Sunday, November 23, 2008

Ramble from Romansilence

Ze got a very interesting response to her recent post about England vs. Germany in "footy".

1:2 England against Germany on our home turf - yeah that was frustrating when I read about it. I'm not a great fan of soccer (European football) or of judging any other sports not by individual merit but as an accomplishment of the country the athletes live in. Sometimes I just don't get it: If XX, a German citizen, does not win the Iron Man of Hawaii, it's his personal problem, but if our soccer team loses against GB or anyone else it suddenly becomes a matter of national pride? Really, I don't get it.

In this vein I also don't understand why I was frustrated about the outcome of the soccer game. However, it's undeniable that I did - at least for the fraction of a minute. So, my reluctance to cheer for German teams might be a question of principle or a socially engineered reflex, the reaction of having heard too many times that national pride equals nationalism equals Nazism (at least in Germany). It might also be more appropriate to leave this question to the psychologists, especially the branch dealing with mass psychosis or hysteria.

Aside from the fact that I'm really not looking forward to hearing the speculations (called analysis) about why 'our' team lost against the guys from the other side of the Channel there's also no denying that 'we' have lost two World Wars but since then won the World Championship in Soccer three times, compared to Great Britain's one and only time. Upps!, here we go again. So, what is it with national score and national pride? Is it just a gut reaction or is there more to it? Has it to do with social stimuli or individual choices?

romansilence


Give romansilence your opinions please. Or send them in as rambles and we'll be happy to post them.

Tamara

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