The two are inextricably linked. I seem to remember the "Paisley is St Mirren and St Mirren is Paisley" mantra being generated by the club recently along with "One town, one team". Sadly the latter isn't necessarily true when it comes to people choosing their allegiances, but this is the perfect time for that to change. Plenty of them will pretend, just for a day, they don't support one of the Old Firm and will come along to cheer us on. They may be gloryhunters but the more people decked out in black and white at the League Cup Final the merrier as far as I'm concerned.
Any success for Saints is good for the town - especially the local publicans. So, with just over a month to go before the big day, it's about time a bit of cup fever was generated in Paisley. It has already started, with the fence up around the building site for the new Tesco at Wallneuk wishing the club luck. We need more of that.
I walked through the town the morning of our last League Cup Final appearance and was saddened at the lack of support being shown. Aside from the banner the council had splashed out on only one shop - Marks and Spencers - had any sort of black and white stuff in the window. That was it. Not even Dunfermline Building Society, who at the time were trying to flog us "Soccer Saver" accounts, had anything.
Compare that to Kilmarnock, which I happened to be visiting before their game against Ayr United last year. This was only a semi-final, yet just about every shop window had a blue and white theme. The same went for Dumfries in 2008 with local businesses backing Queen of the South - to the extent the stuff went up for the semi-final and didn't come back down until after the final, more than six weeks later!
So why was Paisley different? Were people worried they would offend the Rangers fans last time around, potentially lose their custom and decide not to bother? They don't have that excuse this time - and the fact M&S did it means the big national chains can get involved just as much as the local traders. Maybe the general negativity around the club put people off at the time but, for the moment at least, there are positive vibes emanating from Greenhill Road and Ralston.
So come on folks, get the black and white bunting, scarves, streamers and whatever else you have out and put it proudly on display. The big day may still be more than a month away, it may only be the League Cup, but Saints rarely get to a final and any time we do it needs to be milked for all it's worth. You never know when it will happen again.
The club also needs to be creating a bit of buzz to get more fans in for the final - and hopefully some more home games. The move to get Provans back on board with the merchandising was a good start - now we need to do more. Go on a PR campaign, be out and about selling tickets in the High Street, get out to local schools, youth teams and other groups encouraging people to get along to the game. Encourage more folk to wear colours to the game. Get people involved with the club so that while thousands of them go to the final, a few of the stay away fans decide to head along to Greenhill Road for a few home games.
Paisley is St Mirren and St Mirren is Paisley. One town, one team. Well, it's time for the town and the team to step up to the mark - and hopefully on March 17 both will be rewarded, with thousands of happy Buddies returning home to line the streets and hail a successful team before spending a fortune toasting the victory.
Or, if history repeats itself, drowning their sorrows.
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