Some will say I'm about to venture down a road of hypocrisy here, and not for the first time in my life.
I was at the Bet Butler Stadium at Dumbarton last Saturday revelling in the early evening drizzle when news came through that Celtic had drawn Rangers in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.
I couldn't help myself. The internal surges of excitement and anticipation were undeniable. The first Old Firm meeting in over two and a half years, out of nowhere, was an enthralling prospect.
On no subject, surely, have I written more frequently or copiously than the Old Firm: its passion, its dramas, its poisonous bigotry and the rest.
In that time I've also done my fair share of lofty head-shaking and poo-pooing of the fixture…of how Scotland could do without it, of how tawdry and despicable it can be at times.
I've delivered all the lines: the A&E scenarios, the domestic violence spikes, the "scar on society" and the rest.
Yep, done 'em all. I've got the medal for self-righteous disdain. I've utterly deplored the disgusting Old Firm spectacle.
Now I can't wait for the end of January. I can scarcely keep myself from looking ahead to this Hampden cup semi, having been starved of the fixture for so long. I simper quietly to myself just thinking about a Celtic-Rangers match after this Glasgow derby period of purdah.
They - our moral guardians out there - are flashing up their warning signs already about the match. There's trouble ahead. There's yet more poisonous singing to come. A few wives/women are set to take a few blows. Doctors and nurses, like some battle-scarred village on the Western Front, are on a red alert.
If I wanted to I could dig out some of my own stuff about "the Old Firm being a blight on Scottish society". And there is a lot of truth in all this. The fixture can attract everything that is primeval or bad in west of Scotland man.
Well, hurry up and bring it on. Let's just get to the end of January right now. Because, in spite of everything, this is a Celtic-Rangers game to cause a sensory overload.
To be honest, I'm not expecting great football. In fact sometimes - not always - the quality of football in the Glasgow derby can be like something out of the Ayrshire Juniors.
This looming cup tie might fall into that category, such is the panting for it, the lusting for the day to arrive. The atmosphere around it is going to be so charged, so hyped, that I'm not sure much football will break out.
Yet the fixture has been sorely missed by hundreds of thousands of people. For some peculiar reason, a few Rangers and Celtic fans make a point of denying this, affecting not to have missed it at all.
This is The Great Lie. In truth, I would say 99% of Celtic and Rangers fans have really, really missed it. The Old Firm match, warts and all, is absolutely engrossing to take in.
You can smell the cordite already. Bring it on. Hurry up.
ALSO…
Gordon Strachan has included Rangers' 20 year old Lewis Macleod in his 27-man Scotland squad for the games against the Republic of Ireland and England. So, cue the applause and approval of the football nation.
Hang on...what's this? Some are up in arms and positively splenetic at Macleod's international call-up.
There are Dundee United fans and Aberdeen fans raging that, while the young Ranger gets summoned, players like Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Jack have been omitted.
First, let's be clear about this. Macleod is a magnificent Scottish prospect. So whatever the usual arguments are about "if him, then why not him?" there should be no doubting the Rangers player's merit in being selected.
Yes, of course Old Firm players appear to receive an advantage in terms of international call-ups. That is not to be denied. Stevie May, omitted during a stellar season last year for St Johnstone, once more proved this time-honoured truth.
Personally, I'm not disregarding the talents of Armstrong, Jack, Peter Pawlett or anyone else. I just see, in Macleod, a player whose skill genuinely warrants a Scotland call-up.
Well done Gordon Strachan. It's a good shout.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article