England & Get Yer Kit Off!
Seb: I’m not a big football fan.
I supported a team once, when I was a teenager, when I had a best friend. I supported the same team as him because… well… you don’t just sit there in silence when the rest of the household are red-faced and screaming at the television. It’s just not done.
I supported them for a few years; never did see an actual, live football match though, and I rarely watched them on television. I do try to watch England’s international matches, and I think I understand enough of the game to appreciate it, but I really only really watch because it’s the done thing. I can’t turn up at the (figurative) water cooler tomorrow and not know exactly how Lampard rocks or why Heskey sucks.
Anyway! I actually used to play football. I never really learnt to run, so I was usually in goal, or in defence; right back. (Are you meant to be taught how to run, or does it just come naturally?) I wasn’t very good in either position, but you can’t just side on the sideline and watch… that’s just not done.
I should probably take this chance to wish the Americans well in the World Cup! No hard feelings, eh? What with our group game out of the way, we’ll probably both advance to the quarter finals — and after that, we can only meet in the grand final!
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Abi: Football, Football… Not really something I would say I am into.
I don’t support a regional team, nor have I fancied a player since Gary Linekar (did I just say that out loud?) I have never dated a man who is into football, (okay one or two, but they dont count) or generally been into preamble, Alan Hansen or Carling Black Label. I realise this may lose me a lot of fans, but I’m more interested in Tennis, Rugby and Figure Skating. I did go out with a guy who was into Aussie rules Football, which was an education, but as for the Football, (No Americans, it is definately NOT Soccer) I do have a fleeting interest in our World Cup campaign but that’s about as far as it goes.
Saturday’s game against the USA was really, freaking dull. I went into the city to shoot some pictures of the crowds assembled in Queens Square. I have honestly never seen so many topless men in one place, it was like auditions for Celebrity Love Island. Anyway, I’m not sure if any other country does this when it comes to major sporting events, but the UK is currently obsessed with these little flags which clip onto your car. I don’t know if I missed the announcement or something but suddenly everyone has them. I vaguely remember them being around during the last World Cup, but not in quite such vast numbers!
It is only during major sporting events that one is reminded of ones Britishness. Sometimes I am proud to be English, sometimes I am am embarrased. On the whole I think that a sense of National Pride is a good thing. It’s a shame that (unless by some miracle, we win the damn Cup) right now we are best known for a Hung Parliament, Cups of tea, Bad teeth and Clip on St Georges. It’s not a big ask Boys, win already.
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Click EITHER photo to see a smaller version on Flickr
Emily Jane
Jun 14, 2010
I never follow football any time other than the World Cup, but being over here in the colonies it’s a great excuse to stand up and support England. Went to a “British” pub to watch the match and it was lovely to see other expats out in full force covered in face paint and flags and standing up for the anthem (and then promptly Sitting Down for the Americans’ haha). I love the sense of national pride England has – I haven’t seen it on quite the same scale anywhere else. I think it comes from being brought up with 5 channels (BBC 1 & 2, ITV, C4 and Sky) and only listening to Radio 1 and the whole country would be watching and following and listening to the same stuff. Here there’s hundreds of channels of complete rubbish – nobody’s really following the same stuff as a nation. I love England
sebastian
Jun 14, 2010
I can see myself being slightly more patriotic if I lived in another country… but not MUCH more, I think. I don’t think I would ever paint my face
Dunno really; I never really understood patriotism, or nationalism. Like, I could’ve easily been born in any other country — just because I live here, doesn’t make my country any better than the others. *shrugs* (I have more to say, but this isn’t the place for it!)
There are a few ‘public’ channels over there, isn’t there? ABC? CTV? And of course… BBC World Service
Eleni
Jun 15, 2010
I watched one game in the 2006 World Cup, and it was a game in which nobody actually scored (Trinidad and Tobago v. Sweden). Just back and forth and back and forth with the ball. I understand that Trinidad and Tobago were the big underdogs, so it was very “exciting” to see them hold their own against Sweden, but COME ON! SOMEBODY, please get a goal, already.
As sports go, though, I actually rank “soccer” as relatively fun to watch. Both baseball and American football have this problem of frequent stops in the action. A ball is thrown, people are running, and then ten seconds later everything stops, and then people are milling around, waiting for things to be set up again. Boring.
Yes, I’d heard about our team’s victory over the weekend, which is a bit of a miracle because I don’t follow sports, and Americans don’t follow soccer. I couldn’t name a single player on our team. But anyway, uh, Go team!
sebastian
Jun 17, 2010
I remember when I was in Vegas, my friend wanted to ‘do’ a proper American Football game, in one of the sports lounges at a casino. (I think they’re called sports books? Where you gamble on the game?)
Anyway…
I had NO idea that one game is ONLY 60 minutes of play time. They stretch it out to 3, 4 hours? Crazy.
Never did understand the appeal of baseball. I mean, even cricket’s better… and that’s pretty damn boring.