Aussie Saints fans were left radio ga-ga

Mar 18 2010 by Gavin McInally, Paisley Daily Express

SITTING nervously by the TV in the early hours of the morning, not knowing if the next snippet of text to scroll across the screen will bring joy or misery, is every football fan’s idea of torture.

But for St Mirren die-hard Michael Connelly and his Saints-daft son, also Michael, life as a Buddie Down Under could be a whole lot worse ... and it certainly has been.

The Paisley family moved to the sunnier climes of Australia 28 years ago but their passion for St Mirren has never faded.

We told how Michael Jnr has travelled more than 10,000 miles back to Scotland to see his boyhood heroes in the Co-operative Insurance Cup Final at Hampden on Sunday.

And as he prepares for his special day out with the Black and White Army he couldn’t help comparing it to his usual experience of a Saints match.

“For my dad and I, keeping up-to-date with St Mirren results usually involves watching Teletext at three in the morning every weekend,” he said.

“You sit there watching the minute-by-minute updates hoping that the next one is a goal for us and not against us.

“But you won’t hear a complaint from us about it because we remember the days when we had to wait until Monday morning and hope our local paper had the space to print the Scottish First Division results.”

He added: “The internet and digital TV has changed everything for us but it doesn’t seem that long ago when we were relying on short-wave radios and results phone-lines which told you the St Mirren score after the English Conference scores!”

Trek

Michael’s dad hasn’t joined him on the 30-hour trek from Tasmania to Paisley after blowing his holiday budget to come and see St Mirren last year, but he’s hoping his son experiences the same joy as he did in the stands at Hampden in 1959.

The 58-year-old, who grew up in the West End of Paisley, was just a youngster when the Buddies descended on Scotland’s national stadium to see Saints beat Aberdeen 3-1 and lift the Scottish Cup.

He recalled: “It was such a fantastic day, and even though I was quite young at the time, I’ll never forget it.

“I was also at the final in 1962 when we were beaten by Rangers, although the experience itself was still incredible.

“In 87 I was in Australia and when the news came through we’d won I was in tears, it was an incredible feeling. I had a whisky to celebrate and Michael had a lemonade.”

He added: “I’m really jealous Michael is going across for the final but I spent my holiday allowance coming over for the last ever game at Love Street, which was then changed to another date!”

However, the science and maths teacher, who lives in Tasmania with his wife Margaret, will be able to enjoy the cup final on digital TV this year – which is easier than his first ‘away’ game almost three decades ago.

Michael Jnr said: “When we first came over to Australia we were desperate to find out how St Mirren had got on over the weekend and there used to be a number you could call which listed all the British results.

“As you can imagine, the Scottish First Division was lower than the lowest English leagues, even the Conference Division, so we had to wait ten minutes to find out we’d been beaten 7-0 by Raith Rovers.

“My dad refused to believe it so he phoned it again and waited 10 minutes to be told the same score line.

“To be fair, our short-wave radio wasn’t all that much better. You would hear the commentator scream ‘goal’ and then it would go fuzzy for a few minutes and you had no idea who’s scored.

“Setanta was an absolute gift and we managed to see a bundle of games and even though ESPN only show the Old Firm matches it’s still great to see a St Mirren match every now and then.

“It’s certainly better than what we were used to!”

Micheal is now looking forward to taking his seat in the stand at Hampden for the Cup Final.

And he’s hoping to fly back to Australia with special memories to rival his finest day as a Buddie.

On a family holiday more than 23 years ago he was lucky to be chosen as a mascot for a league game against Hearts and met his all-time Saints hero, goalie Campbell Money.

He added: “I have so many great memories of St Mirren but being a mascot and meeting Campbell Money is one of my favourites.

“Back then the ball boys looked after you and you could run about mental on the field and score goals before the game kicked-off.

“I would only have been seven or eight at the time and I remember it so clearly, it was great.

“Let’s hope I leave Hampden feeling just as good as I did back then.”