The love affair that never ends

January 30, 2012 - 3:23 pm

It’s like the girl who’s been messing you around for ages, “one more chance” you say, “and that’s it”! Then you’re left waiting at the bar when she fails to turn up on another big date. You say to yourself that it’s the final straw, you won’t get sucked in again and it’s time to move on, but deep down you know that you will be back for more.

That’s the life of an England fan. The big date was 27th June 2010 – Germany 4 England 1 – Chris Waddle going mad on the radio that’s its all to do with the coaching system, the papers were saying that it’s the managers fault and the pub talk was of players getting far too much money and not really caring.

You promised yourself that you would never get excited about the England Football team again, that when the country got caught up in the fervour you would be the one that kept things in perspective.

But here we are, it’s the build up to another major Championship and we are back at the bar looking at the entrance waiting and hoping she turns up. The question is why?

Part of it is the game of football itself. The unpredictability; the fact that anything COULD happen and the knowledge that every major championship unveils a brand new superstar and this time it could be one of our boys.

Part of it is the history and the memory of the boys of 1966. We’ve done it before we can do it again. Football is our number one sport and we should be up there competing with the best.

But deep down its more than that.

If you are 30+ you remember playing in the park with coats for goal posts imagining you were playing for England in a World Cup final against Brazil. The ball would be knocked in a hundred times until the overhead kick could be executed perfectly and the celebrations would be rehearsed with equal precision.

If you are under 30 then the scenario can be brought closer to life with the Play station 3 and FIFA but the dream is still the same and who can think anything other than the boys running out in those England shirts are just fulfilling that dream. They were kids playing in the park, they were boys playing the games and they have an obligation to us to do their very best to make the dreams come true.

Nothing will convince me that however much money they get paid they don’t want to do their best for England, for us, for them, for me?

And so the eternal hope, like with the girl; they want the relationship to work, they will eventually turn up and I have to be at the bar when they do!