I knew all about tears at Hearts..but this was the first time that I've cried with joy.

Gary MacKay spent half his life trying to end the Hearts trophy famine.

Sixteen years of blood, sweat and, all too often, tears were shed for a cause that has been close to his heart since he was old enough to walk.

But the midfield player left last March with nothing to show for all his efforts but the respect of a Tynecastle support which recognised one of their own.

That's a badge of honour that probably means more to the player than the three runner- up medals he collected in his time with the club.

Mackay spent all last season playing for Airdrie, but on Saturday there was only one place he was going to be.

So the man who pulled the maroon jersey over his head a record 737 times had to content himself with wrapping a scarf round his neck and joining the other 22,000 Jambos who poured into Parkhead to cheer their team in the Scottish Cup Final with Rangers.

Ninety nerve-shredding minutes later, Mackay was crying again - but this time for the right reasons as his old mates finally delivered on the big occasion.

It all came a year and a bit too late for him and it would have been quite understandable if he had experienced the slightest twinge of envy as he watched all the celebrations unfold in front of him.

If there was such a twinge, it was fleeting.

Mackay, like every other maroon-minded person in the place, was too busy being happy for people like John Robertson, who finally got his hands on the winners' medal that had eluded him throughout his career.

Forty-eight hours on, Mackay was still a happy man - even if he did miss the open-top bus tour that brought the capital city to a grinding halt on Sunday.

He said: "What a weekend it has been - it just couldn't have been better.

"After playing in three cup finals it was my turn to be a supporter - and I had a great time.

"I had organised a bus to take 52 of us to the game from our local, the Wheatsheaf in Edinburgh, and I was in there from 9am, just to make sure that everything was organised.

"We made our way through to Glasgow for quarter to 12 and piled into a pub in Rutherglen, where the first person I met was big Roddy Grant, of St Johnstone, who was in with his mates.

"Then it was off to the ground and we were actually in our seats by 1.45 - just because we wanted to savour every minute of the big day.

"I took my 10-year-old son Ryan with me on our bus but my 15-year-old, Nicholas, went on another bus.

"He refused point-blank to travel to the game with me because he regarded me as a Jonah.

"With my PLAYING record in cup finals, he just might have been right.

"But I don't think he can accuse me of being a jinx any longer.

"The support was magnificent but we all went through torture in those last 10 minutes.

"When Coisty scored, you could see all the fans thinking the worst was about to happen again, but the boys on the park kept going and were simply magnificent.

"I now know from experience that it is far easier for players to handle the nerves than it is for the fans.

"The players are out there on the field and they are in control of their own destiny.

"Supporters can only watch and hope it goes their way and that is very difficult."

Mackay was sitting in the lower tier of the North Stand and he finally shed a tear or two when his former Jambo team-mates made a bee-line for him.

He said: "One or two of the stewards had seen me in the stand.

"They somehow managed to tell Jim Jefferies and some of the lads where I was and they came over to see me.

"That's when I became very emotional but I don't apologise for that - it was just so great to see the club finally win something."

Mackay felt relief and delight for wee Robbo more than anyone else.

He has shared all of the chunky striker's low points and knew better than anyone how hungry he was to be a winner.

Mackay said: "To see Robbo pick up a winners' medal after so long was really special.

"Nobody deserves it more. He was a legend before but this adds to his status as a Tynecastle man.

"None of the Hearts boys will appreciate their medal more than John."

If Mackay had been playing, he might not have been able to make that statement. He added: "I'm not being ungracious when I say that despite being there in the stands, I would have far rather been involved.

"Chief executive Chris Robinson was good enough to invite me and my wife Vicky along to the club's official function on Saturday night and it was great to be there along with all my friends.

"But the one moment that will live with me for a long time was seeing some of the old Hearts boys celebrating at the end of the game.

"Guys like Henry Smith, Scott Crabbe, Wattie Kidd and Eamonn Bannon had been through it all, as I had, and they were just so happy to see the club enjoying a special day at last."

Mackay would have been on the streets of Edinburgh on Sunday to continue the party but a prior commitment with the boys club he runs ruled that out.

He said: "I'd promised to take the boys down to Old Trafford for a look around the stadium and the museum.

"It was a great day out but I couldn't help thinking it was ironic that I was in Manchester on the day Hearts finally got the chance to do an open-top bus ride!"

He's convinced, however, there will be more days like Saturday and Sunday.

He said: "Nobody can grudge Hearts their success and the fans are quite right to milk it for as long as they can.

"Hopefully, it won't be another 36 years before they celebrate again. The way Hearts are going these days, I'm pretty sure it won't be."

Taken from the Daily Record