# Is there really a Scottish football team called the 'sel-tics?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780 "2005-03-16T06:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/1 "2005-03-16T06:52:33Z")
I was just watching _The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson._ Craig, as you know, is a Scot. His guest was TV funnyman Drew Carey. Carey had been on vacation in Glasgow, where he watched a football game between the Rangers and the “Sel-tics.” I thought Drew was transposing from the US pro basketball team, the Boston Celtics (which, in the US, is pronounced “Sel-tics.”) Up until now, I thought the only place Celtic was called Sel-tic was in US basketball. But, then Craig Ferguson said it the same way! Was that a slip of the tongue, or are there Celts (Kelts) who say it “Selts?” Okay, this is your naive Yank question for today. Feel free to laugh. I don’t care. My grandmother was a Caldwell. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/2 "2005-03-16T07:13:05Z")
Yep, ‘Sel-tic’ (singular). Rangers-Celtic, the Old Firm, is one of the biggest football rivalries to be found anywhere. Member **Ruadh** is a season-ticket holder. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/3 "2005-03-16T07:36:28Z")
“Seltic” is actually the original pronunciation of the word; it’s only recently that it’s come to be pronounced “Keltic”. The football team retain the original pronunciation but in all other cases over here the word would be pronounced with a K sound. BTW, from what I’ve heard, that’s about the only thing you should believe in Drew Carey’s story about the game he attended. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/4 "2005-03-16T09:13:04Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > … but in all other cases over here the word would be pronounced with a K sound. Which reminds me of one of my favourite (supposed to be true) jokes: American: Aaah, so you’re a _Selt_? Scotsman: Yes, and you’re a sunt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/5 "2005-03-16T14:07:16Z")
It’s Celtic - rangers, not the other way around. No capital R. You may also refer to them as The Forces of Darkness. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-scottish-football-team-called-the-sel-tics/294780/6 "2005-03-16T14:25:26Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > “Seltic” is actually the original pronunciation of the word;… > > BTW, from what I’ve heard, that’s about the only thing you should believe in Drew Carey’s story about the game he attended. Well, I **was** a little leery when he said Glasgow was just like Cleveland, but the food was stranger. :dubious: