Are there still any fans that follow both Hibs and Hearts?

[Ringothedog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Was going 'week about' ever as widespread as some claim?

I've asked my Grandad about it and he said it wasn't something that ever crossed his mind, his friendship group of the time was the same. They were Hibs fans, they went to Hibs games and when Hibs were away they might have taken in a junior game. I hear a lot of people talking about it but I can't say I've ever met anyone who admits to actually doing it.

Fwiw I love the tribalism of football. Standing with the 'other lot' and enjoying the game might seem a nice idea but it wouldn't be for me. It seems a bit romanticised. Being with your own tribe on Derby day is what it's all about.

My father never even considered it, he was from Stenhouse but Hibs were his team, having said that, he was a good football player so never got the chance as he played at Junior level most weeks.The only time he saw Hearts at Tynecastle was if Hibs were playing.

[Clarence]

My grandad says that Hearts are his second team. He wants them to finish second in every game they play 🙂

[Clarence]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

In the 40s, 50s and 60s, my Grandad used to alternate between Easter Road and Tynecastle most weekends. He was a Hearts Fan but just enjoyed watching football in general.

He said that he never had the option of going to away games, as people used to work Mon-Fri then Saturday until about twelve. So Easter Road was the next best option, and he enjoyed watching the best Hibs team ever.

In fact, his first ever match was at Easter Road, where he was taken in the 1920s as a small child by a Hibs supporting relative.

He said he stopped going in the early 70s because of the sectarianism that had creeped in to some of the Hearts support (ER was not immune either), as it totally disgusted him.

The west coast meedja think that sectarianism is good for the popularity of the game and gives it a “special” atmosphere but it really drives away more civilised fans in the less barbaric areas of the country.

[Paisley Hibby]

My dad was a Jambo. So was his dad and in the late 40s/50s they went week about ER/Tynecastle. The only team they didn't like was Rangers. My dad always said he was 90% Jambo and 10% Hibee (with his Hibs percentage rising every time we beat Rangers). I grew up not hating Hearts and didn't mind them doing well (as long as not at our expense). I was living in Glasgow in the 1980s when Hearts lost the league on the last day and I was really disappointed. I'd been looking forward to an Edinburgh team winning it for a change to shut the Weegies up. But then I moved to Edinburgh, started going to Hibs games home and away and within a few years I realised I hated Hearts with a passion. Can't explain it but that's what happened.

[PatHead]

I didn't mind Hearts when I was younger. Had a good friend who supported them. I went off them when they almost won the league. Every Monday you would go into work and Hearts "supporters" who had never been to a game since yon time would give you it really tight. They still never went to games but had a smug superiority about them.

Never liked them since and the despising was brought in by that fat tory ****, Mercer.

[eezyrider]

As a kid my dad used to take me to see Meadowbank when Hibs weren't playing. It was more a novelty of a new team playing almost on our doorstep.

EZ

[Tom Hart RIP]

Jambo neighbour took me to Easter Road for the big European nights in the 60s. Also took me to Tynecastle but there was no contest.
Always be grateful to him.

[One Day]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

As a kid my dad used to take me to see Meadowbank when Hibs weren't playing. It was more a novelty of a new team playing almost on our doorstep.

EZ

I often take my grandson to watch Edinburgh City if Hibs are away or don't have a game that day.

[hibee-boys]

If there still hibs/hearts fans let me know and I'll send round the men in the white coats!

[jgl07]

This idea was all a bit 1950s.

I remember the Jack Docherty/Moray Hunter sketch on Saturday Live. They claimed that it was always ‘week about’: Easter Road on Saturday, Tynecastle the next. Never varied! That was until they got out of synch and ended up watching a lot of reserve matches!

It was certainly common with my father’s generation. Many in Manchester watched both City and United and supported both teams. It similar in the 1960s except for the supporting part.

Back then Football was very cheap and crowds were not that big. Virtually all matches were pay at the gate so it was possible to make a spontaneous decision to go to a particular match.

If you couldn’t afford an away trip, the decision was usually between going to see the reserves or going to see the other lot and shout for the visitors.

[Brizo]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Good summary. As others have said it was also very much a social thing at the time. Remember, in the late 40's many young men & women were returning home after being gone for maybe 5 or 6 years. Many didn't return home & so there was very much a feeling that every social outlet should be enjoyed. It's not a coincidence that in that period every team enjoyed a boom in attendances & in the 20 seasons after WW2 we saw the most equal period in Scottish football since the prior century. We won 3 titles, Hearts 2 & Dundee, Aberdeen, Killie & a wee team called Celtc 1 each! My family were 100% Hibs & only ventured to Tiny once a season but more middle class supporters often had a season ticket at both grounds. I was very young but even then my memory was that it was much more likely for a Hearts family to have a 2nd season ticket at ER than the other way around. It was also a bit reflective on one's social standing to have 2 seasons at a time when very few people could actually afford one! The 50's ( & early 60's) were probably the last old fashioned decade with men wearing suits, collar & ties to ER. I think the fighting, which was certainly around in mid 60's was more reflective of overall social changes than anything specific to Hibs & Hearts.

As you say the post war return of servicemen looking for a social outlet and a return to competitive football for all of society were main contributing factors, as was the fact that most working men worked Saturday mornings and a lot would go to the football straight from work with their workmates regardless of who they supported. And of course other entertainment options were very limited with pub and bookie opening hours being very different in those days and TV ownership being limited to the well off. Add to that going to the football was much cheaper in relative terms than it is now and so most working men could afford to go to ER one Saturday and Tynie the next.

My late Dad and his pals did this back in the late 40s and 50s and they were a mix of Hibs, Hearts and Celtic. Maybe there was something about having come through a War together but definitely seems to have been a time when it was mainly good natured rivalry not hatred and folk would quite happily watch a game at their rivals ground.

As you say, it all changed in the 60s and by the time I started going even East of Scotland fixtures could be carnage. The Mercer takeover bid and the bulk of the Hertz fans gloating support of it (despite some recent revisionism) upped the ante. I've never met anyone who follows Hibs and Hearts and am always slightly suspicious of folk who say they want the Edinburgh teams to do well :)