Choose tartan. Choose Trafalgar. Choose fans. Choose a sky filling flare, choose beverages, beer, whisky and wine. Choose your tube ticket, your destination, and your spot for the night. Choose your pink kit. Choose those adidas Sambas. Choose the first round and scarf to match. Choose the soggy burger, the sizzle of the onions and the ketchup that spills all over the floor. Choose full voice. Choose people. Choose unquestioned support. Choose Football.
Pre-match scenes that saw the Scottish Tartan Army take over Trafalgar Square, photographer Peter Banks was perfectly positioned to capture those moments before kick off and prior to a Wembley excursion. All on 35mm film. The Scotland fans enjoying the very most of a Friday night, it's only right to reflect, a week on, documenting the ocassion. A passionate take on proceedings, no? The fans embracing the opportunity of a fixture that crossed the North and South divide with force in numbers.
From scarves to kilts to heavy duty Dr Martens, freshly polished of course. Braveheart strength, painted faces and thousands of united souls all congregating in central London at one of the city's most iconic landmarks. With a grainy finish, this selection of images goes further than any words in capturing the outpouring of emotions that comes with a fixture of this magnitude. A velocity of support that was met with huge hearts and vocal minds as the travelling contingent crossed the boarder. What a way to welcome in the weekend.
What was the atmosphere like? We can only imagine. The slog of the 9-5 ended as the curtain comes down on the week and those beloved two days of free-reign are kicked off with a fixture against what many would deem as "the old enemy". Elation, congregation and voices that did not stop singing until the wee hours of Sunday. The obligatory scent of fans as cheers echo in the face of defeat around those London corridors from tube to tube to Wembley way. Romantic? But of course.
Regardless of the result, the performance or managerial direction this was clearly an opportunity seized. Flags, fountains and football. Choose life.
Photography by Peter Franklyn Banks
