tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post6775359204999338315..comments2024-01-19T21:33:09.716+00:00Comments on E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK: England!EYEWEARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900801847916951522noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-38662512393003694952010-06-16T12:05:37.154+01:002010-06-16T12:05:37.154+01:00Alan, thanks for that cogent explanation!Alan, thanks for that cogent explanation!EYEWEARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01900801847916951522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-26018153484645834342010-06-14T21:09:04.233+01:002010-06-14T21:09:04.233+01:00There may be a more prosaic reason for the separat...There may be a more prosaic reason for the separate teams; historically, separate Football Associations evolved, and that's what FIFA bases its 'nationality' on. However, I think the creation of a Scottish parliament - even with its limited powers - has helped, paradoxically, to create a sense of English nationalism that didn't exist last time England won the World Cup (the flag of choice then was the Union Jack).Alan Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600883215748277587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-38809606540709122712010-06-13T17:14:52.346+01:002010-06-13T17:14:52.346+01:00While things would have been different 20 or even ...While things would have been different 20 or even 10 years ago, I don't think England's chances would increase much if Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland joined them in a British team now. <br /><br />It's possible no Scottish, Wales or Northern Irish players would get in the squad. At the very most there would be two or three.David Floydhttp://www.brittlestar.org.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-47535113940078878282010-06-13T09:25:39.419+01:002010-06-13T09:25:39.419+01:00Because football's more tribal than that? A lo...Because football's more tribal than that? A lot of fans don't look beyond one team, let alone one country, and "Britain" only has a discernible identity to some. A lot of English people use it synonymously with England, while for many Scots, Welsh and Irish it symbolises either, again, England/imperialism, or something nebulous and invented that they don't feel part of.Sheenagh Pughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02735299981866333316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-44939320743727625582010-06-12T19:45:10.337+01:002010-06-12T19:45:10.337+01:00Ha! Yes, true. My multiculturalism comes from a ...Ha! Yes, true. My multiculturalism comes from a Canadian context, I suppose - where fierce inter-provincial rivalries tend to stay within the country's borders - competitions abroad are as a Team Canada, not Team Quebec (the size of England and more) or Team Alberta (ditto).EYEWEARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01900801847916951522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13726943.post-68662553248849338802010-06-12T19:21:33.712+01:002010-06-12T19:21:33.712+01:00Surely Todd, being a British-Canadian-irish person...Surely Todd, being a British-Canadian-irish person, you'd be able to articulate these cultural subtleties?CoirĂ FilĂochtahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15137576329670368944noreply@blogger.com