Derby County FC

Let's visit the Rams and #GetTheBadgeIn. Let's start with the obvious. The Ram. There is a superb story about the ram that directly ties the club to the modern Mercian infantry regiment. But.

Before we get to that, the symbol of the ram has deeper roots than even that. And it's also a bit weird. There is an ancient tradition around Derbyshire, derived from pagan worship, of the "Old Tup". Old Tup was a Christmas tradition where teams, including a butcher, a crossdresser, and Beelzebub (mischievous deamon), carried a wooden ram head on a pole - under a sack, to local houses. They'd knock on the door and perfom the staged slaughter of Old Tup, with the butcher miming its death before the ram fell to the floor. ...Merry f*cking Christmas.

This tradition was immortalised in the folk song The Ballad of the Derby Ram which goes back to at least the 16th century. The ballad tells the tale of a huge ram which would dwarf anything seen in nature, a Godzilla of a ram. The locals would struggle to tame it before eventually butchering it - the next verse reads... “the boys of the town begged the butcher for the eyes, to kick about in the streets as they were football size.” That's one way to train. Surely Derby need to sell goggle eyed footballs in their Club Shop.

Ok. So far so weird. But now it gets really impressive - and we have to go to Colonial India to pick up the story. In 1858 the 95th Derbyshire Regiment were fighting the Indian Mutiny. After one skirmish a ram was seen wondering around and an officer ordered it killed. Instead, he was spared from being turned into mutton stew, joining the Derbyshires on their 3,000-mile march across India as the regiment's adopted mascot. For his service, the ram was awarded the India Medal with Clasp for Central India. He served bravely in 33 battles. Sadly, his adventurous life ended when he accidentally jumped into a well in 1863.

 However, his legacy lives on, with the regiment continously having a ram in service - they accompany the regiment on parade, proudly wearing scarlet coats and medals. Today, the tradition continues with the British Army’s Mercian Regiment, which still maintains the Private Derby mascot as a symbol of the regiment’s heritage and connection to Derbyshire. Private Ram also often appears at Pride Park before the games, alongside "Rammie", the club mascot.

The team itself formed in 1884, spun out of a cricket team looking for a winter sport - as so many football teams were. They played at the Baseball Ground for over a century. Originally intended to promote baseball, the ground became a fortress for Derby County until the club moved to Pride Park in 1997. The Baseball Ground’s history is forever linked with memories of legendary manager Brian Clough, who revitalised the club in the 1970s and helped them win two First Division titles.

As for the city itself, the origins of the name, Derby, trace back to the Viking settlement Djúra-bý—“village of the deer.” Derby’s history, however, is not just football and folktales. In the 18th century, Derby played a pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution. John Lombe’s silk-throwing mill on the River Derwent is considered one of the world’s first fully mechanised factories, making Derby a birthplace of the industrial revolution. Somewhat sinister Christmas time traditions , suppressing rebellions and silk throwing machinery - Derbyshire and its Ram, can proudly bleat on about a fantastic heritage.