If you can remember back to the days of the old Sighthill Hibees website where we had Daddy ‘O’ Hibee’s weekly views on matches you will know roughly what to expect. We’ve got him back for a one off for his views on the famous Easter Road East Terracing which is now missing from the Leith Skyline.

My earliest memories of the east terracing at Easter Road was the distance from the top of the terracing right down to the pitch, it always seemed so different when you were a child sitting on your fathers shoulders. There was a game one night when it got so cold I couldn’t feel my feet, when my father put me to the ground, I toppled over onto my backside much to the amusement of my dads mates who announced that it wouldn’t be the last time that it would happen following the fortunes of Hibernian, as I would find out watching over the years.

I grasped the passion and knowledge of what it was all about following a football club, soon after these early years I really started a love affair with this famous old club. I now went to my regular spot every home game sitting on the wall near the half way line with the red barriers to hold onto, legs dangling down the wall. Hibernian were a wonderful team to watch back then.

Turnbulls Tornadoes and those glorious European nights, we now recognise that we took those nights for granted almost every year. The Turnbulls Tornadoes had two deadly and contrasting forms of attack, the classical right hand side with Brownlie and Edwards and the kamikaze left with Schaedler and Duncan  add to that the drive and leadership of Stanton the left peg of Cropley and the majestic combination of Gordon and O’Rourke, hey presto, heavenly football.

Easter Road without that old terrace felt strange for me, but with the new generation and a covered terrace a new kind of atmosphere developed, bringing with it again wonderful memories and over the top celebrations, I never got used to the concrete and plastic seating being in front of you whenever Hibernian scored, I have scars to this day from celebrating passionately from the important goals scored. The transformation of Easter Road has to be applauded and the future generations will owe a lot to the endeavours of all involved who saved this old club form extinction and raised it up to where it belongs in Scottish football.

There will be tears when the old East Terracing disappears completely for good but memories live long and stories will be past on to our youth from grandparents and parents for years to come and from the ashes the next generation will bring the passion and atmosphere required to give our team the most vociferous of backings to go on and achieve in this wonderful old game.

I raise my glass to the old Easter Road and toast the next generation and their new fabulous Hibernian theatre of dreams.

GGTTH

For images of the East Terracing check out Osprey Watcher on Flickr.