“Although I’m a great Martin O’Neill supporter, I’d have to say that I was very skeptical of Gordon Strachan when he took over the job. Strachan is actually a Hibernian fan. Growing up, he played for Aberdeen in Scotland and for Manchester United.
“But, I must say, he has proved himself to be a very good manager for Celtic so far. He plays what we call ‘the Celtic way’. We like to see good football, flowing football, and he’s got this team playing that way, and in a sense, we’re delighted.
“Celtic won the CIS League Cup (Co-operative Insurance Society), that’s the first trophy that is played for in the year. The Cup Final is May 13, the same day as the English Cup Final. Everything is falling early this year because of World Cup Soccer in Germany this June.
“I love Roy Keane, he’s making a great difference to Celtic. Just his experience, and he’s great in the dressing room with the kids as well. There’s talk of him retiring at the end of the season, but hopefully not. We’d love to see him play at least one more year and playing Europe for us next year.”
Speaking about the formation of the Supporters Club in Calgary, Neil Welsh said, “years and years ago, we had one club called the ‘Scotland Club’, which encompassed the Rangers supporters and anybody else who wanted to watch the games.
“Sometimes, this arrangement wasn’t a really good fit, so 10 years ago we disbanded the Scotland Club and became the Celtic Club. And although Rangers supporters were still coming to the games, they didn’t want to be part of the Club.
“So, three years ago, Rangers supporters formed their own association and they bring the games into the Drum and Monkey downtown. However, Andy Cooper, who is a Rangers supporter and a member of our Club since day one, won’t go anywhere else to watch the games but here.
“Last year, we held our 10-year anniversary banquet and we honoured John and Joe Christie. Joe has been our treasurer since day one. It was actually John and Joe that started up the Celtic club.”
The Celtic Supporters Club are noted for their charitable works, and the Calgary Celtic Supporters Club support the Tom Baker Cancer Clinic in Calgary. They also donate to the minor soccer association.
The Supporters Club also hold numerous social events for their members throughout the year. Neil said, “every two years we go to Las Vegas, and we love it! This year the North American Federation Convention will be in Windsor, Ontario.
“Then the following year, the fortieth anniversary of the Lisbon Lions – that’s the Celtic team that won the European Cup – is back in Las Vegas. Actually, John McKenny, our past-president was at the very first Celtic Convention in Las Vegas. We have a barbeque on the July 1 weekend for our members and our annual banquet is in September.
“Our activities are non-stop throughout the year. We also show the rugby games and we have the rights to the rugby through Setanta. We bring in the Six Nations, Tri Nations, World Cup, anything like that.
“We’ll be bringing the World Cup in here as well, and it will be absolutely jam packed! With the European Championships and the Six Nations, you couldn’t move in Peanuts. We’ve applied for a licence so that we can open early at 8 AM and the guys can have a drink. One of the best parts of our club, is the socializing.”
The Calgary Celtic Supporters headquarters is located at Peanuts Sports Pub in the Carriage House Inn at 9030 MacLeod Trail, S. Calgary. For more information about the Calgary Celtic Supporters Club, call the games information hotline at (403) 670-5434, or Neil Welsh at (403) 730-1847. Visit: www.nafcsc.com and click on Calgary.
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