World Cup 2010 fever sweeps Britain

Britain are a nation of football-obsessed devotees. So much so, that it is not uncommon to encounter invisible demographic boundaries, which are solely determined by which team you support. When I was young and growing up in Burnley, Lancashire, fans of Burnley football club would never, ever be friends with fans of Blackburn Rovers. In fact, by nature of the fact they supported different clubs, they would instantly be sworn enemies.

To demonstrate the point, I remember a particularly enchanting sonnet that Burnley fans would sing whenever faced with a Blackburn supporter:

"If I had the wings of a sparrow,
And the dirty, great a**e of a crow,
I'd fly over Ewood  tomorrow [Ewood Park is Blackburn Rover's football ground]
and crap on the b******s below....."

Aww, warms the cockles of your heart doesn't it? Rogers and Hammerstein could only dream of such talent.

So, I think by now, you are getting the picture about how BIG football is in the UK. And let's add to that a World Cup 2010 tournament ...... and what do you get? Yep, a country that has gone completely bonkers with football mania.

There are England flags draped on people houses, cars have England flags flying from their windows, everywhere you look people are wearing England shirts... crikey, they are even dressing their dogs up in England outfits.

Pic.No.1. England fans are amongst the most enthusiastic in the world

With the advent of their first match with the USA looming, the build-up reached fever pitch... with pundits claiming that England had the potential to make it to grand final.

I must admit that I am not normally a football supporter, but even I was enticed by the buzz, and resolved to watch the England matches [yeh, yeh, I know. I am the type of fan despised by the die-harders!].

So it was with great anticipation, it must be said, that I sat down to watch England's opening match with the USA. I watched and watched..... and thought to myself, "ummm England don't appear to be very good." I quickly dismissed the thought as being that of a rookie football fan.

And then disaster struck....... the England goalkeeper fumbled a save which meant that the match ultimately ended in a draw..... don't forget that it was predicted that England would walk a win. 

Pic.No.2. Oops, England fumbled a goal

Pic.No.3. The England goalkeeper, Robert Green, looks dejected

In a post-match analysis, the England performance was completely panned by pundits, whilst the England Manager put it down to first-match nerves, assuring the nation that the second match against Algeria would see a vast improvement.

So last night, I again sat down with anticipation that England would drag themselves up from the doldrums. I mean, Algeria were completely the underdogs according to the Bookies odds.

Oh and the Goalie who fumbled the goal.... he was dropped from the team. I actually felt really sorry for him... he made a mistake (everyone does), and got dropped before he had chance to redeem himself. Man... that has got to knock his self-confidence (look at me, I am like a psychologist). 

So the match commenced, and without going into too much detail, suffice to say that the England performance was diabolical and shambolic.... even worse than their first match. So much so, that (horror of horrors), the England fans booed the team as they left the pitch after the final whistle signalled a 0 - 0 draw.

The booing prompted the leading England scorer, Wayne Rooney to make this comment to the camera:

Vid.No.1. Wayne Rooney complaining about being booed by England fans

Now I have a question for you...... "is it ever acceptable to boo the team that you support?" Ummm, I have pondered this one for quite a while and it isn't as straightforward a question as it first appears. What do you think?

P.S. At the moment, the whole of England is alternating between despondancy and anger over the latest World Cup performance. The news is completely full of it....... and eek, it is with trepidation that I anticipate England's next match with Slovenia on Wednesday.