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You would think that the professional game would not have an equivalent, that professionals would grow out of childish strops, but in 1909 Dundee Wanderers managed to take the “It’s my ball and I’m going home” huff to a whole new level.
In 1909, a group of Irish immigrants, led by bicycle dealer Pat Reilly, decided to form a new club – then called Dundee Hibernian – as a focus for the local Irish community. They choose an area of Dundee at Clepington Park as a ground for their new team. They only had one problem. Clepington Park was already used by local side Dundee Wanderers. Pat had a quick word with the landlord and after agreeing a higher rent Wanderers, were told to live up to their name, and go and find a new home.
Wanderers were livid. They had been based at Clepington Park for 19 years only to be evicted by a club with no history, no place in any league and, at this point, no manager (though Pat Reilly sorted that out too by appointing… Pat Reilly). In a final act of (understandable) spite before Wanderers left Clepington Park they dismantled the grandstand and wooden changing rooms along with the fencing which enclosed the ground. They even removed the goal-posts so that all that was left was a grass field. In return, Pat Reilly, changed the name of the ground/field to Tannadice Park (named after the nearest street and entrance to the ground) so that no trace of Wanderers remained.
Today, there a few traces of Dundee United’s Irish origin. The name was changed to United in 1923 and the original green colours were changed first to black and white and then to their current orange. Even the fans are no longer referred to as Irish, instead they are known as ‘the Arabs’.
It’s a common mistake to refer to the club as the Arabs, but that name is wrong. The name ‘Arabs’ only refers to the fans not the team itself.
While no one quite knows how the fans got this name, the most common reason given is that in the 1960s, after a particularly icy spell, United hired a tar burner to melt the ice on the pitch. But tar doesn’t just melt ice, it also burnt all the grass beneath.
Undaunted by their lack of a playing surface, United ordered several lorry-loads of sand, spread it around, painted some lines on it, and played several games before the grass grew back. When the team started winning on this unconventional surface they were described as having taken to it like Arabs.
The name stuck and even after the grass returned the Dundee United fans started to dress up for big games and cup final appearances. Hence the fans are now the Arabs and not the team. You’ll also find them singing a rather unusual song with its origins in another part of the world.
‘Love is in the Air’ has been sung at Tannadice for nearly 20 years. It is commonly thought to have been adopted by fans of the club during the Scandinavian invasion of the 90s when the club acquired a clutch of players from Norway and Sweden. Back then, in honour of Kjell Olofsson, it was however sung as “Olof’s in the Air”.
The song achieved tipping point and unofficial anthem status after Dundee United’s famous 1-0 victory in the Scottish cup over Rangers in 1994 – Dundee United’s first ever Scottish Cup triumph. And the Arabs (fans not club) have been singing it ever since.
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About the Author
After too many years as season ticket holder at Parkhead, Andy Todd renounced the SPL three years ago to support Queens Park. One team is a rank bunch of amateurs who play in a state of the art stadium and the other is…(I think we can all see where this is going).
Andy has been performing comedy for 18 months but is currently ‘between gigs’ while he writes a book on Scottish property law to be published in Summer 2012. Its potential audience will be less than 300 but his mum will be very proud.
Follow Andy on Twitter: @toddandy
Check out Andy’s website: www.toddandy.com
