Civic buildings sprung up all over the place in neo classical style and The Virginia State Capitol with a certain Thomas Jefferson the driving force behind it, was apparently an exact duplicate of a classical Greek temple.
Then there were the names of towns; none of this 'town called Alice' stuff for the good ole US of A. No suh', it was Athens (Georgia), Troy (Syracuse) and did I forget to mention, forget to mention Memphis? Home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks. You have to say that when it comes to some love at the Greek, the ancient Yanks were in there like a beaver blessed with a great set of gnashers and who was on a particularly good bonus scheme.
To further emphasise the point, when the bint, DuBois, decides to hop on a tram and go visit her sister and brother-in-law, the brooding Stanley Kowalski (a Pole who didn't make provocative hand gestures at Protestants) she did not go to Desire, she got off at Elysian Fields Avenue.
So there we go again, according to the ancient Greeks, the Elysian Fields were the last resting place of the dead, chosen and blessed by the Gods. (Not a concept in vogue Chez Gub you understand) But you've got to admire the young Americans and their corniness, though. Where they have Memphis and the Elysian Fields, we've got Croy, Carfin and Timland.
I honestly don't know if you are allowed to digress before you have actually started an article (or in my case an uneducated scribble) but what the hell. The question needs to be asked; just where are we headed this season exactly.
No doubt most of you reading this will once again ask; what the hell is this bampot yampering on about now? Well, the fact is since October 7th 2006; Walter Smith has (and good on him for a man of his age) tentatively hopped over the surrounding wee barbed wire fence, and took a stroll about those aforementioned Elysian Fields. Oh, I'm not suggesting for a minute that he's gambolling all over that Greek meadow, but he's been there on the periphery.
Because France at Hampden last year and more importantly against Stuttgart at Ibrox and Lyon away this term has assuredly sent out the message that Walter has indeed been blessed with some luck from above.
Against the French, Walter got way, way lucky, of that there can be no debate, but who cares, that was for Scotland. However, this term we, as in Rangers have been slightly different in the CL 'group of death'.
If it was a mixture pf pluck, grit and good old dogged Scots determination that saw us come from behind against Stuttgart at Ibrox then the same cannot be said of that superb win in Lyon. For me that has to be the finest stand alone away victory for Rangers in our entire European history. CL we're having a laugh? We most certainly are up until now that is.
However, if we have gorged on nectar and Ambrosia in the first two CL games then sadly our domestic diet by and large has been strictly of the fried Mars Bars variety. Maybe I've been wrong and completely unrealistic in expecting us to win our first quarter of games, but the eight points shipped in and around the CL fixtures have been totally unacceptable.
Moreover, it is all down to the manager's tactics and infernal squad rotation system. What also worries me is that in what we would probably agree was our first real domestic test (Tynecastle) we failed abysmally. From then on we have staggered along regardless.
To be blunt I've had my fill of tactic talks on the FF message board. If it's not 4-4-2 this then it is 4-3-3 that and if I read another load of cobblers about 4-5-1 then I'll scream. What seems to be constantly overlooked here is that in the majority of cases, tactics are only as good as the players who are deployed to carry them out.
Kris Boyd being a case in point. Although you do have to wonder if playing the static Kris Boyd as a lone striker can actually be referred to as a tactic. A gamble maybe, but never a tactic. But just where do you start with Kris Boyd? Even this early in the season we have witnessed Kris Boyd snaffle up the second fastest half a century of goals for any player in Rangers history with only a certain Jim Forrest beating him to the finishing line, if you'll pardon the pun.
Kris Boyd is a real ball of confusion and then some. We have been crying out as a support for a natural and instinctive poacher in this post McCoist decade. In Krissy Boyd we now have one but it still isn't enough. I'm sure he's as puzzled with the flack as anyone but if he wants to apportion blame at someone then he should start with his manager because it is as clear as day that Boydie does not possess the tools to play the lone Ranger. He's a penalty box player who needs players around him to do the grafting, running and create the chances. Provide all of these things and the statistics show that Kris Boyd will keep to his end of the bargain.
But there is no doubt that Kris Boyd has split the support like very few players have. My old man used to tell me that it was a standing joke among the Rangers support in the late 50s and early 60s that if Scot Symon's wife had fell pregnant, Maxie Murray would have gotten the blame. Then as now, it would appear that the Rangers support does need to have a scapegoat to fall back on in times of stress.
So where are we? Well, the bottom line is this week sees us play host to Glasgow yahooery in all it's finery and you can be sure they will be indulged by our corrupt Police Force (although that is another issue). But the bottom line is because of those dreadful eight dropped points already to Hearts, Motherwell and Hibs, a win this weekend will see us only draw level instead of romping ahead in the title race; a totally unsatisfactory state of affairs. And it is the manager and his fooling around with personnel that is entirely to blame.
I mean, how the hell can you drop your three goal scorers from Lyon for your next match at Ibrox? And how the hell can you play one man up front domestically. Time for a rethink by Walter and his coaching staff methinks.
But what gets to me the most is the almost lethargic attitude to some of our league games; it's almost as if there is a feeling within the squad that all we have to do is turn up and the points will be assured. It is also apparent that the debacle in Gorgie Rd was assuredly not the wake up call we assumed it would be or told it would be.
The recent display at Fir Park being a shining example. It's almost as if the thinking was; 'shee-it, let's put in some real effort for the last 10/15 minutes of the game and we'll get something out of it.' We should have been bombarding this dross from the first minute, not putting in a sweaty last quarter of an hour shift because the penny had finally dropped we were struggling. It might not actually be that my interpretation of events is the truth but that's how it looked. And yes I do agree we had some dreadful luck on the day.
But in short there seems to me to be a lack of hunger in the players to get back to where we belong domestically; desire for the want of a better word.
Which brings me back to the beginning of this wee scribble. Walter, please get those players of yours onto a streetcar named Desire, domestically and do it pronto. You do these things, and you may just find that an open pass into the football equivalent of those Elysian Fields, to be used whenever you like could be winging your way. To put it another way, no title win this season due to the disgraceful points frittered away thus far really wll be a Greek tragedy.
The Govanhill Gub.