tiggers

Watching the news this morning and listening to people here at work you would have thought it was a day of national mourning.

All that happened is England lost a football match and in the grand scheme of things that's hardly worth getting upset over.

On TV there were pictures of fans crying just because England got knocked out and the TV pundits are talking like Engalnd has just lost a war. It's pathetic

Get some perspective for God's sake - yesteday 100+ people died in sporadic attacks in Iraq, but today much of the English nation is crying over a football match.

tiggers.

SomeDude

Mass psychology is a weird thing isn't it ?

scoobydooooo

tiggers , you've got to be female , right

angrynorth

Weapon of Mass Distraction

Faire D'Income

Tiggers, now you've offended the real men who like football.

Ug, Ug.

TelBoy

The majority of us only become this irrational every two years though!!

ajm

Agree totally.

This behaviour is totally unbecoming of grown men who claim to be proud Englishmen!

mgg

Its two things, one, being passionate about the game of football, and two, being patriotic. When else are the English so patriotic ?

tiggers

Oh dear, how ever will I go on?

BTW I have no problem with patriotism up to a point or passion for that matter, but all this really is going just a little too far.

tiggers.

OllyK

English football has F'all to do with being patriotic, it has plenty to do with being a football supporter. If these "patriotic" Engalnd fans were really so patriotic they would be at every event involving an English team, be that Rugby, Badminton, Tennis, Golf, Cycling, Bowls or Croquet in a bid to support their country.

How many of you "patriotic" football fans can honesty admit to supporting 10 or more sports with the same degree of vigour that you show towards football? How many of you that travelled to Portugal also went to New Zealand to support the English Bowls team when they were touring, or to Zimbabwe to support the cricket team??

angrynorth

Football is the national sport though Olly. I suppose that explains it really.

fast bloke

- England get beaten more often than that?

r32

Only a game of football?

What was it the famous Bill Shankley said?

Tiggs

"Football is the national sport though Olly"

what an out of date idea.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death.
I'm very disappointed with that attitude.
I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

- Bill Shankly

TelBoy

LOL, true, but we *do* usually make the final stages of the Euro Championships and World Cup...

OllyK

It is the love of your country, not the activities of a few guys on a football pitch that makes you patriotic. To cherry pick a very small part of what this country is about and claim to be patriotic because you support that one small element is a joke.

Those who support the England football team are passionate about football, fine that's cool. But how passionate are you about the rest of the activities within England, are you prepared to lay your life down to denfend your country and what it stands for?

I think the term has been de-valued, like many others over the years. It seems anybody who waves the St George cross now and again and doesn't bitch about the governement too much considers themself patriotic without really think what it actually means.

fast bloke

Is that a reference to "my" national team?? - go easy - just cos they (note - not we) took 1300 minutes of football to score

TelBoy

YYY, it was the Royal "we"..!!

When are Oirland gonna get their act together then?

And Wales, come to that. On paper, Wales should be winning a LOT more!

fast bloke

Nice corner TB - you should apply for a job on the engerland squad

fast bloke

Northern Ireland squad are all part timers - most of them work in the shipyard all day and then go to Windsor park for a kickabout after

The republic team used to be good, but once England ran out of good players they wouldn't let all the half decent English players become honorary irishmen by drinking a pint of Guinness