petermcintosh

Sad to report, Tommy Burns of Celtic football club passed away this morning at the age of 51.

I had the pleasure of watching him playing with Celtic, a very skillful football player, and by all accounts a devoted family man, I also know first hand that he was extremely grateful and humble to be where he was, and that he had the chance to live his dream playing with Celtic.

Cheers Peter.

parrot

Yes Peter a sad day obviously for his family and also the fans.I remember him coming through into the Celtic team as a young lad.
A nice touch by Ranger by cancelling their parade celebrating getting to E.U.F.A. cup final as a mark of respect and also Rangers fans paying tribute at Celtic park.

ranger

I heard the news on my way back up from Manchester and It certainly put into perspective our disappointment at losing a football match. As with most great players, who play for your rivals, you hold a sneaking respect for them and Tommy Burns was no exception. A sad loss for his family and all connected with Celtic.

Smiler

Didn't really have an opinion of him as a footballer but condolences to his family and those who held him in high esteem.

james1873

I am a Rangers Fan and saw Tommy many times as a player and what a great footballer he was. As a Manager of his beloved Celtic Tommy also had them playing fantastic stuff and it was indeed Andy Goram, Tommy always maintained he should be mentioned on his gravestone, who denied them victory on many occassions. It is a total tragedy that this has happened and I offer Heartfealt Condolences to Tommys Family and Friends.

petermcintosh

I went up to Celtic park yesterday, to view the tributes to Tommy Burns yesterday, it was a very somber occasion, we went early 10am,to avoid the crowds but even then, there was about 400 or so people viewing,took my son along and grandson who is only 2yrs 10months, his first impression was, Papa look at the mess, this cheered us up a bit.
There were shirts,scarfs,flags, football programs, letters,lighted candels, portraits, literly thousands of pieces of memorabilia, football shirts of clubs, Kilmarnock,Clyde,Thistle,Man utd, and City, Liverpool,Everton, etc,but the most touching was all the Rangers tops,scarfs,etc.
I noticed about 10 or so from last weeks EUFA final, scattered here and there amongst all the various Celtic tops.
I was told that they came straight from the match to Celtic football ground to pay their respects, this from Celtics supporters most bitter enemies, there were a few of their fans there also, and whenever one of them left their personel item on the ground, the fans all stood silent, and clapped them to a man, some shaking hands with each other,the emotion I felt brought tears to my eyes, but I,m a big softie anyway, the bond between rivals on an occasion like this was amazing.

Peter

Guz1

Lovely post, Peter. The fans you describe are real sportsmen....the lifeblood of every club and the kind you don't see on the news headlines.

The Light of Heaven to Tommy Burns. He left this world a better place than he found it.