The pre-match Huddle is as synonymous with Celtic as just about anything else on planet earth.
The first-team, usually led by Scott Brown, engage in the ritual before each and every match they play.
Along with ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and green and white hoops at home, it is a massive part of modern day Celtic.
But it wasn’t always like that.
For the majority of our history there was no Huddle. It only came into play on this very day 25 years ago – pioneered by then Hoops player Tony Mowbray.
And as the club celebrated a quarter century of ‘doing the Huddle’ on Twitter, some Hoops fans came to terms with a fact that blew their minds.
Other Celtic fans commented on how the huddle makes them feel before a match.
https://twitter.com/of_dogma/status/1286300072637091840
https://twitter.com/McgStitch/status/1286282057832955907
Mowbray “delighted” the Huddle stuck around
The fact that the Huddle hasn’t been around since day one is a strange thought to get your head round.
But 1995 was the year of its birth, during a pre-season friendly defeat to Kickers Emden.
Stand-in captain Mowbray pioneered the move and, years later, admitted he was proud it had stuck around.
“Every player likes to leave something that people can remember them by and maybe the Huddle is mine at Celtic.
“I’m delighted to see it’s still going strong, because it’s a brilliant way of uniting the players and the fans.” (The Scotsman)
Fair play to Mowbray. He may not have succeeded as our manager. But he left one indelible mark on the club.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
