THE scheduling of the Scotland game against England at Hampden this weekend wouldn’t have entered Theresa May’s thinking when the Prime Minister called a general election for Thursday, June 8, back in April.
Yet, could going to the polls two days before Gordon Strachan’s side take on Gareth Southgate’s team in a crucial Russia 2018 qualifier – instead of after it – have been serendipitous for May and the Conservative party nevertheless?
A victory for the home side tomorrow will almost certainly lead to a sudden and dramatic upsurge in patriotic fervour. What difference would that have made to the Scottish National Party had the election been held next week or the week after? It is tantalising to speculate.
Dr Neil McGarvey, a senior teaching fellow in politics at the University of Strathclyde, points out that how Scotland have fared on the football field is widely considered to have had a direct bearing on weightier issues elsewhere in the past.
“There was a suggestion at the time of the Scottish devolution referendum in the March of 1979 that Scotland’s failure at the World Cup in Argentina just nine months earlier had played a big part in the result,” said Dr McGarvey.
“Ally MacLeod had engendered such hope among the support beforehand. It seems crazy now, but people did genuinely believe we could win. National confidence took such a dent as a result of the debacle in South America.
“With regards to this general election? It is a hypothetical question because the election was this Thursday and the game is on Saturday. But I am not totally sceptical of its impact. It could make a difference. Scotland will vote differently from England whether the election was held this week or next week. But politicians will all tell you that events do matter.”
The oldest fixture in international football – which was first played at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, way back on November 30, 1872, when the two rivals drew 0-0 – has always been more than just a game of football.
“Historically, Scotland v England has always been really important aspect of national identity, which still has an importance to this day,” said Richard McBrearty, curator at the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden.
“Devolution has added a new dynamic to national identity. Society and the world has moved on and this fixture is evolving within that dynamic. OK, this game is a qualifying match, but it stands far, far higher in terms of public interest. The outcome has huge significance for supporters.
“Scotland is a smaller country than England. Sport is a way for us to stand up and say: ‘Actually, we’re as good as you’. Hence the enormous crowds the fixture attracts and the reason why winning has always been such a big deal in this country.
“Personally, I would rather lose to England and qualify for the finals of a major tournament. France ‘98 seems a very long time ago now.”
Hamish Husband of the West of Scotland Tartan Army, who will be attending his 28th Scotland match against England this weekend, agrees. He believes the importance of the game has diminished as football has changed in the modern era.
“I am old enough to remember when it was the main event in my year,” he said. “But after we started qualifying for European Championships and World Cups that changed.
“The England game is still special, but nothing like it used to be. I would rather we made it through to a World Cup.”
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