Aberdeen And Hearts.. Who's Bigger?

[ironbrew]

When visiting places north of Aberdeen (between Aberdeen and Wick) in the 80s and 90s always got the impression Aberdeen were a strong second with Rangers having most fans. Presumably both clubs have lost support to ICT and Ross County as well as Celtic. With less support in the north and central belt than then, it`s hard for Aberdeen to match Hearts` support even though Hearts have little to show for their good years this century compared with Aberdeen of the 80s and have very little support north of Forth. On more general point, cup final crowds (both cups or 3 with Petrofac one) must include a very high % of neutrals. I remember a friend who supports Falkirk going to 1997 final with 7 friends, none of whom were Bairns. That was a long time ago but recent finals will have had an even higher number of neutrals (or folk who almost never watch football even on TV) than in last century. Hibs v Ross County will probably get about 40,000 fans with about 30,000 tickets sold by Hibs but I`d guess that at least 20% of total crowd would not be supporters of either side. If Hibs or Hearts play Ross County in Scottish Cup final the same but with a capacity crowd.