10 Most Passionate Fan Bases In Scottish Football
“Football without the fans is nothing,” said the great Celtic coach John Stein who understood what this game meant to the supporters. Fans support their teams from cradle to the grave often unquestioningly but with intense devotion. Fans are delineated as the 12th man in football. Their zeal and passion, their chants and rituals are things that make football “The Beautiful Game”.
Scottish fans are known to be one of the most passionate football fans in the world but always had a competition with England for the most dedicated and zealous fans. The commitment of the fans is the true measure of a club and Scottish clubs have plenty of highly committed fans who are willing to do anything for their respective clubs. In this article, we are going to list some of the most passionate fan bases in Scottish football.
Here are the ten most passionate fan bases in Scottish football.
10) St Johnstone F.C.
It is really easy to support a big club that wins titles every now and then but supporting a club that rarely wins a trophy is what’s called being loyal. Johnstone has a dedicated fanbase that supports the club through thick and thin. Johnstone finished 7th in the 2018-19 Premiership but that didn’t stop the fans from supporting their club and the home attendance in the next season even increased by 0.1%.
The Perth-based club keeps on roaming between the top two divisions of Scotland and thus they have earned the name of ‘Yo-Yo club’. The Saints have rivalries with both of the Dundee clubs and the match between any of these three clubs is called the Tayside derby.
9) St Mirren F.C.
The black and white army of St Mirren is an enthusiastic fanbase who has supported them in every step since the club’s inception in 1877. They won the Scottish Championship in 2017-18. ‘The Buddies’ play their home matches in St Mirren Park which is also known as the Love Street in which the most attendance in a single match was recorded to be 47,438 against Celtic F.C. in 1949.
Chants like “We’ll go wherever St Mirren go”, “Proud to be a buddy”, “Come on You Saints” are often heard roaring out of the stadium. Sir Alex Ferguson transformed this team from the lower half of the 2nd division to the first division champions in 1977.
8) Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock doesn’t particularly have a fanbase as huge as Celtic, Rangers, or other such Scottish clubs but it does have an ardent and zealous local fanbase. Killie fans regularly sing their club anthem “Paper Roses” in a blaring voice echoing in their stadium Rugby Park.
They have been the Scottish champions one time, won the Scottish cup three times, Scottish League cup one time, and have been Scottish first division champions two times. Their average attendance for the 2019-20 season was 5,856. They have a long-standing rivalry with Ayr united with whom they play in the Ayrshire derby.
7) Dundee United F.C.
Dundee United, the Scottish club which was once compared to a corner shop against its supermarket rivals won the Scottish Premier League title in 1983. They have also played in the European cup semi-final in 1983-84 and the UEFA cup final in 1987. The Tangerines are an enthusiastic fanbase. The Dundee United fans commonly known as ‘The Arabs’ are regarded among the most cheerful and spirited supporters in Scotland.
Their home ground is Tannadice Park which has a record attendance of 28,000 against Barcelona in 1966. In the 2019-20 season, they had an average attendance of 8,496 in a ground of 14,223 capacity and that is quite astonishing. They are one of the most passionate fan bases in Scottish football.
6) Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell is a fan-owned club based in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, and was founded in 1866. The club has not won much silverware but it sure has one hell of a passionate fan base. They play their home games in Fir Park which has a capacity of 13,677 and had an average of 5,448 fans in the 2018-19 season.
The club’s record attendance for a home game is 35,632 which was against the Rangers. ‘The Steelmen’ have won six major domestic titles which include a Scottish League Championship. The trailblazing club became the first club in the Scottish top flight to become fan-owned.