Just a quick one this morning
As I sat last night here watching England cruise to a win against Latvia, I found myself feeling very indifferent towards the whole thing. Maybe that’s to do with my overall interest in international football as I have mentioned on here before. There was a time when I would actively cheer on the other team, as any rival of another team does.
But I don’t really know what changed over the years that led me to feeling so indifferent to their fortunes. As I write this, it’s an unpacking exercise that I’ll share with you all here.
Firstly, Ireland just aren’t close to being on their level these days. Let’s face it, they have always been better than us, but we were once good enough to get results against them through sheer will. Now, as we saw recently, they can just roll over us as if we aren’t there. Two things have happened: they have become one of the best teams in world football, while we have taken many strides backwards as a footballing nation.
Secondly, as a fan of a Premier League club with young players in the England setup, I find myself conflicted. If I want England to lose it seems contradictory in that I can’t help but think that a good run at international level in a major tournament would be great for the development of these players, and ultimately benefit the club I support. I know that might sound silly, but if I see a young player make a mistake for England in a major tournament, be it a red card, penalty miss, or whatever the level of scrutiny they will face in the English press and online could be very damaging. So, on one level, I nearly root for the player rather than the team.
Then there’s the fact that I have English friends and colleagues who are football fans. I can’t really begrudge them celebrating their victories and will be happy for them unless, of course, it’s at Ireland’s expense.
Now, I say all of this, but I am a big fan of comedy in football. So when England find themselves in a penalty shootout in next year’s World Cup semi-final against Germany, you can be sure I’ll be sitting there with a plate of bratwurst and a pint of Erdinger. I’m a sucker for tradition—turkey at Christmas, flowers for Valentine’s, and England losing World Cup penalty shootouts. These are what keep the universe aligned.
I’d love to hear what you all think in the comments.
Cheers until the next one.
Dave at AnyGames