Fraser Glen

I still remember the feeling of ecstasy that took over me when Nacho Novo scored the winning penalty that night in Florence. 

My Dad, brother and I jumped around the living room before peeling ourselves off the ceiling and on to the computer to search the Internet for tickets to the final.

However, any website we found either crashed with the hundreds of thousands of Rangers fans in our same desperate position or were selling tickets for obscene amounts of money.

A few days later and still ticketless, I sat in school dreaming of what might be.

Then I felt the vibration of my mobile in my pocket. New message from ‘DAD MOB’. ‘THREE TICKETS FROM RFC!’. 

We had been season-ticket holders for the past six seasons but to be given the chance to watch my team in a European final was a dream come true and something that will most likely never happen again in my lifetime. 

The final was on the May 14, 2008. The only small problem was that I had my English Higher exam the next morning. And, despite the desperate pleas from my Mum, there was no chance I was missing this game

We pulled out of the drive early on the morning of the final, with ‘Follow Follow’ blaring from the CD player before following the sea of red, white and blue down the motorway and on to Manchester. 

If I’m honest, I don’t remember too much about the day, or even the game. I remember it was sunny and that we were one of the first few people to take our seats in the City of Manchester Stadium. But I remember the nerves and the excitement. 

Looking back now, maybe because the occasion was so important, it was almost impossible to take a step back and just to simply enjoy it. 

Rangers went on to lose the game 2-0. It was genuinely heartbreaking. As I stood in the crowd at the end of the game, I saw grown men with tears flooding down their face but still singing their hearts out. It’s amazing how one team and one game can bring together so many people with so much passion.

After a whirlwind 24 hours, I arrived back home at 7.30am, with my exam set to start two hours later.

Rangers might not have won the UEFA Cup and my Mum or teachers might not have been best pleased with my exam preparation but, to say I was there and I experienced it all with my Dad and brother, made it all worthwhile.