WHAT if Wallace Mercer was right? It's a question you won't readily hear raised in the pubs and bars around Easter Road or Gorgie.
But with the Edinburgh derby almost upon us, it is one I think well worth exploring now.
Should Hearts have been allowed to swallow up Hibs and create a single footballing force for the city? Could it have worked?
Our shared Capital is one that
has grown at least in part, after all, by being a major financial centre. But in the claws of an unforgiving credit crunch, mergers are now the only hope for some of our best-known banking names.
So why not football?
Hearts are saddled with a debt that could break a small nation despite its foreign investor while, at Hibs, there isn't a will to speculate on new players now the family silver has been pawned to Glasgow.
So I ask again, was the Great Waldo right all those years ago?
Rather than being vilified, perhaps Mercer should have been lauded as a visionary for looking at the economic argument, rather than the emotional one.
I mean, our two Scottish Cup victories, European runs, Youth Academy and vastly-improved stadium aside – have Hearts progressed any?
Does a solitary CIS Cup win illustrate the highlight or failings of a selling policy that is the hallmark of Hibs' business model?
If the plan Mercer hoped to implement had been executed, would it be Edinburgh not Glasgow dominating Scottish football? We will never know. And as the blood boils while you read the above, I'll adopt the persona of Michael Winner to whom I am sometimes compared, and say: "Calm down dear".
Wallace's idea was never a notion I ever subscribed too. I pose the question simply to illustrate a point.
Which is this: Hearts and Hibs are both institutions that are bigger than one single person, or Board, one set of business ideals.
When the very future of Hibs was under threat it was their fans that rallied and saw off the plan.
It was their campaigning that not only forced Mercer to back down, but also in time led to their club being saved. And Jambos played their part too.
When the hand of Chris Robinson almost saw Hearts go out of existence, it was the fans again who road to the rescue. Collectively they pooled their resources and, like me, opted for the best option available.
At that time, it was Vladimir Romanov. Right now, we really don't know what the future holds under his rule. If push comes to shove I have no doubt at all that the fans would act again should the prospect of the club going under ever come to pass.
I've stated as much in recent weeks.
You see Hearts and Hibs fans aren't just a source of revenue for their teams, not just numbers on a balance sheet.
They, we, are their lifeblood. Without them both would cease to exist. It is a power that whoever is in control must respect.
And nowhere is it more potent, displayed in a more pure form, than during the heat of an Edinburgh derby.
The noise and passion is raw and unbridled, the highs and lows felt more keenly than on any other occasion.
When Rod Petrie has decided that he's had enough, when Vladimir Romanov turns tail, the supporters will always remain.
As it should be.
Hearts and Hibs fans enjoy nothing better than getting one over on their rival supporters.
A derby win can have you walking on air for weeks, while a defeat send you diving for cover until the next time.
Which is why this coming clash will be the most keenly anticipated for a very long time.
It seems like an age since maroon and green were pitted against each other and a lot has changed in that time.
New managers are in place, players have come and gone, and the league is as tight as it has been for years.
Mixed fortunes have peppered the opening displays from both sides.
No-one knows what this game will bring.
Except, of course, the bragging rights for weeks to come.
Being a columnist for a paper such as the Edinburgh Evening News has its benefits in that I have a forum to air my views.
And of course should Hearts win, I will pass comment as you'd expect.
If the unthinkable happens and something else occurs, then no doubt Hibs fans will flock to leave comments of their own.
And quite right too.
But whichever it is, whatever the result, let's be agreed on just one thing.
Wallace Mercer wasn't right, which is just as well.
Because had he been, we would have lost these treasured games forever.
The full article contains 804 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
