Football a welcome distraction in these troubled times

October 20th, 2008

It has been another momentous week in Scotland and across the world.

You would be forgiven for thinking the world was at end given the tone used to discuss the bank bail outs and the prospect of recession.

Of course, there is no doubt that these are serious matters - just ask the people made redundant or those modest shareholders who have seen their retirement fund plummet.

I won’t waste any sympathy though on the sacked bank bosses who have made their money and now left us with this mess

It has been said that these times will go down in history and Gordon Brown’s reign as Prime Minister will be judged on how he handles the crisis.

He certainly seems to have the backing of his fellow political leaders both home and abroad - let us hope he gets it right for all our sakes.

In these difficult times, it would have been nice if our football team could have provided us with some solace.

As it happened, the bore 0-0 draw with Norway last week did little to lift the Scottish mood.

Many for once will be glad that not all the games are shown on the BBC.

But with all that it is going on, who can blame people for attempting to get relief from these testing times.

Even our own First Minister was at it, getting involved in the debates over Kris Boyd’s Scotland future and the naming of the Scottish Cup.

It is good to know that whatever the crisis, we have our football to provide us with a welcome distraction.