flying the flag for the world cup?

[Harold Hill]

Today I was sat behind a car that had three mini england shirts displayed in its back window.

one was just a normal england kit.

the other two were the backs of the shirts, one with 8 - lampard, and the other one with 9 - rooney.

you cannot even start to think about how angry that made me.

right - first - the driver of that car obviously does not give a shit about football. shiny new "engerland" shirts, bought for the world cup "festival".

secondly - which club do they support? is it chelsea or man utd? or both? or (more than fucking likely) neither? I could never put a lampard engerland "commemorative world cup mini shirt" in my car. I hate the cunt. If I was a chelsea fan (heaven forbid) then I couldn't put a rooney one in there.

I bet he paints his face red and white as he settles down into his armchair.

Once every four years.

Why not find something more worthwhile to get angry about.

 

[tommers]

Why not find something more worthwhile to get angry about.

 

[tommers]

im a chelsea fan, and i like rooney, beckham, gerrard etc when they play for england, because they are playing for the team I support: England.

so you can spend nine months of the year disliking players and then forget all about it when they pull on an england shirt?

wish I was as fickle as you.

 

[Harold Hill]

so you can spend nine months of the year disliking players and then forget all about it when they pull on an england shirt?

wish I was as fickle as you.

How is it fickle?

If a player you disliked signed for your club side, would you still hate him?

 

[mk12]

Fickle? Gerrard is playing for England, and I support England. Therefore, I will support him. When he plays for Liverpool, obviously i'm not his biggest fan. If he played for Chelsea, i'd like him.

 

[tommers]

How is it fickle?

If a player you disliked signed for your club side, would you still hate him?

yeah.

if it was lampard.

it's fickle because you have changed your allegiances at the drop of a hat. (or donning of a jersey.)

I don't know, I'm probably sounding more vitriolic than I am (rough weekend) but I find it annoying when people who don't follow football and don't know anything about football suddenly start spouting on to me about rooney's foot and hanging world cup souvenirs on their cars.

 

[Termite Man]

In the flag flying stakes where I live portugal are winning 2 flags to 1

 

[Termite Man]

will their be a flag at rollahni heights or can you not decide between England and Spain ?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Sorry disagree with you here Tommers. When it's England it's England, the players are immaterial.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Sorry disagree with you here Tommers. When it's England it's England, the players are immaterial.

Definitely.

Are you going to boo if Lampard scores or something?

 

[Termite Man]

Definitely.

Are you going to boo if Lampard scores or something?

I didn't boo but when Scholes scored for England once I was pissed off because I didn't like him !

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I didn't boo but when Scholes scored for England once I was pissed off because I didn't like him !

I once had a fiver on him as first scorer and he scored in something like the 2nd minute.

(Irrelevant but hey.)

I don't care who scores for England, as long as someone does.

 

[vince noir]

yeah.

if it was lampard.

it's fickle because you have changed your allegiances at the drop of a hat. (or donning of a jersey.)

I don't know, I'm probably sounding more vitriolic than I am (rough weekend) but I find it annoying when people who don't follow football and don't know anything about football suddenly start spouting on to me about rooney's foot and hanging world cup souvenirs on their cars.

How do you know the driver hadn't just removed his Leyton Orient stickers to make room for the England ones?

 

[Termite Man]

I don't know, I'm probably sounding more vitriolic than I am (rough weekend) but I find it annoying when people who don't follow football and don't know anything about football suddenly start spouting on to me about rooney's foot and hanging world cup souvenirs on their cars.

That happened to me at work but luckily I made everyone feel stupid by going on about 4-1-4-1 formation , gerrard or lampard playing more forward to fill rooneys space and carrick as holding midfiled . They didn't have a clue what I was on about

 

[trashpony]

I don't know, I'm probably sounding more vitriolic than I am (rough weekend) but I find it annoying when people who don't follow football and don't know anything about football suddenly start spouting on to me about rooney's foot and hanging world cup souvenirs on their cars.

Do you support the British team in the Olympics? Or do you think you have to be an avid year-round fan buying Rowers Weekly before you can legitimately shout encouragement at Pinsent el al?

 

[tommers]

Do you support the British team in the Olympics? Or do you think you have to be an avid year-round fan buying Rowers Weekly before you can legitimately shout encouragement at Pinsent el al?

couldn't really care less about the olympics, how many golds england (or is it gb?) get yadda yadda yadda

I certainly don't go to pubs and babble on about whether it's better using a 30 oar strokes / minute or 40 over a mile in stormy conditions.

I also don't deck my car out in rowing flags in some sort of display of patriotism about something that I don't care about for the rest of the 4 year cycle.

 

[trashpony]

couldn't really care less about the olympics, how many golds england (or is it gb?) get yadda yadda yadda

I certainly don't go to pubs and babble on about whether it's better using a 30 oar strokes / minute or 40 over a mile in stormy conditions.

I also don't deck my car out in rowing flags in some sort of display of patriotism about something that I don't care about for the rest of the 4 year cycle.

Don't you?

<pop psychology mode> I think for some people that the World Cup represents a chance to unite the nation and be nationalistic in a way that isn't about jingoism </pop psychology mode>

And yes, it's GB in the Olympics

 

[tommers]

<pop psychology mode> I think for some people that the World Cup represents a chance to unite the nation and be nationalistic in a way that isn't about jingoism </pop psychology mode>

not jingoistic??? I am genuinely shocked you think that. For me that's part of the whole reason I hate it. It is so jingoistic - "let's all beat the germans", "two world wars and one world cup", "no surrender to the IRA" bullshit.

I used to support england, in fact I still do. I'll be cheering them on but part of me is becoming more and more disenchanted with the whole media frenzy / nationalistic fervour that accompanies the world cup.

Personally I think it's probably all down to Lampard / Cole / Carrick / Ferdinand / Defoe. Maybe I just see what could have been.

 

[trashpony]

not jingoistic??? I am genuinely shocked you think that. For me that's part of the whole reason I hate it. It is so jingoistic - "let's all beat the germans", "two world wars and one world cup", "no surrender to the IRA" bullshit.

I used to support england, in fact I still do. I'll be cheering them on but part of me is becoming more and more disenchanted with the whole media frenzy / nationalistic fervour that accompanies the world cup.

Personally I think it's probably all down to Lampard / Cole / Carrick / Ferdinand / Defoe. Maybe I just see what could have been.

I never think of it like that but I'd forgotten all the crap the redtops print. I've clearly tried to block it

Is it unifying though? Possibly bringing together a multicultural nation behind one team?

I do personally have a problem with some of the England team but I try and rise above it. Not always that successfully it must be said ...

 

[Donna Ferentes]

There is a unifying aspect and there is a multicultural aspect but there's also a large aspect whereby it brings out the worst of patriotism rather than the best. Moreover, I would have thought that in contemporary times, sporting festivals are surely the most prominent way in which the ideas of The Nation and National Loyalty were rehearsed and promoted - less powerfully than in war, but rather more often - and that's why I tend to take the opportunity to express my opposition to nationalism.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Curiously though, now I live abroad I find myself in an odd position because I'm el inglés whether I like it or not. I don't think this will lead me to support the England team but it does mean I'm coming at the matter from a rather different direction than I'm used to.

 

[Addy]

Will i hang a silly flag from my bedroom window in support of England during the world cup?
Not a F#cking chance!

 

[mk12]

There is a unifying aspect and there is a multicultural aspect but there's also a large aspect whereby it brings out the worst of patriotism rather than the best. Moreover, I would have thought that in contemporary times, sporting festivals are surely the most prominent way in which the ideas of The Nation and National Loyalty were rehearsed and promoted - less powerfully than in war, but rather more often - and that's why I tend to take the opportunity to express my opposition to nationalism.

Do you believe that people who fly their flags from their car windows are nationalists then?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

It's hard to see what else they could be unless you redefine nationalism in such a way as to make it lose all meaning. It is the act in which they are engaged when flying the national flag.

 

[mk12]

Do you not believe you can be an internationalist if you fly the England flag in support of a sports team?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

You might very well be, but not while you're doing it.

 

[mk12]

So when I fly an england flag in my window, I give up my support for the working class' struggle in other countries against their ruling class? Are you being serious?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Do try not to make me say things I haven't said, it's a tiresome business.

 

[mk12]

You claimed it was impossible to be an internationalist when you fly the England flag. Which means my "internationalism" (supporting the working class of different countries) is incompatible with my support for the English football team by flying an English flag.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Sigh....


....look. I'm talking about "the act" right? The act in which you are engaged. I mean if you go out to a demo supporting the international proletariat in its struggle against the depredations of capital and the flag happens to still be hanging from your balcony while you're gone, that's not really what I mean, is it?