Author's note: First off, I want to give a shout-out to TaioraWarrior, Drake-El, CherrygirlUK19, Squit Aymin, rmiller92, LightingUpTheeSky for their reviews (Not dbzgtfan2004; you suck). Second, only 7 reviews? Come on, I know you like this! Can I please have some more reviews? Anyway, enough dawdling. LET'S GET IT ON!

December 27, 2008

Derby day; around the world, those words invoke images of wonder. This is the time when an entire city stops and watches their two football teams battle it out. Great rivalries like Boca Juniors and River Plate in Buenos Aires; Inter and AC Milan; the London rivals, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham; Madrid: Real vs. Atletico; Liverpool and Everton; Manchester United and City; Pumas and Club America in Mexico City; Los Angeles, the Galaxy and Chivas USA; AS Roma and Lazio in Rome; Juventus and Turin; FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol; Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians in Dublin; Hearts and Hibernian in Edinburgh; even baseball, the Chicago White Sox and Cubs; these matches capture their city's imagination and turns the city into a battlefield. But in Glasgow, there is one derby that in the minds of the city, towers over all of these: the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers.

Dating back to 1888, this rivalry has torn the city of Glasgow in two; Rangers, backed by the Presbyterian establishment of Glasgow and Scotland and loyalists, and Celtic, supported by Irish Catholics and Irish Republicans. This rivalry transcends the sport in good and bad ways. It is not just a rivalry, but a religious and political war. Rangers supporters wave the British Union Jack and sing pro-British songs. Celtic fans wave the Irish tricolor and the flag of the Four Provinces and sing Irish rebel songs. Because of this the city had been plagued with sectarian troubles for years. But to the players on the field, that does not matter. All that matters is the match at hand. To them, the three points that come with the win are the goal.

Today, we will start by focusing on Maggie Gordon and Sora Takenouchi. Sora prepared in her and Tai's apartment. Due to the 1:30 start time, Tai had gotten up fairly early, probably around 6:00 in the morning. After a hearty breakfast that included some seaweed (he still wasn't able to get used to it) Tai got into his Celtic training jacket and pants and got ready to leave for Celtic Park. The team was going to take the team bus to Ibrox, that's the reason he was going to Parkhead. "What time do you think you'll be at the match?" Tai asked.

"I think around 10:30 or 11:00," Sora replied. "We're meeting Kari and TK at their hotel before going to the match."

"Okay then," Tai said. "Be careful, okay? This rivalry's volatile."

"We will," she replied. "Maggie and I are planning to hide our colors until we get to the stadium."

"That sounds good," Tai said.

Maggie meanwhile did not prepare with Scott—he was preparing on his own. Instead, she made the flag pole to wave a flag that Scott had given her for Christmas and he wanted her to wave it for him. Getting into the stadium was the hard part; hell, not just that, but keeping it hidden until she got to the stadium. There was a knock on the door and Maggie told the person to come in. Scott came in, wearing his training gear and carrying a kit bag. "What's up?" He asked as he closed the door.

"Workin' on this pole," she said in return. "I'm not sure how I'm going to get it into the stadium."

"That stinks," Scott replied. "I already had breakfast and I have to get to Parkhead soon. I can't stay because Kamiya and Chapman are going to show up soon." Sure enough, there was a knock on the door of Maggie's apartment.

"Michaels, let's go!" Luke Chapman called from the other end.

"One minute," Scott replied. It was then that Maggie leaned in and gave the stunned American a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck," she said. Scott smiled, picking up his kit bag before leaving.

Tai left the apartment a few minutes later. "Wish me luck," he said.

"Do you even need it?" Sora asked. Tai laughed in response.

"I guess you're right," he said. "I'll see you later."

"See you," Sora called. Tai rushed to the elevator and pressed the down button. About two floors down, Chapman and Scott entered the elevator.

"You ready?" Scott asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Tai replied.

"Good for you," Chapman responded.

[][][]

In the hours before kick-off, Sora Takenouchi and Maggie Gordon waited in the lobby for Tai Kamiya's younger sister Kari and her boyfriend T.K. Takaishi. Neither of them wore Celtic colors, since they really had no intention of getting into any trouble until they got to Rangers' Ibrox Stadium. Maggie did have a yellow flag under her arm (it was folded up) and Sora carried a green flag, also folded. The lobby was buzzing, and whether it had anything to do with the match today. The plan was to take the Glasgow Subway to Ibrox. The amount of traffic getting to the match would have been too much.

The match started at 1:30 local time, so they were there at around 10:30 AM. They had called to Kari and TK's room a while ago and the two were just getting ready, so it would only be a few more minutes. Finally, a girl around the age of 18 with shoulder-length brown hair showed up with a boy about her age with blond hair. Sora smiled at the two. "Kari! TK!" She called. Kari and her boyfriend noticed Sora calling and waving to them and walked over to Sora.

"Hey, Sora!" She said. "Did you like your presents?"

"Tai loved his," Sora replied. "I liked the sweater you gave me."

"Well that's nice," Kari said. She looked at Maggie and she seemed confused. "Who's she?"

"Oh, her?" Sora said. "This is Maggie Gordon. She's a friend of one of Tai's teammates."

"Oh, hello," Kari said to Maggie, extending her hand to her.

"Nice tae meet ya," Maggie replied.

"Oh, you're Scottish?" Kari asked.

"Aye," Maggie replied. "And who's he?"

"I'm TK," he replied. "I'm her boyfriend and one of Tai's friends."

"Nice tae meet ya too," Maggie replied. "Well, our seats are in the Celtic supporters' section in the west stand of Ibrox," Maggie said. "I got us first-row tickets!"

"Really?" Kari asked. "So how are we getting there?"

"We're takin' the Buchanan Street Station on the Glasgow Subway," Maggie said. "Our stop is at the Ibrox Station."

"Okay," said Kari. "Well then, let's get going!"

[][][]

The main entrance to the Buchanan Street Station had two low bollards with a glass roof over the elevators. A low approach wall led south on each side of the entrance. The quartet of Maggie, Sora, Kari and TK went up a slope into the area at the top of the escalators and central steps. The quartet got their tickets, which had a magnetic stripe on it. With their tickets purchased, the quartet went to the main platform.

The inner circle of the station was served by and island platform lying west of that for outer, which was against the wall of the station. A glass barrier ran across the east edge of the inner circle platform. There seemed to be some football fans here, but they weren't quite sure. Soon, the orange-colored train arrived at the station. The train was headed for Ibrox, so this one was the one they wanted.

"Is this like the Tokyo subway?" Maggie asked Kari once they got on the train.

"No," Kari replied. "The Tokyo subway is much more complex."

"Okay," said Maggie. "Sorry I have tae make small talk."

"It's okay," said Kari. They mostly stayed silent, not wanting to get into any trouble with Rangers supporters. Kari pointed to her green-and-white scarf in her purse while TK didn't wear any Celtic colors. Kari did yawn on occasion, as if she was still dealing with the effects of jet lag. She really should have slept that jet lag off.

Finally, they reached the Ibrox station. As they got off the train, they saw place swarmed with the blue, white and red of Rangers FC. Clearly this was no place to wear green.

They came up on the west side of Copland Road. This being a match day, the place was again swarmed by Rangers supporters. Every which way they could see the British Union Jack and the Red Hand of Ulster. People wearing blue were everywhere. Just how they were going to get to the west stand of the stadium was another story. They felt like foreigners; Sora, TK and Kari were obviously foreigners, but that's not the point. They felt like foreigners because these were clearly not friendly fans. Any wrong move and they could be in big trouble.

There was a huge Strathclyde police presence in full force today. Maggie had to go up to a police officer just to get instructions to get to the west stand. The officer pointed in the west direction and the quartet managed to get to the west stand, where the Celtic supporters were gathering. Finally, they were among a friendly crowd.

Now among the Celtic contingent, Maggie and Sora took out their Celtic scarves and put them on. Maggie then handed the tickets to Kari, Sora and TK. "Keep this with ye," she said. Due to the mass of Celtic fans, it would take a while for them to enter the stadium, but eventually, the managed to enter the stadium through the famous blue gates.

Their seats, once again, were in the first row of the stand just to the left of the goal (from their perspective). They had a good view of the pitch and could see the players beginning their warm-ups. They settled down in their seats as Sora and Maggie got a pair of poles for their flags. With Kari and TK's Help, they attached their flags to the poles. The flag Sora was to wave was a green flag with a gold harp on it over the words "Erin go bragh." Maggie's flag was yellow with a coiled snake on it over the words "Don't tread on me".

"Why are you waving that?" Kari asked.

"It's the Gadsden flag, as Scott told me," Maggie said. "He said that supporters of US Soccer wave it and he wants me tae wave it."

"Oh, I see," said Sora. Unlike Celtic Park, Ibrox's seats were blue and there were a pair of video screens. Supposedly this was a UEFA Five-Star stadium, but to Kari, it didn't seem like it.

[][][]

Now we will not only skip ahead but shift our focus to the players. In the changing room of Ibrox, the Celtic players prepared mentally for the match. The players were not only preparing mentally, they were preparing physically. They were getting on their kits, getting ready to walk onto the pitch for warm-ups. Tai had some earbuds in, while Scott had full-blown headphones on. Scott laced up his Gator Nikes while Tai put on the Nike boots he got for Christmas.

A few minutes later, the players walked onto the pitch for warm-ups wearing their training jackets. The seats were not completely filled yet, but that didn't matter. They'd be filled by match time, anyhow. They started with their legs. They'd be running so much that they had to get those things first. Suddenly, they could hear the Rangers' supporters cheering. The Rangers must have come on the field. But they could not focus on that right now. Right now all that mattered was the match.

Tai did look over at the Rangers and saw Davis warming up with him. A feeling of anger swelled up inside him, but he killed it; you cannot play angry, especially in a heated rivalry like this. Luke noticed this, of course. "Kamiya, what's wrong?" He asked while stretching out his right leg.

"I'd rather not focus on that," Tai replied.

"Good point," said 'keeper Artur Boruc.

The stands continued to fill. In the west end, the green began to ill up while the rest of the stadium began to fill up with blue. The singing match had also begun. The Celtic contingent was already singing their songs. No doubt, Maggie, Sora, Kari and TK were singing some of those. As time progressed, the stands continued to fill up with supporters. A group of police officers were separating the Celtic contingent from the rest of the stadium.

With warm-ups done, the teams then moved to last-minute practice before leaving the pitch. Tai mainly kicked a few balls at the goal, which Artur Boruc stopped. Scott played on defense and offense for the practice.

Game time was rapidly approaching. The stands were almost filled with the green of Celtic and the blue of Rangers. The two teams left the pitch to the applause of both sets of fans. You'd wonder just how long that would last. Finally, both teams were of the pitch and headed for the changing rooms.

[][][]

In Scott Michaels's hometown of Northfield, Illinois, his brother Jimmy was woken up by his cell phone alarm. Jimmy was staying with their parents Bob and Bridget for Christmas and was leaving for Orlando later today. But he had a chance to watch his brother playing. He got up and walked over to his desk where his laptop sat and opened it. After logging onto the internet, he went to Celtic's streaming for subscription sit, Channel 67. He clicked on the game that he wanted and waited as the stream popped up. "Nice," he said. "Come on, Scottie!"

[][][]

In the Celtic changing room, the players changed out of their training jackets and shirts and put on their regular, green-and-white hoped shirts. They sat around, anticipating when they would take the field. In the eyes of each of these athletes burned the competitive fire that burned within all athletes; a fire that burned like brighter than a thousand suns.

Any athlete who says they are not anxious before a big game or race or event is probably lying. Sure, there are athletes who are so used to being in big games or events that they treat it just like any other. But there is a time, usually early in their career that they are anxious. It can either be nervousness or excitement. It probably depends on who you talk to. This is the feeling inside Scott and Tai. Neither of them had been in a match like this before.

Sure, they had been in rivalry matches before. Tai had to deal with this against JEF Chiba United and Scott against the Evanston Wildkits or the Miami Hurricanes. But neither had been in anything like this. This is one of the biggest rivalries in football; a rivalry that has split an entire city in two with its just purely divisive political and religious undertones. But those undertones didn't matter to them. All that mattered was the match at hand.

Gordon Strachan entered the changing room. The players directed their gazes at him as he prepared his pre-match speech. "Three points," he said. "Three points, which is our goal for today. It has nothing to do with what ye think; it has nothing tae do with the politics, or the religion. All this is is just one match of many. Yes, this is our big rival. But that's why this is important. I don't want ye tae think aboot provin' which politics is better. No, that's fer the fans. Our goal is to put that ball in the net and win this match. Don't get wrapped up, just do your duty; play your game and in the end, you cannot lose.

"Don't let up; they will overrun ye. Don't let them push ye; instead, push back. Play hard and play your best. If ye don't, ye won't be celebratin'. But again, remember: three points. That's our goal. And if ye ferget, then what the fuck are ye doin' playin' football? Because all that matters at the end of the day is those three points and that's it! One pont is not good enough and a loss is unacceptable, especially against them! I want ye tae play yer best football and think about those three points and do what you can tae get that win! We hit them and we hit them hard! Dae not let up and do not let them push ye, got that? Now get out there!" The Celtic players clapped in response and stood up to leave the changing room.

As they left the changing room, they met up with the Rangers starting XI. The Rangers wore their traditional blue shirts, white shorts and black socks with a red top. Of course, there were the small details. The Rangers top was anatomically cut, with curvy lines separating the torso and arms. The curvy lines were also on the sides as well. The shirt also had a white collar. The black socks had a red band in the middle with the Umbro logo on it. Rangers' traditional crest, an interlocking 'RFC' in a scroll-font was on the right breast. The Carling logo adorned the chest. Their numbers were white. Celtic wore their regular kits; it was tradition to wear these colors against Rangers.

Scott looked to his right. Davis was standing right next to him. Tai's former protégé looked a bit like him—save for the hair, of course. He also noticed that Davis was wearing long-sleeved shirt and it was un-tucked. It was just a minor detail. Scott of course wore his short sleeves and gloves. Davis gave him a glance before looking away again. In the back, Tai glanced at the man next to him, Rangers' top scorer Kris Boyd. Mike Jefferson, Scott's protégé was in front of Boyd. Tai wore long sleeves, unlike Scott. Then, the players began walking out of the players' tunnel. Outside, the atmosphere was at a critical level; this is not a bad thing, of course. But this was no ordinary away match. Old Trafford was a home match compared to this.

They were in the belly of the beast.

The Celtic fans were fully gathered, and they were waving their flags. Maggie waved the Gadsden Flag Scott had given to her. A few fans had asked her what she was waving it for and she replied that Scott had given it to her. Sora also waved the Erin go bragh flag that Scott had given her. Kari and TK did not have flags to wave, much to their disappointment. One fan was waving an Irish tricolor and another waved a flag of the Four Provinces. The crowd noise was growing.

The song playing on the PA was the song "Simply the Best" by Tina Turner. The Rangers supporters were clapping and singing along as best they could. Even though it was almost 1:30, it seemed like late afternoon, probably due to how late in the year it was. It was cold, but probably in the low 30s. There was anticipation, as the teams were about ready to take the pitch. Over at the entrance tunnel, several employees were waving red and blue flags.

The teams entered the tunnel and began to come out. They could hear the music playing, and the crowd noise growing louder. Then when they exited the tunnel, the referees led them. Now this is how Scottish football differs from English football or the Champions League: instead of walking out and lining up on the pitch, the players jogged or sprinted onto the field. And this is what happened. As soon as the players left the tunnel, each team split off and ran out onto their respective sides. At this point, the crowd roared in response. Scott and Tai got a burst of adrenaline when they heard this.

In the Celtic end, the fans also roared in response. Confetti rained down on crowd as they came out onto the pitch. The song playing then hit the chorus as the Rangers fans (and some Celtic fans) sang along:

"You're simply the best!
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I've ever met!"

At the same time, after Artur Boruc blessed himself, the Celtic starting XI gathered and according to tradition, got into their huddle. The Celtic fans cheered loudly, Maggie, Sora, Kari and TK included. In the huddle, Captain Stephen McManus addressed the team. "Don't listen tae the Rangers' fans! Just focus on the match, got it? We can win this! 1-2-3!"

"Celtic!" The team broke the huddle and took their positions. The song had changed, this time to a techno version of the Rangers' anthem "Follow Follow".

Though the streets be broad and narrow
As follow we will
Follow we will
Though the streets be broad and narrow
As follow we will
We will follow in the footsteps of our team

Follow, follow we will follow Rangers
Everywhere anywhere
We will follow on
Follow, follow, we will follow Rangers
If they go to Dublin we will follow on

The starting XI for each team looked like this:

Rangers staring XI (4-4-2):

GK 1 Alan McGregor; DF 3 David Weir; DF 5 Sasa Papac; DF 28 Steven Whitaker; DF 21 Kirk Broadfoot; MF 6 Barry Ferguson (C); MF 4 Pedro Mendez; MF 10 Davis Motomiya; MF 35 Steven Davis; FW 11 Mike Jefferson; FW 9 Kris Boyd

Celtic Starting XI (4-4-2):

GK 1 Artur Boruc; DF 2 Andreas Hinkel; DF 4 Stephen McManus (C); DF 6 Gary Caldwell; DF 3 Lee Naylor; MF 14 Luke Chapman; MF 19 Barry Robson; MF 5 Scott Michaels; MF 8 Scott Brown; FW 16 Tai Kamiya; FW 7 Scott McDonald

As they got into their positions, Scott and Tai got a look at Davis and Mike. Celtic defended the west end while Rangers defended the east stand. The music somehow began to get quieter, and time slowed down like many a clichéd scene in sports movies. Since Tai was going to kick off, he got a look at Davis. Davis was glaring at both Scott and Tai. Tai focused his glare on Davis. He thought it looked like the posture Hayden Christensen was in before the big fight with Obi-Wan in Star Wars III. Scott got a good look at Davis and he saw the anger in his eyes. Scott also glared at Davis, narrowing his eyes. Scott got a look at Mike. He too, was glaring at Scott and Tai. Tai ignored Mike and focused on the kick-off.

Tai nodded at the referee and the referee blew his whistle. He nudged the ball to Scott McDonald who kicked it back to Stephen McManus who in turn kicked the deep into the Rangers' end. Behind them, the Celtic supporters could be heard chanting, "(x, x, x-x-x-x) CEL-TIC! (x, x, x-x-x-x), CEL-TIC! (x, x, x-x-x-x) CEL-TIC!" Tai caught the ball on his chest once he got to the Rangers' end. He was defended by Rangers captain Barry Ferguson, a wily veteran. Tai displayed some Brazilian style footwork to try and trick Ferguson.

With a quick spin move, Tai sneaked past Ferguson, moving into the penalty box. He looked to the other side of the pitch to see Scott tangled up with Pedro Mendez. Scott McDonald looked open and waiting for a pass to sneak past McGregor. It was only the first minute of the match, but Tai could see that Celtic already had a golden opportunity to score. Tai drove forward, preparing to pass to McDonald.

But then, he felt himself trip up and fall to the ground hands first. He felt dazed instead of acting hurt. He was more surprised than anything. But he looked behind him to see who had tripped him up and noticed Davis shrugging as if to say, 'too bad.' Tai's face contorted in anger. Alan McGregor had already grabbed the ball so there was nothing he could really do about it. But he was going to get Davis for this as he left the Rangers' zone for the Celtic.

McGregor kicked the ball into Celtic territory. Celtic 'keeper Artur Boruc ordered the Celtic defense to organize and they did just that. In this part of the field, Scott was tangled up with Mike instead of Mendes. Scott was getting physical with Mike, trying to make sure the American forward wouldn't get anywhere near the ball. The ball indeed came to them, and Scott headed the ball to Luke Chapman, who took it on his chest and took it back into the Rangers half of the field being defended against Sasa Papac.

The Rangers defense regrouped and prevented Luke from getting any further, so he scooted the ball over to Scott Brown. Brown then sent the ball over to Scott Michaels on the near side by the sideline. Scott took off down the sideline, trying to get past the Rangers defenders, eventually coming across Davis when he stopped. For Scott, this was familiar; he had come up against Davis in the Bronze Medal match earlier in the year. A quick look to the penalty box, however, showed Scott that Tai was deep in the box, tangling with Barry Ferguson. So instead of trying to get past Davis, Scott gave the ball a hefty kick, sending it into the penalty box, a waiting Tai.

Tai watched the ball sail to him, and he got in position to try and head the ball in. He leapt up and prepared to do so, only to find Rangers 'keeper Alan McGregor leap in to catch the ball, causing Tai to fall to the ground. He slapped himself mentally before getting up and trotting back into Celtic territory while McGregor cleared the ball. Tai shook his head.

Back in the Celtic zone, Scott and Davis jumped up to try and head the ball to either the Rangers zone or towards the Celtic net. Scott got there first, heading the ball to the half-way circle. Too bad the ball was picked up by Pedro Mendes. But the Celtic defense would not break, and instead clamped down on Rangers, forcing them into a passing game for about 2 minutes. Stephen McManus pointed and yelled out commands to the players, leading the defense like a great general.

At the ten-minute mark, Scott and Davis got tangled up, waiting for Barry Ferguson to pass to their general direction. Their field position was close to the penalty box, so it was a tactical battle, as well. If Davis got the ball, he could drive to the net and score the opening salvo. If Scott got the ball, he could help lead Celtic into the Rangers' end and quite possibly score as well. Ferguson, of course, could see that it was a fool's errand to pass to Davis, especially since Ferguson was at the midfield circle. Instead, Ferguson tried to pass to Steven Davis. Ferguson scooted the ball over to S. Davis, thinking it would be an easy pass.

Instead, Tai came out of nowhere and intercepted the ball. Instantly, the Rangers defense was thrown into disarray as Tai broke towards the Rangers' zone. Behind him, the Celtic fans began yelling and cheering in encouragement, while the Rangers supporters were screaming for him to be stopped. It didn't matter though, because Tai was too fast for them, anyway. In less than a second, he was within striking distance of the goal. Ranger 'keeper Alan McGregor was screaming for any kind of backup, but it wasn't coming. Tai was still behind the linesman, so he was onside. Soon, he got past the closest Rangers' defender. Since he was behind the ball, he was not offsides. Now it was time to fire it home.

"Kamiya, on the break, here's the kick…"

Tai fired from just outside the penalty arc, thinking that it was a perfect shot. It was indeed on target for the goal, and McGregor was leaning to his left side to try and stop the ball. The thousands inside Ibrox Park held their breaths, some in hope for a goal, others just hoping McGregor could stop the ball. Soon, the ball was close enough, and Tai jumped up and down in anticipation of a goal. McGregor stretched, reaching out his arms and…

…Caught the ball.

A collective groan swept through the stadium, about ¼ of that groan in disappointment, while the ¾ in blue groaned/sighed in relief as McGregor tucked the ball into his chest and landed on the field. Tai threw his head back and groaned himself. He had thought it would be a goal, but McGregor had reacted at the right time and did what a good goalkeeper is supposed to do. Tai could only shake his head as he trotted back into the Celtic zone.

For the next twenty minutes, the pace of the match slowed down. No team was really able to get any chances on goal, only a few errant shots that were nowhere near the goal. There were throw-ins, but nothing of importance. Most of the forward progress was to the penalty box, and that was it. The defense would send it back into the opposing zone, usually to be picked up by the goalkeeper.

Most of the action took place around midfield. The two rivals' passing games were the most tested aspects of each team's game. That's how it was; just a pair of teams passing the ball around for about 20 minutes.

Then Celtic broke out.

Luke was able to get a pass of to Scott. He was confronted by Davis, who came running up to him. Scott juked to the right, then left. He was trying to throw Davis off. Then, with a move reminiscent of legendary Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers, Scott extended his left leg out and broke away from Davis, leaving the Japanese midfielder in his dust. Scott broke away and passed to Tai on the far side.

Tai took the ball up the left side of the field while Scott went down the middle. Tai had no clear shot at McGregor, making this particular play identical to the goal Scott scored to beat Manchester United. And again, Tai passed to Scott. But this time, Scott had time to shoot and he sprinted towards McGregor to fire just inside the penalty arc. McGregor lunged for the ball, but he had no chance as the ball flew right past him into the upper-left corner of the net.

The Celtic contingent instantly went berserk. "Scott Michaels scores his first Old Firm goal!" Scott ran over to the goal line in front of the Copland Stand. The Rangers' supporters were giving him a few rude gestures and words, but he ate it up, raising his arms in the air in triumph, then doing the Gator Chomp. Then, he gave a bow, drawing even more jeers. When he got up, he gave the Rangers supporters a double bird—no, he didn't do that. He just mouthed the words 'don't tread of me' before Tai and some other teammates piled on top of him.

The Broomloan stand was about as close to a mosh pit as you could get with all the seats. Supporters were jumping all over the place like at an American high school football game. The noise coming from the Celtic supporters was pretty much the loudest sound in the stadium. Maggie practically tackled Sora. The Japanese woman wasn't exactly pleased about it. "Maggie, take it easy, will you?" She shouted over the crowd noise. But the Scottish woman didn't hear her, since she was so caught up in the moment.

Things settled down again and Rangers kicked off. Celtic had the all-important lead in the 31st minute of play and Rangers was in dire need of an equalizer. Things again settled down and most of the action was again concentrated around midfield involving each team's passing games.

Then Rangers struck back.

In the 45th minute, with 2 minutes of added time, Rangers had the ball in the Celtic zone. Davis took the ball up to the left side where Scott ran up to confront him. The American bent down like an American football linebacker to try and defend Davis. Davis looked for a way past Scott, but the American was intent on defending him. Instead, he scooted the ball over to Mike. Mike took the ball up the near side while Scott and Davis tangled in the middle. The American forward tried to take it past Andreas Hinkel, but couldn't get past the German defender.

That's when he noticed Davis was in good position for a goal.

Jefferson sent a cross into the penalty box to Davis, who was still being covered by Scott. The two tangled as the ball came to Davis. Davis caught the ball on his right foot. Scott nudged the ball with his foot to try and steal the ball.

Then, he felt his spikes catch in the turf.

Scott tumbled to the ground while Davis finished the play, firing a shot past Artur Boruc. A loud roar swept through the blue-clad fans of Ibrox.

"And Rangers have equalized! Davis Motomiya scores his first Old Firm goal, as well!" Daivs ran over to the goal line of the Broomloan stand. Naturally, the Celtic fans were also jeering him, but he was looking for Kari. He spotted her in the front row and pointed to her before waving and raising his fists in the air. However, she crossed her arms and turned to the side. Davis's face sank in disappointment.

Scott, meanwhile, slammed his fists on the turf in anger. His Gator boots were trusty, how did this happen? It shouldn't have happened! Then he got a look at the bottom and his face sank as well.

One of the spikes had gone loose.

"FUCK!" Usually, Scott doesn't swear, but in this situation, he had to. Tai came up to him and helped him up off the ground.

"Sorry," he said.

"Shouldn't have happened," Scott replied. His face showed disappointment as he and Tai walked back to their respective positions.

Celtic kicked-off again and the play went slowly, with Rangers getting more aggressive. However, it wouldn't last much longer as the referee checked his watch and blew his whistle, signifying the end of the first half.

The Celtic contingent was mostly disappointed, but applauded in appreciation of their team, while the Rangers supporters gave them a standing ovation.

"Tha's nae the way it should have ended," Maggie said, shaking her head.

"We should have been able to keep that lead," said Sora. "We'll have to buckle down in the second half."

"It's been a tough one so far," said TK. "But we should get better."

But the first half was only the first skirmish. The second would be a full-blown battle.

To be continued...