To wish England hadn't won (almost)

[littlegreybird]

I'm not a football fan but someone who tends to get swept along during big tournaments and a few years ago would have been thrilled by last night's result.

This year I hate it. I think the team and manager seem great, but the booing during the other teams' national anthems is sickening and makes me utterly ashamed. Then you just know it'll be jumped on by Johnson (already has) and the victory, or even getting this far, will become part of his populism. Then there's all the covid cases that will be spread due to all the mixing in pubs etc, more than would have been the case anyway.

I just feel nothing for this country anymore after the events of the last few years. Latest bit of shit news is that my daily commute will now be shared by exhausted lorry drivers who won't have had breaks thanks to Brexit, so that's a cheery thought.

When is anything good going to happen that isn't sullied by this utterly shit governement?

I completely agree with you littlegreybird. I loathe the yobbish euphoria that comes with football and the game itself. Frankly I don’t give a damn whether we win on Sunday or not, or for the flags or the ‘superheroes’ that merely kick a ball around and earn millions in the process. It was predictable that Johnson would jump on the bandwagon and revel in the glory thereby drawing attention to himself and his unsavoury populist ideologies. I simply don’t get why the general population don’t see through him and his totally fake rhetoric. One day when the ‘Little Englanders’ realise most of what he says is bluster and lies and the Brexit he delivered hits their pockets, the huge mistakes this poxy little country have made will hit home. Meanwhile some of us have to put up with this crap and live here. Heaven help us.

@Bythemillpond

Unfortunately, the Brexit vote means we don't have the freedom to live anywhere else. Our freedoms have been seriously curtailed

Of course you can.
Leaving the EU didn’t put a stop to people emigrating.

It might be a bit more work than it was before we left if you want to emigrate to an EU country but the rest of the world hasn’t changed

Exactly, just as hard or the same as other people who moves to the UK ;) Unless you go in a dingy haha 😂

I am right with you, you can tell who would be the spies if we ever went to war (just because I don’t like boris ) no I don’t think it is . I hate those English hating uk flag burning people that reside here for what reason? We still have loads of countries that people can move into .

Simonjt “ it is fairly common to boo other countries’ National anthems” - absolute and utter nonsense- this has NEVER happened in rugby, at Wimbledon, nor at the Olympics. It’s rude, disrespectful amd frankly just adds grist to the mill that the English are small minded, rude, insular and ignorant ( as in shining lasers at the goalie, leaving tonnes of rubbish behind and not giving a damn about spreading COVID for starters). I used to be so proud of living in Great Britain- but we have become more like the parody of Little England with each year.

I think YABU op and I generally hate football.

It's 22 men kicking a ball and it's costs lots to police it when the polo e could be doing other useful things, they're stuck policing men acting like kids with an extra bit of violence thrown in!

But even I can see that lots of people enjoy it and are happy about reaching the final.

And politicians always capitalise on stuff that make people happy - they'd be the same if Andy Murray was in the final at Wimbledon! Ignore them and ignore the football if it depresses you.

You are being V V V V unreasonable.. this is the most excitement this country has had in a long long time .. don’t watch if you don’t like it

@GingerandTilly

I sympathise OP as am not a fan of Boris or Brexit either. Nor do I like the yobbish aspects of football. However, I have been impressed by how this team have tried to act as role models, from feeding hungry kids to taking the knee and wearing rainbow armbands.

Absolutely agree. I think that the England team are role models, for the first time in decades. And Gareth Southgate is a gentleman, consoling losing players from other teams before celebrating with his own. And I can't stand football. But I think that this England team deserves every success and I hope that they win the whole tournament.

I live in Scotland and I’m delighted that England have made it to the final. The only thing I dislike is the media storm forcing it down my throat! Good morning Britain for a start. I’ll be backing them all the way though

Good to hear it @Jengadreads.. I always support the other home nations too … come on England!!

’m proud of this government

You are? Well, I suppose someone has to be.

Irish person here and I honest think there are so many positives to England. I think everyone is finding everything that bit tougher and more negative lately but overall it has so much going for it. I kind of see the football thing, the fans have booed every time opposing teams got the ball and acted like idiots and scumbags so much in this competition especially when you compare them to that lovely match of spain and italy, which was exactly how football should be, but best of luck still (I find most english people nice!!)

OP completely agree with you

I've lived and worked in six different European countries, am married to a European, and I am absolutely not ashamed to be British. I'm proud of the work I do, my workplace, think my colleagues are decent hard working intelligent educated people and most of them are a pleasure to know. There are many things about the British attitude that I think are great. If you are so ashamed of your roots, get out there and do something to make your environment better - do great work, raise great children, bring happiness to people. You may then start to realise how fortunate we are.

You’re on the button. 60 years from now, our great-grandchildren will be bombarded with this great victory. Unfortunately, Italy are just as bad winners as losers, like England. Motto: It’s not enough that we win, others must lose, & have their efforts trashed. These are not the values I grew up with, nor raised my children to aspire to. Sad.

emilyfrost

Oh calm down and stop being so miserable.

I’m proud of this country and I’m proud of this government. If you’re not and you think it’s so shit nobody’s making you live here.

Yet another example of the disgraceful knee-jerk response/line of thought which tries to close down an argument by telling the holder of the opposing opinion to 'just get out of my country!'
This person should consider what if your opinion turned out to be in the minority, and everyone else turned round and said
' For holding such a repellant attitude, we would like you to kindly leave this country, as we wish it to be more inclusive and tolerant society'?

Hmm?

Italy are going to win not England. Everyone knows that.

I can see your point OP.

I think it's a sad state of affairs when the nation loses its mind about millionaires kicking a football around, can move heaven and earth to change working / school hours, find money for season tickets, suspend Covid restrictions, but for nurses and NHS workers asking for more than a 1% pay rise the most we can do is bang a saucepan once a week and then move on. I think our priorities as a nation are odd.

@littlegreybird

it makes a lot of people happy so it's tolerable.

I think that's partly my point. Time was it made me happy at these big events, but not anymore.

I'd love to move elsewhere, but I don't think I need to list all the reasons why this isn't an option do I?

I'm not depressed, but I do think the way this country is being run is causing mental health problems and, I don't know, just sadness, for a lot of people, me included.

Thank you for saying all of this, and how the running of the show has become a total shit show. I'm happy to see someone (I assume British?) saying this so openly and frankly. I'm not British, so for me it's only natural to marvel at the horrendous politics over the last 10 years - exactly because I have another point of reference. This has nothing to do with the football, although it's almost fascinating to see how much energy is poured into a game, that could be put elsewhere. (There clearly isn't much else to be proud of at the moment - and hasn't been for a while) - but leaving the football aside: the running of the country is indeed shocking, and it's 100% causing mental health problems for so many.

The inequality, the austerity, the general populist brainwashing by a (mostly)Tory-owned press, the serfdom expected in the work place, lack of unions and affordable childcare and now on top of it all, the Brexit-coup and a shoddily handled pandemic.

A lot of people don't see it. They think it's normal to pay through the nose just because they'made a 21st century-decision to both work and have a baby, and to be treated like mugs by politicians.

It isn't normal. (Well, maybe in the US and in Bahrain). But in a civilised European country? No. It is not.

Also. People who criticise the UK shouldn't immediately have to leave. They should be listened to instead.

“When is anything good going to happen that isn't sullied by this utterly shit governement?”

In your world it’s not possible as even if something generally felt to be good DID happen, you’d still resent it happening on BJ’s watch.

The post says more about your outlook on the world than anything else.

I'm with you OP, the team and the manager are great and a few years ago I'd have been delighted that they are doing well but it is all being ruined by Covid, Racist acts, cheating and hooligans. We're already the laughing stock of Europe if not the world and their behaviour isn't helping. I almost wish they'd put the final somewhere else so the hooligans can't go.

Football clubs pay the police to police the games … a lot if officers are happy for the overtime.

Football is not what is was in the 80s … in the last 20 years I’ve seen two fights.

We're already the laughing stock of Europe if not the world

I'm pretty certain most of the world coudln't give a shit about what is or is not happening in Britain.

They're more interested in the various problems their own countries have. And every single country has problems, despite what folks on MN think. This obsession with Britain being a 'laughing stock' is weird.

Who's laughing?

Well... this has raised my blood pressure, I presume Boris is holding up his St George's Cross underpants.... that's what it looks like!

I so agree. In fact, one could argue that because we chose to live here (from all the places in the world) and not just happened to be born here we should also have the right to criticise the bits we disagree with. I feel like I have much less to say about the things in my country of birth as I chose to leave.

I also compete agree with OP as I feel the same. I respect the team and what many of them stand for and the coach but I hate the booing and the boost the government is getting as a result. For example, Priti Patel's pathetic hypocritical Twitter photos make me really angry.

@littlegreybird

When you have the attitude that OP has, they aren’t doing anything to make it better. They’re wallowing. Until they realise that and make moves to change it, they’ll be miserable.

Right, so you know from my post this morning that I've never done anything to make the country better and just wallow? Wow... Until recently I was a member of my political party of choice (that's gone to shit now though...), I was involved in my local campaign to stop Brexit and I work in a deprived area on the 'front line' trying to make things better there. I do plenty, thanks. Just increasingly, over the last few years (decade) it's all felt increasingly hopeless and this morning I feel especially down about it.

I understand exactly where you are coming from. I also feel utterly helpless at the path this country is taking. This government is shockingly bad and their corruption and blatant disregard to decency and rules (and absence of any shame) is frightening. The system is wrong, we shouldn’t be in a situation where the only “choice” is extremes.

Brexit is a mess and makes me sad too.

All that said, I am glad England won. Gareth Southgate is a great manager and the team are really decent - none of the bad behaviour of past teams. I also am appalled at the behaviour of the fans - tickets are so limited, the “fans” boo’ing and pointing a laser pen at the goalie are not fans, their behaviour is embarrassing and unacceptable, they are letting their team down and quite frankly should be banned from attending games.