Joe Harper – your stories

In these difficult times, the question was posed in the Facebook group what will we do with the group? In a shock to everyone, for the first time ever a consensus was reached on something. We’d look at the past, and specifically a number of people would like to know more about Joe Harper.

So for the rest of this week, and to kick the ball rolling on the next month or two, it’s Joe Harper week in The Dandy Dons Group. There will be lots of other stuff too, but a lot about Joe Harper.

So post your stories, photos, videos, even your questions (there is usually someone who knows stuff in the group) and we will all get acquainted with the man we know as The King.

So here’s my odd story on Joe Harper.

The primary school I went to had a three way split in supporters, split between Aberdeen and the Old Firm as it was then known. Whenever you said you were an Aberdeen supporter, you always got ‘Harper’s a barrel, Harper’s a barrel of shite’ sung at you, as little kids are all little bastards (except your kids, who are great).

It shouldn’t have mattered, but it kind of gets under your skin, and weirdly meant my least favourite Aberdeen player as a kid was Joe Harper.

So I’m at my first game at Pittodrie Aberdeen v Hibs. We’ve all had the first Pittodrie experience, it’s ALL amazing.  the warm up is going on, all my sensory whatevers are overloaded to bursting, it’s magic. The players head back to the dressing room before kick off, Hibs supporters are in the Beach End (as I remember?) and an enormous rendition of ‘Harper’s a barrel’ goes out from Joe’s former team.

Oh no.

Joe stops in front of them staring them down, it gets even louder.

He then takes a long slow theatrical bow in front of them, which gets a huge roar from the Aberdeen support. The whole sense of theatre/panto is brilliant. The game hasn’t even started yet, and Joe Harper’s now my favourite player. We win 3-0, and I go home from my first game deliriously happy.