One Hundred Glorious Games

One Hundred Glorious Games is the title chosen to describe the milestone just reached in the annual football fixture between teams representing Orkney and Shetland. But how can those words be justified?

Well, the first bit is easy. We have just witnessed the 100th match in the series and from an Orkney point of view the game and outcome were ‘glorious’. But they haven’t all been like that. Amidst many dazzling encounters there have been some dull, tepid affairs which have failed to raise the pulse rate for supporters of either hue.

Ah, but that’s all right. Teams are allowed the odd blip or series of blips, safe in the knowledge that the deep sense of history and tradition built up over a long period of time will cover it. No lasting damage will be done to something so enduring as the annual Milne Cup fixture which is ingrained into the culture of the Northern Isles. It is a game like no other and to play in it represents the pinnacle of most players’ footballing ambitions.

So, look at it like this. Despite what those from other sporting disciplines might say, football is the ‘glorious game.’ Orkney versus Shetland is our own ‘glorious game.’ And we have just reached number one hundred. Straightforward really!

Now, feel free to open the covers and follow the story . . . so far. Experience the ups and downs, intrigue and controversy of more than a century of inter-county football. And make up your own mind about the glorious bits!

Jockie Wood