History of Legion 1882

It all started in December 2007, in the run up to Boxing Day to be precise. The season had seen the demise of Forza Glentoran but the enthusiasm from those supporters was still there. Forza Glentoran had really been a group to create atmosphere, but when they did displays they were excellent. A lot of the people who had been in Forza Glentoran still had the enthusiasm, they wanted to get behind the team, get the stand roaring and make a name for the Glentoran support once again. But how were we going to do this?

Well first of all we took a leaf out of Forza’s book. We wanted to do a till roll display using over 500 till rolls. Not exactly the hardest thing in the world, but extremely effective. So we did this and it worked a treat. 500 till rolls flying from the main stand, the Sky cameras were there to pick it up and we went on to win 1-0, the first Boxing Day win in 18 years.

So what after that? We didn’t have a group name, a banner, money or many members. All we had was a couple of drums. Simple solution for that one: we did a bit of brainstorming and came up with the name “Legion 1882.” This gives the impression of an army, a group of people roaring the team home. 1882 is, as you probably know, the year Glentoran were founded. We had an up and coming game with St Pats Athletic in the Setanta Cup and we wanted to do something for this game. So we bought 10 smoke bombs and a flare, set them off when the teams came out and it made another straight forward yet effective display.

We were going from strength to strength. We did a few other things throughout the year, nothing huge but we just wanted to support the team as best as we could. Things started to look up for us in the summer of 2008. Whilst down painting the fences and helping get the Oval in tip top shape for the new season the GCT asked us to have brief meeting with them. So there we were in the bottom stand talking through a few ideas of what we could do to make this work. We needed a location and we needed to make our voice be heard. So we were offered by the GCT and Forza TV to do a video encouraging more young people to come to the Oval. If we could get more young people through the turnstyles then the chances are our group would expand. So we decided to go for the theme of aiming at the “Virtual fans.” In other words those who call themselves fans on the Internet and on social networking sites, however rarely go to games. The slogan was “Virtual fans make no noise.” The video had an excellent response with over 2000 views.

It took us until exactly a year on from when we were founded to really pick up the pace. Vs Linfield on Boxing Day several flares were lit as the North Stand lit up in a glow of red and green. Vs Portadown there was a large show of two sticks and some flares along with other banners. Vs Cliftonville we did a red, green and black flag display using a small section of the stand. These are just a few of the many displays we done in the 2008/09 season. We went from strength to strength and our aim of becoming a well known group was achieved. Legion 1882 were finally a name amongst the Glentoran support. Our numbers have grown and you will now find us situated in the corner of the main stand, closest to the city end. Season after season we plan to be bigger and better than the previous as we strive to encourage our team to lift the Gibson Cup once again.

The rapid growth of Legion 1882 in its first full season led to the launch of the website and official forum so that the name and group details may be broadcasted on a much larger scale whilst also giving group members a better stage for communication. The opening day and week proved to be very successful with over 1,700 views a day for the first month of July. Pre season started for the group with an organised bus trip to face Derry City at the Brandywell, flares crowd surfers and a lot of booze made for a fun day. The biggest stir being the 'joining of forces' with Derry City's own supporters group and the singing of the Sash by both which created quite a stir and was subsequently discussed on a local radio show and indeed in an in-depth article about Legion 1882 in the Glentoran Gazette.

The competitive season started with a two-stick display spelling out the word 'CHAMPIONS' for the Champions' opener at Lisburn Distillery. A comprehensive 0-4 victory followed and so did another display at the following league game vs Linfield at the Oval. The significance of this match and date reflected in the multiple banner display; '20th August 1949' and 'Never More To Roam' referenced to Glentoran's homecoming to the Oval on said date and the lyrics from the song Pride of the County Down. The match itself was played on 18th August, 2 days shy of the 60th Anniversary to which we also played Linfield.

The group experienced some problems as most do over the course of the season as most do. Resolve was strictly tested and some spectacular times fell into place. The Modern Day Heroes display at home to Bohemians, various smoke, flag and flare displays vs Linfield in various competitions; the highlight being the multiple two-stick and flare display with the 'Legion head' (from the centre of the official logo) at Windsor in October 09. Of course there was plenty more to come: various internal issues, money issues and communication problems. Resolve was tested again and the group came back stronger with a classic away day performance in Dublin at Dalymont Park. Dozens of smokes/bengals and strobes were set off along with a party atmosphere. The group became stronger towards the end of the season despite performances on the pitch reaching an all time low, culminating in a 0-3 deficit at home to Cliftonville, an almost exact opposite of the glorious finale a year before. During the close season to date, plans are in place to create a more efficient working group and to better communication and task splitting.

The highlight display of the season was the large scale pyro display at Shamrock Park, eclipsing the groups previous pyro attempts. This display also included a 12x8 banner with the Legion 1882 logo and a message saying "Against Modern Football," a common ultra slogan of which can be seen in a paintbrush mock-up website header for the season 2010/11. The group presented the Irish League Supporters Forum POTY trophy again and received plaudits on a far larger scale than ever before thanks to the website, which on another note, ended the season 1st July-30th April on 206,427 views; a number far bigger than ever expected.

There is much to be improved on, but so much improved on already. The group has a long way to go yet and the new season cannot come quick enough. Exciting times lie ahead

Semper Superne Nitens – Always striving upwards