THE crowds, the noise, the colour – and the burgers.
Match day at Rangers’ Ibrox stadium brings over 50,000 fans to Govan and transforms the area for a few hours.
The Scottish Sun decided to speak to local residents to hear what it was like to see their surroundings change so dramatically for short spells every week or two.
And one local, whose flat window looks directly out on the stadium, revealed she loves the convenience of nipping out for a burger or a hot dog!
Sophia Smith also like to see so many dads enjoying special moments with their excited kids before the big game.
But she did admit that the small number of supporters who use residential areas as urinals is “quite rough”.
Sophia, 23, said: “When my flatmate proposed the idea to live at a flat at Ibrox when we were flat hunting I was dubious as I know a lot about Anfield and the crowds near there.
“But it’s actually really quiet unless it is a match day.
“On matchday it can be quite hectic as the fans use the wall as a toilet, which can be quite rough.
“One of the things we really enjoy about living here is the hot dog stand and burgers. It’s quite nice being able to go out and get a hot dog and burger sometimes.
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“It is really sweet when we see dads bringing their sons dressed up and take a picture of them at the wall with the stadium in the background.
“We see this about ten times a day and it is really sweet as some people travel really far to come here.
“My boyfriend told me he would have loved this as a wee boy after the stadium roared when a goal was scored during a film we were watching.
“When the window is open it can sometimes shake the room. It can be quite intense.”
Susan Packer, who lives on Copland Road, absolutely loves living in the shadow of the famous stadium – because she’s a huge Gers fan.
Susan, 61, said: “I’m over the moon living close to Rangers. I’m a fan of the club.
“I sometimes mingle with the fans on match days.
“You don’t hear the noise from the stadium from my flat. I can see the stadium from my flat. It’s a pure joy.”
However, one resident is at the end of her tether at the mess left behind after match days.
The local, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed her husband was so furious one day that he dumped a bag of matchday rubbish on the desk of Ibrox chiefs.
They said: “We have complained many times to the club about fans as they pee in the bushes and on the wall.
“They use it as a urinal. It is appalling.
“One day after match day, my husband was so furious, as there were beer bottles all over the place. He put the beer bottles in a black bin bag and walked right in and dumped it on their desks asking for something to be done.
“They do nothing for the local community. We’ve complained about the noise and the fans being rowdy and the singing of sectarian songs.
“It is particularly worse on Old Firm days. We’ve tried everything but nothing gets done.
“My car got scratched by fans on match day but because the police couldn’t see it on the CCTV they couldn’t do anything.
“We have double glazing on our windows and it has good sound proofing and we can still hear every single word.
“Rangers can feel like they can do anything because they know the residents don’t speak out because of fear of retribution.”
Another resident in a similar spot added: “I have been here for 14 years.
“You have to decide if you are in or you are out on a match day.
“We have to pencil in match days in the calendar as one time I forgot and I was trying to get home. I was stuck on the M8 for more than three hours.
“I love it here and I don’t really want to leave but it has gotten too much that I’m thinking about moving out.
“When the football is on forget it as you are either locked in all day or out all day until it has finished.
“It is usually very quiet on the streets and very calm. But on match days it is very noisy and it is a nightmare to park.”
A former resident who lived in front of Ibrox in the 90s with his wife moved out to Carnoustie for more peace so they can raise their son.
George Gordon had come back to revisit his home 30 years later.
He said: “When it was match days I couldn’t get parked but it was very well organised.
“The window looked into the stadium and when people had too many drinks they would use the wall as a urinal.
“We lived there at the height of Rangers when they had Souness and after that they just deteriorated.
“We wanted a quiet area for our wee boy to grow up as it was quite difficult raising him with the noise of the fans.
“It was always cleared very quickly after matches and it was always so good looking afterwards that you wouldn’t even know there had been a match on. We came back to visit our old flat.”
Rajan Sidhu, who runs his family business near Ibrox, claims that the shop was saved by the huge Ibrox crowds.
He said: “It boosts sales on match days. “We are not allowed to sell alcohol for people to drink as it is illegal so we are regularly watched by the police.
“But without football we probably wouldn’t be here.“Nobody has got the money to spend due to the rise in prices but being next to the stadium helped us.
“We have been here for over 20 years so we don’t really have much trouble with and we are respected by the fans.”
Ali Andy, owner of a Turkish barbers, told how tipsy Gers fans joke with his staff.
He said: “We sometimes get drunk Ranger fans passing by asking us for a free haircut but most of the time it is families and their little kids.
“It is really nice seeing them go by with their children all kitted up for the matches. We have been invited a few times to games.
“We don’t have much trouble from the fans on match days. We tend to close 10 minutes before games finish.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
