Driving back from the station just now listening to the pre match buildup for the USA v Czech Republic game I thought to myself: who would most people want to win this match - the American team or the European team? I will be supporting the Americans without any hesitation. Yet when the Ryder Cup is played later in the year I will be shouting for the Europeans, partly I suppose because there will be British golfers on the European team. But it's still a total inconsistency on my part. But isn't that the beauty of sport? There's no logic to sporting affinity at all.
The Americans, of course! They're our cousins! They are members of the Anglosphere! They share English Common Law with us (or did, until Tony Blair pulled ours out from under us). I couldn't care less about European countries. I like them OK, but I would never support one of them over one of ours.
ReplyDelete- Anonymousette
Jesus Iain, could you imagine trying to pick a squad for an EU team?
ReplyDeleteThe Ryder Cup is excellent - particularly when you have a dad who's a gold coach in America. How nice at that point it is to be European and beating the pants of the Yanks.
ReplyDeleteYet due to common language and probably more closer links culturally I always feel more at home in the States then in much of Western Europe.
Reminds me of the time during the last election I was stopped by a pollster on the way to work.Among the more inane questions was 'do you support Europe?'.My reply was 'yes in the Ryder cup'.Don't think she knew what to make of that!
ReplyDeleteAs regards the WC.If it's not England then Mexico (my mum's from there),if not them Australia (wifes mum was an Aussie)otherwise anyone but France!
Surely geographically speaking, one ought to support the Europeans! Otherwise it is like a Norwegian backing Russia in a Russia Vs Scandanavia golf match
ReplyDeleteNow that would be interesting..
I'm with you Iain. USA all the way!! Other wise my wife (An American) would kill me.
ReplyDeleteSadly there isn’t much fuss about the world cup over here in the USA though.
I only support the Europeans in the Ryder Cup because of the obnoxious behaviour of American golf fans. And whether you are for the USA or not, the Czechs are clearly miles better. Best team I have seen so far(as always technically superb), though they look short up front(and Koller has just got carried off as well...long stretcher that). I refuse to support America in this tournament because of their fantasy rating by FIFA.
ReplyDeleteAlways support the underdog, but make an exception for the USA who need bringing down a peg (nothing political, but purely based on their ridiculous FIFA ranking - 4th - based on easy competition in Concacaf).
ReplyDeleteBetween USA and any Central European country: usually, the Central Europeans.
ReplyDeleteBetween USA and any major West-European country: the USA:
Between USA and any small West-European country: I'd go on a case-by-case basis.
With the Ryder Cup I find mysefl chering on the British players but not really giving a hoot about the result, because it is a European team.
ReplyDeleteEuropean. I've personally had enough of the US monopoly in sport!
ReplyDeleteThe Czechs care about football, whereas at is still a fringe sport in the US (well known and quite widely played but seen as a kids' sport to some extent). For that reason, I'd support the Czechs above the US. I similarly have a soft spot for teams from the Indian subcontinent in cricket because it is *so* important to them that the enthusiasm is infectious.
ReplyDeleteAnother good reason to back the Czechs is that along with the Norwegians they had by far the best resistance movement during the Second World War (obviously the US never had to have a resistence - but generally the Czech Republic is a thoroughly likeable country in many ways).
Except when I have money on the outcome, I'm struggling to summon much enthusiasm for any of the other teams - with the exception of T&T, and that's only because of Shaka....
ReplyDeleteIs there a football match going on somewhere? Shame, I'll be washing my hair.
ReplyDeleteGorse Fox supported the Americans, though never really expected them to beat the Czech Republic.
ReplyDeleteThe Czech Republic - they're the better team and would be more interesting to watch against the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Holland, France, or Italy come the knock-out stages.
ReplyDeleteAlso because they had rotten luck in the Euro 2004 semi-final, with Nedved's injury letting Greece (with their horribly negative and boring football, rather like Stoke when managed by Tony Pulis, Man Utd when Quieroz was listened to by Sir Alex, or Arsenal when managed by George Graham) get to the final. The Czech Republic v Portugal would have been far more entertaining.
All the same, the growing Hispanic population in the US may (apart from causing divisions in the GOP) one day allow the US to win the World Cup. Which might just be bearable when it'll cause so much upset to all those 'they deserved 9/11' miserable anti-American tw*ts over at Comment Is Free.
The Czechs Republic is a likeable country when it's got so many gorgeous women, and has such nice beer.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Yanks stop calling the Baseball Finals the world series and lose some of their arrogance in the Ryder cup, then maybe.
ReplyDeleteUntil then I would support Iran vs USA.
Gosh - you Tories and your European paranoia! It'll go on gnawing away at your party's credibility probably at least until all the members currently over 40 have died off. Maybe then your successors will have learnt to chill a little. But then it took some Americans a couple of centuries to get in tune with the US concept and there's even now many good ole boys who ain't too happy 'bout it....
ReplyDeleteAnon at 8.38 - it is called the World Series as a newspaper called The World used to sponsor it. Yes, really.
ReplyDeleteBit much to ask us to jump up and down like Ra-Ra Girls for the US 'soccer' team when 99% of the American public couldn't give a stuff about them.
ReplyDeleteOut of three recent major American news network reports on the World Cup only one mentioned (in passing) that the US actually had a team competing in Germany. And last night's main CBS bulletin failed to report on the US's defeat to the Czech Republic.
Couldn't be anything to with the NFL, MLB, NBA ganging up on 'the beautiful game' do you? Oh silly me! There I go again with my conspiracy theories...
Croydonian - you've been fed an urban myth on the naming of the World Series I'm afraid. Take a look at this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.snopes.com/business/names/worldseries.asp
Are you not supporting the Czechs because they're simply a better side (as the result demonstrated)?
ReplyDeleteOr is it a historical hangover to the days of Ludek Miklosko?
I support the US but England as well. Considering its unlikely they will face each other that is not a problem.
ReplyDeleteSupporting Iran in the World Cup...kinda like pushing for Germany to do well in the Munich Olympics.
I will never support EUrope over America, why should i rally to the "EUssr" flag, the EUssr doesn't even recognise England as a nation and wants to regionalise England out of existence, with the help of Bliar and the Labour regime of course.
ReplyDeleteEven if all the players in the "EUropean dream team" were English i still wouldnt support them playing under that flag, im English, not EUropean.
It is no logical for English people to support EUrope over America, America on the whole is a Anglo-saxonesque country, largeley modelled on England, we have a common languagae and a common history.
Now compare this to EUrope, all we have in common with them is geography, other than that we are incompatable with them politically, which is exactly why Bliar and the Labour regime are converting England for EUropean rule from Brussels.
Cinnamon - OK, it's a fair cop.. I suspect that the World thing is an escalation along the same lines as county fair, state fair, world fair etc etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ludo Miklosko is a Slovak, I believe.
Ludo is Czech, not Slovak.... (41 Czech caps). I would personally be far happier supporting the Czechs than the USA. Is this evidence that for the Tories the Czech Republic is still "a far away country of whom we know nothing"?!
ReplyDeleteIain, you might be interested to note that Ming Campbell made a very similar point in a speech in the North East on Saturday, in which he advised he saw no inconsistency in supporting the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, the GB team at athletics, England in the World Cup and in the Ashes, and Scotland in the rugby....
Croydonian - Ludek Miklosko is Czech.
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing...
ReplyDeleteThe Czech Republic is an accession state and, for a tidy sum would undoubtedly have assisted US spooks with extraordinary rendition.
And yet more...
The US is the richest country in the world with a population of 300 million and even though we know their current FIFA ranking of 5th is complete poo they hardly qualify as underdogs.
I'll be watching something interesting instead.
ReplyDeleteInamicus, NSFL,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to give up posting any more 'facts' to this thread, and will don sackcloth and ashes.
As my personal Canossa, I will offer up some of the rather nifty phrases that one of the West Ham fanzines translated for him when he signed (I can't remember the Czech, unsurprisingly):
'My favourite meal is steak and chips'.
'I'm sorry Brian, I didn't realise she was your daughter'.
'My hovercraft is full of eels'.
'It's very difficult to judge the bounce on plastic, Elton'.
and the truly sublime:
'It was a game of two halves and we were crap in both of them'.