For soccer fan Ron Ross, the World Cup will be only the second biggest sporting event of the year. The 87-year-old resident of Guelph, Ontario, is a lifelong supporter of Edinburgh's Heart of Midlothian F.C., a team on the verge of making Scottish soccer history.
A Lifelong Journey from Scotland to Canada
Ross moved to Canada in 1961, a year after Hearts last won the Scottish title. In his early years after emigrating, his father mailed him newspaper clippings of results until he could access TV or radio broadcasts online in the 1990s. He now says he watches every game.
"For the first 20 or 30 years, it was extremely difficult," he said. "It took a lot to stay in touch."
The Title-Deciding Match
On Saturday morning in Canada, Hearts will play second-placed Celtic F.C. in Glasgow in a title-deciding game. A win or a draw means Hearts will be the first team other than Celtic or Rangers – often referred to collectively as 'The Old Firm' – to win the league in 41 years. Celtic has won in 13 of the last 14 years.
"It would be enormous for Hearts supporters [if they win]," Ross said. "And enormous for Scottish football … to break the duopoly."
Fan Ownership and Community Support
Ross is also a part-owner of the club. In 2013, Hearts declared bankruptcy and was taken over by its creditors. A fan group, the Foundation of Hearts, stepped in and bought the club in 2014, taking a loan from Scottish businesswoman Ann Budge. Fans paid the foundation monthly to repay the loan until August 2021, when Hearts officially became the largest fan-owned soccer team in the United Kingdom.
"I never believed that they would actually be liquidated, even though it was a real possibility," Ross said. "It just seemed so impossible to me that my beloved Hearts would cease to exist."
Ross also raises money for the club through online fan forum Jambos Kickback, where he is an administrator.
A Family Tradition
Supporting Hearts runs in his family, says Ross. He said his grandfather Tom Brandon was a coach at the club in 1911, and his father took him to his first game in 1945, after coming back from the Second World War. Having been in Canada for more than 60 years, Ross has passed on his love for Hearts to his Canadian-born family members. He will be watching the final game of the season with his grandson Derek Glassford, who Ross says is the biggest Hearts fan in the family after him.
"When we're able to catch a game together, it's like four generations in a room supporting something that feels bigger than us," Glassford said.
Fans Travel from Across Canada
Ross and Glassford are watching from home in Guelph, but others are going further. Rob Mathison, a copywriter based in Vancouver, has been in Canada since 2003. He and his father went to games often when he was still living in Scotland. In the 1985-86 season, he saw every game apart from the last one, where Hearts lost the title to Celtic on the final day of the season.
After coming across the match programmes from that season when clearing out his childhood bedroom, Mathison decided he wanted to write a book about that year. He avoided even watching highlights of the final game that season until only a few years ago, he said.
Mathison flew to Edinburgh on Tuesday to watch the game with his father, Gordon, who lives with Alzheimer's disease. "He won't remember players from five years ago, but he remembers in huge detail players from when he was in his twenties," Mathison said.
Once his book is published, Mathison said any proceeds will go to Football Memories, an initiative in Scotland that uses nostalgia and soccer memorabilia to support people living with dementia, memory loss, or loneliness. Mathison will be watching the game in the lounge of his father's care home in Edinburgh and hopes to see his team win a title for the first time and share that moment with his father.
"He's seen Hearts win the Premiership in 1960, and then he saw us lose it on the last day in '86," Mathison said. "So he's been through it all."
Looking Ahead
Ross said even if Hearts do lose, the future looks bright for the club after investment from Tony Bloom, who owns Brighton and Hove Albion in the English Premier League, and a revamp of its recruitment strategy in the last few years. "We're a pretty staunch bunch. Nobody's a Hearts supporter as a glory hunter," Ross said.
