The Beautiful Game

9th August 2003 - Morton v Airdrie at Greenock The first day of a new season - I was at Cappielow at the invitation of a friend who's a Morton supporter. A strange thing happened. Let me quote from the account given on a Morton supporters website: "With sixty-six minutes gone referee David Somers collapsed in the centre of the pitch clutching his ankle. Having officiated the match in a manner which suggested he thought the 3806 paying customers had come to see him, it was a surprise to realise that this wasn't just another desperate attempt to attract attention to himself and that he was actually hurt. As he was stretchered off the pitch it became clear there was no fourth official - those being the preserve of the Self-Preservation League - and a replacement official needed to be found. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and on this occasion the man was none other than Chick Kavanagh who quickly swapped his Morton top for his officials ensemble and ran the line to allow the match to continue, which it did after a seven minute delay." Can I give the perspective of a non-Morton supporter on what happened. I was standing towards the front of a covered terraced area which contained the bulk of the Morton support. As soon as it became apparent that the referee was going to be carried off injured, the chant of 'Chick, Chick, Chick' went up from the assembled Greenock hordes. The commotion was particularly centred right at the back of the shed, and it quickly became apparent to me that 'Chick' was currently located in amongst the most densely populated section of the home support. Sure enough, the person who was subsequently identified as 'Chick Kavanagh' detached himself from the scrum, and began making an Elvis-like progress through his faithful disciples towards the pitch, the 'Chick, Chick, Chick' chant growing ever louder. AT THAT TIME CHICK KAVANAGH WAS WEARING A MORTON STRIP !!!!! The whole home support was cheering wildly when Chick vaulted the wall and took several bows in front of his adoring audience. He then hugged and shook hands with a succession of Morton players as he made his way across the pitch to the dressing rooms on the other side. Around about this time a very large penny suddenly dropped with a clunk amongst the Airdrie supporters behind the goal to our right. As they realised what was about to happen they came swarming down the terracing, attempting to get onto the pitch en masse, being held back only by a number of Strathclyde's finest who had been astute enough to anticipate this reaction before it happened. By the time Chick re-emerged onto the field, having completed a Clark Kent (same initials) type transformation into super-linesman, the battling between those from Airdrie and the Polis was in full swing. I had sympathy with the Airdrie supporters. As an away fan, you always suspect the officials of being 'homers' - now here is Morton's biggest fan taking over running the line. Ye cannae make it up. Let's just say that justice was not being seen to be done. Within ten minutes of Chick becoming linesman by popular acclaim, Morton had scored twice and wrapped the match up. Chick didn't actually score either of these goals, but, from an Airdrie perspective, he may as well have done. Shut your eyes for a minute and visualise something similar happening in an Old Firm game. Ye cannae dae it, can ye? Finally, here's a link to a Morton supporters website - see if you can spot any familiar names there? - http://www.gmfc.net/Supporters%20Clubs.htm