For most of my lifetime Rangers FC and Rangers fans have been routinely demonised - the reality of life at Ibrox in the mass media was filtered though their bitter prism of religiously and politically motivated hatred and envy.
Despite this the tide has been turning slowly but strongly in some areas. In some cases the club has given a helping hand but most of the work has been started and seen through to fruition by small bands of dedicated Bears. Often their work has seemed unrelated and uncoordinated but in my eyes we have seen a real flowering of fan power with Bears saying for themselves what it means to be a Ranger.
There are as many answers to the question "what does it mean to be a Rangers fan?" as there are Rangers fans. Yet there is no club with such a sense of history or where campaigns and research I am talking about could have come about.
BILL STRUTH
The Blue Order kicked off a series of events and work to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Britain's greatest manager. It wasn't just his tally of trophies but his code of conduct; his sportsmanship; his attention to detail; his insistence on the best on and off the field and his promotion of sports science that made him special and makes him relevant down the ages. To win but to win well is a guiding star. The Blue Order brought his story to a whole new generation of Bears.
DAVIE COOPER
Davie's career was held back a bit by the club - he spent some of his time with us when the club were devoid of ideas and ambition - but he stayed because he was a Rangers fan and played for the club he loved. Our enemies portray Rangers as a dour defensive club and yet we hold numerous scoring records and Davie epitomised the footballer as entertainer. Marking the decade since his passing was not a morbid affair - but a celebration of the style we expect Rangers players to play with.
SAM ENGLISH
We righted a wrong with regard to Sam English and luckily one of his daughters was there to see it. There was more to Sam than being involved in a collision with Celtic goalie John Thomson and we were able to tell his story. But more than that - Sam is a symbol of the very real historical and cultural bond between Scotland and Ireland. His story is one thread in a rich tapestry - and understanding that removes ignorance concerning Ulster. The telling of his life story served another purpose - it was an examination and example of the Ulster-Scots connection and for those who wished to learn it showed how complex that is and that it's not all bombs and balaclavas.
THE FOUNDERS
The myths about Rangers are very strong - and often what the public is told is produced by those who are no friends of the club. The idea that we are some sort of Establishment club has been blown out of the water. The romance and the great tragedy of the Founders has not only been told but has been told in a few different ways so that the story has been made available to many more Rangers fans than even a great book can do. Their self-sacrifice, sense of adventure, dedication to training, etc, are examples relevant to every Rangers fan and player - every fan. player and director can and should be measured against the standard the Founders set and measured accordingly.
ERSKINE
The patriotism of Rangers fans is often misrepresented but the warmth and scale on which the Rangers Supporters Erskine Appeal has been welcomed by the Bears shows what a special club we support. At no other club would fans have responded in the same manner. The decency, professionalism and dedication to duty shown by our Armed Forces is a light to the world. Pensioners and children will take part in the Erskine Walk this year, thousands will buy badges, The Erskine Appeal channels the patriotism of the fans into positive channels and create outcomes that matter - helping our injured soldiers, sailors and airmen just as Bill Struth and his staff provided recuperative help at Bellahouston Military Hospital all those years ago. It's practical and positive patriotism.
All these threads are woven into Rangers - none by itself constitutes the be all and end all of being a Bear - you can pick and choose what to support. But there are common themes about these campaigns - they provide an antidote to hate and they provide an outlet for cultural expression. None of the campaigners hold out tablets of stone - but they point in the general direction of how Rangers fans should behave and what makes the club special and provide an umbrella of shared values.
Sometimes the club itself helps - but the imagination and love of the fans themselves provides the energy. It's our club, it's our culture. Support it and work for it - or lose it.