One STIG to rule them all

After receiving several queries as to the origin of this campaign's name during the week, including a couple at the TJAI event from Max Kelly and Matthew Clark, I figured I'd settle this once and for all.

The short version: Top Gear copied the term STIG from us.

The long version: Student Till I Graduate, or STIG, was conceived on a bus back from Galway in 2001 when Andy Wilson, John Rutledge, myself and I believe Ciaran Ruane and Kevin Burke, were returning from a UCD victory which resulted in the Students avoiding automatic relegation. The name is a play on the football chant "[team name] 'til I die." I can't remember why we thought creating a fanzine would be a good idea but after UCD subsequently won the playoff we started putting something together and by August we had the first of our barmy 16 issue first season put together in what would prove to be the first step towards becoming Ireland's longest running and most successful football fanzine.

Then around 2002 Top Gear was brought back in its new hour long format and that year also saw the arrival for the first time of the mysterious character known as The Stig. Now don't get me wrong those of us that put STIG together like Top Gear, indeed most of us are huge fans of the show. Personally I find Clarkson to be one of the most entertaining men on television and their races are just awesome to watch. We've even copied the race idea for STIG with races from Cork to Dublin and from UCD to Tolka Park amongst others. As far as I know all the contributors to STIG even like The Stig and think he's quite cool but where I have to draw the line is when people ask me did we get the idea for the name from Top Gear because, as is surely obvious now, they were inspired by us.

Ladies and gentlemen I hope that clears things up. We are the original and still the best, the first, the last, the only true STIG.