IT blew up and blew over as quickly as Bannockburn or Culloden, but without the casualties. During the build-up to next weekend's opening Euro 2008 qualifier, a row was fought via newspapers and supporters' website message boards about whether or not it was acceptable to "own" the Tartan Army. It was a skirmish rather than a civil war, and diplomatic relations seem to have been restored.
The phrase "Tartan Army" came into common usage during the 1970s to describe the well-refreshed hordes that would occupy the slopes of Hampden, or better still Wembley, to follow Scotland. Back then it was a vast, uncontrollable phenomenon, but over the years the Tartan Army was tamed, organised and reinvented as the selfstyled greatest set of supporters in the world. In 1997, someone bought it.
More specifically, Ian Adie, a Glasgow businessman, purchased the "Tartan Army" trademark. That didn't feel right to a lot of people and there was much debate about the commercial exploitation of the essence of following Scotland.
The issue lay dormant until a couple of weeks ago, when it emerged that two well-known supporters, Bob Shields and Don Lawson, had paid Adie more than GBP100,000 to buy Tartan Army Limited, the Tartan Army trademark, international registrations and domain names.
Shields is especially familiar as a columnist on the Daily Record. His newspaper broke the story about the change of ownership, but its headline did him more public relations harm than good. Within hours of "Our Bob Buys the Tartan Army" being splashed across page three, Tartan Army websites were buzzing with criticism from indignant supporters.
What subsequently helped Shields and Lawson win over most sceptical supporters is the fact that they are such well-kent faces from countless Tartan Army escapades. Having placed a placatory statement on their new website, tartanarmy. com, the pair believe most supporters have been reassured after the initial furore.
"Nobody 'owns' the Tartan Army, " said Lawson, an Inverness publican.
"We are not owners of the Tartan Army, we own the trademark. What caused uproar at first was the headline 'Our Bob buys the Tartan Army' because that sent out totally the wrong message. It has calmed down now.
"I think people in general are behind us. People have said what does it take to be in the Tartan Army and I say if you see someone waving a saltire and your heart beats faster, then you're already in the Tartan Army." Despite the romanticism, their investment in Tartan Army Ltd is unashamedly a commercial venture.
Shields and Lawson intend to launch a range of merchandise and will charter planes to offer packages to away matches, but they accept that supporters will only buy into their venture if they are seen to be offering quality and value for money. And, in the short term, for every pound spent on the Tartan Army name a donation will be made to a charity or sport in consultation with the Association of Tartan Army Clubs. A longer-term intention is to widen the ownership of Tartan Army Limited, and to include rugby and cricket supporters under the Tartan Army umbrella.
In England, the cricket supporters' phrase "Barmy Army" has been a registered trademark since 1995. No wonder Shields and Lawson maintain that if they had not bought the Tartan Army name, someone else would have.
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