Operation Tango - the Worldwide Phenomenon reaches Italy!

Last updated : 27 May 2009 By Knight of the Swan
Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport today runs the story bringing a smile to football fans everywhere.


http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Estero/27-05-2009/tifosi-celtic-beffati-50456192983.shtml

There follows a translation (with thanks to Carino):

Celtic fans hoaxed

 

Rangers laugh

 

Curious theatre during the last day of the Scottish championship. Glasgow's green and whites had to hope for their rivals to lose and Gers fans created that illusion with thousands of SMS messages.

 

MILANO, 27 May 2009 - Nothing more than a huge joke. But organised and implemented with superb class. The decisive final day of the Scottish championship, last Sunday, depended on results from other stadiums: Celtic had to defeat Hearts at home and had to hope that Rangers would not win at Dundee. It did not turn out like that, even if for several minutes Bhoys fans believed the turnaround.

 

MOBILE PHONES - 22 minutes in to the first half Rangers were winning 1 - 0 at Dundee while the green and whites were locked at 0 - 0 with Hearts. Inexplicable rumblings rose from the stands at Celtic Park. " Dundee have equalised, Dundee have equalised!", was the message passed around, initiated by thousands of SMS messages which arrived simultaneously at Bhoys fans' mobiles. They had been sent by Rangers fans.

 

WIND UP - Sadly it was all false. Dundee had not equalised: conversely soon after it became 2 - 0 then 3 - 0, smoothing the way to the title for Rangers. It was a joke, the architects of which were Rangers fans via their internet forums ( mainly Follow Follow ). It was a wind up which had been given the code name "Operation Tango".

 

AUDIO HOAX - In earlier days, without Youtube, the Net and games transmitted on TV, a prank of this nature would have been less successful. The emotional exultation of the Celtic fans was heard perfectly during the live TV coverage of the game ( play had stopped precisely at that moment for a foul in midfield ). A hoax on top of a hoax or two hoaxes for the price of one. Now try to envisage a similar situation in the Italian championship. Well done, there is no need to elaborate further.

 

Italy is but the latest country to highlight the splendid wind-up now sweeping the globe.


FF poster A1bertz was responsible for the prank, devising a co-ordinated scheme whereby fans sent simultaneous messages to acquaintances of the Hooped variety, informing them that Dundee United had equalised.

Scenes of celebration were caught by camera and video, with the asst. Manager supposedly joining in the short-lived joy!


You can read about Operation Tango in the following thread:

http://forum.followfollow.com/showthread.php?t=552991