Who cares about Hibs
The talk is still all Straiton, but as John Campbell points out, the only ones who really care are at least doing the talking....

AS A REGULAR USER OF THE INTERNET and a contributor of articles to both Hibs.net and Mass Hibsteria I might be forgiven for thinking that there was little else happening on this planet other than the fierce debate concerning the joint proposal from Hibs and Hearts to look at the possibility of selling up at Easter Road and Tynecastle and sharing a newly built stadium at Straiton. 

Thankfully, I do realise there is in fact life beyond the Internet and so I am also aware that the only folk who seem to give a fig about Hibs, now that the initial stramash is over, are Hibs fans themselves.  As is my want on a Sunday I purchased two newspapers, a tabloid and a broadsheet and the only reference to the “Straiton Affair” to be found in either was a letter from a Hearts fan, concerned that maybe his Clubs’ fans were coming around to the idea that sharing a stadium built on land owned by the man who effectively owns Hibs is not such a good idea.  Other than that, there was no reference about Straiton anywhere in those two popular Sunday newspapers.

We are, it seems, already old hat as far as the journalists are concerned and they have returned to subjects much closer to their hearts – no pun intended.  Why should they fuss themselves that devoted fans of Hibs and Hearts are stressed out at the thought of what might happen to their Clubs.  Do they care that Hibs fan fights with Hibs fan over what is surely the most emotive happening in the life of any Hibs fan since the aborted takeover in 1990.  No, they are much more concerned with telling us the earth shattering news that Ivano Bonetti left behind a huge unpaid bill for pizza when he buggered off back to Italy, or that Magnus Hedman decided to sign for Celtic after Martin O’Neill had confessed he found Mrs Hedman attractive (The keepers wife that is, not his Mum!).

When it has all died down, the only people who really care remain (hibs.net)

Log on to Hibs.net or any Hibs web site and the talk is of little else but Straiton.  A good number of very fine articles on the subject have appeared both on Hibs.net and the Hibees Bounce sites.  They are written by fans that dearly love their football Club and want only the best for Hibs.  They are fans whose views on the topic vary, with some totally condemning any move away from Easter Road and others reluctantly stating that whilst they do not want to move, they will reluctantly accept it if that is the only way for Hibs to survive and prosper.  Most have said that whilst ground sharing with Hearts would not be their first choice they would live with it if necessary.  Few, if any, have found favour with the proposed site of Straiton.

What is becoming ever clearer, however, is that fans allied to the various parts of the so called Hibs family are forming if not opposing then certainly differing views as to what stance the Hibs support should take.  The Hibs Supporters Association has held a mass meeting of its members and they have voted to reject any thought of movement away from Easter Road.  Theirs is a powerful voice but it is not the only one.  No word yet from the Shareholders Association but their views are important and should be made known as soon as possible.

Those fans allied to Hibs.net form a broad church of opinion and it is impossible to say from polls, surveys, message board postings etc just exactly what way they would “vote” if asked to do so.  Hibs.net has chosen to take a neutral stance for the moment as its Editorial Team collectively feels it needs more information before taking a stance.  There is a myth going around that Hibs.net is pro Straiton and that is nonsense.  It is, as I say, a myth, put forward and promoted by those who would wish to put pressure on the Editorial Team to make a stance NOW instead of accepting that as an entity, that Team has every right to hold its current wait and see stance.

The Hibees Bounce carried an article almost on the first day that Hibs.net broke the Straiton story and its headline was “The Bounce Says No to Straiton”  Fair enough.  As a site it has the right to take that stance without criticism from Hibs.net or elsewhere and the Bounce Admin Team have since polled their membership privately and individually although I have yet to see the results.  I would imagine, given that the Bounce, to paraphrase one of its Admin Team, “seems to have become the haven for those who are opposed” that the vote of its members will be heavily against any move away from Easter Road.  Again, I see nothing wrong with any of that because it is Hibs fan canvassing Hibs fan and declaring its results.  One point worthy of making, however, is that if it is Ok for the Bounce to be perceived as the haven for anti Straiton Hibs fans (and it is) then surely it is OK for Hibs.net to be the haven for fans who wish to wait and see before casting their vote?

My biggest worry personally is that the hacks I mentioned earlier, may well be tempted away from Bonetti’s Pizza’s and Martin O’Neill’s taste in women if they get wind of the thought that Hibs fans are fighting amongst themselves over this whole matter.  Such a thought would allow these guys to run riot and in doing so provide the Club and Owner with the perfect opportunity to say “You are clearly undecided and so we shall make the decision for you”  What Hibs fans need right now is to forget the petty back biting; forget the temptation to bad mouth others because its thought clever to do so; forget the fact that we may have differing views on how the matter should be approached and UNIFY in those areas of common agreement.

Right now I think virtually every Hibs fan would sign on to any army which had the slogan “No to Straiton”  No Hibs fan I know, regardless of which branch of the Family they belong to, wants to move to Straiton.  Almost every fan I’ve spoken to, Hibs and Hearts, is worried about the social impact on the areas of Easter Road and Gorgie Road if the Clubs pull out.  Another point on which all parts of the Family could unify.  A member of the Hibs.net Editorial Team has come up with the fine idea of petitioning the Scottish Parliament.  Surely this is also something every Hibs fan could unite behind?  It is time to forget the petty arguments, the one-upmanship, the need to “have a go” at someone who holds different views.

Many fans feel we - that’s the collective we of Hibs Supporters the world over – need to start a campaign, to take some action, to boycott, to march, to sing.  My problem is that right now we have little to campaign against because all that is on the table is a proposal to look at the viability of moving.  I do feel, however, that uniting behind the petition will bring the matter to the Scottish Parliament where there are a few very well known and vociferous Hibs fans that would sponsor it ferociously.  This surely is the way forward as then folk will and must listen.  It would carry a thousand million times more weight than any arguments based purely on emotion and tradition and although I am as emotional as the next fan and as proud of our history as the next fan I can see that those arguments alone will stand for nothing if the money men are in it to get richer, as many suggest to be the case.

When it comes down to it the only people who truly care about what happens to Hibs are the Hibs fans themselves and if they waste their energies on attacking each other and scoring petty points they may well find the bigger picture has passed them by.  Time for unity as in unity there is strength.