Blair Lyons was out for a friend’s birthday celebration when his phone began pinging with updates on his move back to Montrose.
Within a couple of hours, a staggering 67,000 people had clicked onto Twitter to view Lyons dressed up as Baby Simba as part of a hilarious Lion King parody.
It’s the latest in a long line of viral clips on the Montrose social media feeds and winger Lyons insists his Links Park return – on loan from Partick – was made extra-special by the reveal video.
“I had no idea Montrose were going to make such a big deal out of my move,” said Lyons.
— Montrose FC (@MontroseFC) May 26, 2021
“I signed the paperwork and was told they’d release the news later that day.
“I was out for something to eat for a friend’s birthday when my phone pinged with the news I’d signed.
“It was a bit of a shock to see me dressed up as a lion but the club is very creative on social media and I knew they’d find a way to have a play on my name.
Praise
“Things like that make you feel wanted at a club and the Montrose fans have always been good to me.
“They really get behind the club. Montrose are having a lot of success right now but are no longer punching above their weight they are where they deserve to be and can aim higher.”
Montrose have earned wide-spread praise for their creative social media posts, with October’s FIFA 2020 pack opening parody for the signing of Martin Rennie clocking up 202k views.
— Montrose FC (@MontroseFC) October 5, 2020
“We try to be as creative as possible with all of our videos,” said Euan Lownie, one of the club’s social media volunteers.
“Blair’s name represented a good opportunity to have a play on the Lion King and it worked out well.
“We have no expectations for how well they will do. Our first player reveal, for Martin Rennie, was based on FIFA and it exceeded all our expectations with over 200k views.
“That set the bar high and since then all we’ve tried to do with our player reveals is give people a bit of a laugh, with creative, light-hearted content.
“We’ve also made a set of videos based on the fans which I enjoyed making.
‘Delay In Play’ pic.twitter.com/2IdALKX08X
— Montrose FC (@MontroseFC) January 19, 2021
“I interviewed Blair Ruxton who is a big Montrose fan about how much he missed going to games during lockdown.
“I think Blair’s story was one that resonated with a lot of football fans – not just Montrose ones – and it helped underscore that Montrose is very much a community club.
“A lot of clubs have big budgets to make slick videos. We do it voluntarily and it helps that we and everyone involved in the club are Montrose fans.
“We also did a play on a John Lewis Christmas advert to underline the amazing work Montrose Community Trust do and more recently we got creative on our season ticket launch video.
We Are The Links Park Dynamo! 💙
2021/22 Season Tickets On Sale Now!
➡️ https://t.co/EoefpvAe2X pic.twitter.com/LdEPJX606L
— Montrose FC (@MontroseFC) May 31, 2021
“That video shows the difference fans make. There are great memories with fans at football and there’s the emptiness of the stadium without them.
“I hope it will highlight how much the club has missed having fans in.”
Lyons insists he has no regrets over leaving title-winning Partick on a season-long loan to go back to Montrose.
Lyons played 12 games for Jags last term but made just one start, ironically at Montrose in May, as the Glasgow side clinched the League One championship.
“I was on the bench a lot for Partick this year,” added Lyons. “I still feel I played a part in helping us win the league but I want to play more football.
“The manager told me Montrose and a few other clubs were interested in signing me and I really wanted to come back up the road.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the job Stewart Petrie has done here and trust him and Ross Campbell to help the club to continue progressing.”
Meanwhile, Montrose have secured the services of popular wing-back Cammy Ballantyne on a new one-year deal.
