God, glory and T-shirts

No, not another post about whether the Pope or George Clooney is more popular, because the answer is becoming increasingly clear: it’s the Pope. As well developing his own line of snazzy T-shirts to celebrate his US tour, he’s featured on a goalie’s front … there’s just one problem, it’s the wrong Pope!
Celtic’s goalkeeper Artur Boruc caused another storm of controversy last week (it’s not his first storm, he attracts them like Wimbledon fortnight does) dividing Scottish football fans into two unequal, and very noisy, groups. As the Pole took the applause of the home faithful at the end of the Hoops’ 3-2 Old Firm victory over their most bitter rivals, Rangers, he removed his player’s shirt to reveal an immediately controversial T-shirt underneath. It showed not Benedict XVI, the current pontiff, but Pope John Paul II and read ‘God bless The Pope’.
Gordon Strachan poured oil on the fire in his after-match comments. The Celtic manager laughed off the incident with the peculiar comment, ‘He’s not a bad lad, to be fair,’ without making clear whether he was referencing the former head of the Catholic Church or the goalie. ‘If it was “God bless Myra Hindley”, I might have a problem,’ he concluded, leaving us all to wonder exactly what goes on in the average footballer’s, or football manager’s, head!
Celtic fans celebrating in their usual style courtesy of dustpuppy
Add comment May 2nd, 2008

























