"Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood."
Written by a sad England fan :(
Published on June 30, 2004 By Sally jacobs In Sports & Leisure
I love sport, with a passion, oh how I love sport. I can pretty much turn my hand to any sport, and enjoy it, apart from cricket, that goes way over my pretty head! Even snooker, I know about snooker (kind of), not that I should admit to that thank my Dad, and a wasted youth. Without a doubt my first passion is football, I love it! I'll get onto that later though. My second favourite sport is probably tennis. Two weeks of Wimbledon, is just heaven, not that I've managed to watch much of it this time around, but my god I love it. British hopes were pinned on Tim Henman. HAHAHA! We should know better we really should. Every year we go in the tournament with this blind hope that he will somehow produce the goods, then we get to the quaters (sound familiar) and he chokes! Why oh why! Are we destined to win nothing? We are a nation that takes pride in our sports, we love them, we get behind our teams with a passion second to none, and yet they seem to let us down at every turn. Tim Henman is an average tennis player, but currently he is the best we've got, and he teases us. He plays good tennis, and then he gets to a heavyweight stage and chokes completely. Are we just not logical, do we not see what is painfully obvious? We are just bad, we don't deserve to win, *sigh*, maybe true when it comes to tennis, bring back the days od Sampras *drool* then I'll enjoy my tennis, hehe!

Which brings me on to my beloved football. First of all the national team. Again teasing us, making us believe, making us drop our defences, making us think we actually have a chance, and taking us on this emotional journey, where we feel every high and every low with them. I'm sat here writing this now and in my head I'm still thinking, we could have won that, we could of bagged the championship, but again it wasn't to be. In true English style I will say we was robbed, and I truely believe that. I've read some slating of the english team, and I take that on the chin. We played poorly against Portugal, but Portugal weren't to fantastic either. You see us English need a hero, we need something to pin our hopes on, that is just the way we are. In the football it was the boy Rooney, and we had him built as some sort of god, everyone went rooney mad. Pretty similar to everyone going Owen mad not so long ago, what a happy ending that had huh! So Rooney was our only hope to win the championship, not the case! We had a quality midfield, a defence that actually looked like it could work, and yes we had Rooney upfront, but we have Owen who isn't that shy of the goal, and a midfield who score goals just for the fun of it, we had scoring opportunites from all over the field, but we had it in our mind that Rooney was going to win that championship for us. So what happens when the boy goes off injured? Then we do what we do best, tease the whole nation for over an hour, don't play well, but well enough to keep Portugal on their toes, we get decisions against us, but still we fight, to the very end, and where does that get us? Penalties! Hehe, now we really should know to have no hope with our history! Do we heck! We still have that hope, surely we couldn't get through all this agony and still lose, that's not possible! Well we know how that blind faith ended......

So where does English go from here? We all become rugby fans of course! Hehe! The whole country became rugby fans in one day, now I've never been a rugby girl myself, I can watch it, and i don't mind it, but it's not where my true passion is, but I have to say even i got caught up in that win. I think we deserve that small joy. For all the hope and passion and dreams we put into our sport, we need some kind of reward, and that was it. That won't stop my blind faith in other things, I'll still support Tim next year, believing that this might be his year, I'll still support England and hope that this time they will do it for me, and all them fans that follow them about will finally be rewarded for their dedication, and I will probably be left disappointed, but you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Comments
on Jul 01, 2004
You need more Australians... hehe...

I wouldn't hurry in supporting the rugby side dear Sally... they are nothing special indeed... you will only hurt yourself!

The sky looks a little rosie though, England has some contender for the world championships of Chess!!! *WOOHOO*

Hahaha... sorry... I love sport as well, and the fact that Aussies are so good, and Pommies are so bad, well, I think it's kind fo funny! remember though Sally, you are an honorary Australian! you can support our sporting endeavours! I garauntee success!!!

BAM!!!
on Jul 01, 2004
Haha, you're VERY cheeky Mugz! You're supposed to make me feel better about our lack of talent not rub it in my face! I don't actually mind that we come second to Aussies in most sports, it's even better now I'm honorary Oz, but I think in comparison we still win on the footy front, *awaits for the one LUCKY result to be thrown in her face* hehe!

The sky looks a little rosie though, England has some contender for the world championships of Chess!!! *WOOHOO*


...cruel!!!!!!
on Jul 01, 2004
You need more Australians... hehe...


Apparently there is more of a need for Englishman in southern Australia due to the pathetically low and inferior population.
on Jul 01, 2004
I think you should come and live here sir Peter...

That would be Grand!

BAM!!!
on Jul 02, 2004
this article leaves me with a single question: Why are sports the singular "sport" in England? There is more than one sport, so wouldn't they be referred to as sports?

-rob
on Jul 02, 2004
I think you should come and live here sir Peter...


* Jumps up and down screaming, what about MEEEEE* hehe!

Why are sports the singular "sport" in England?


You're correct it should be sports, I was kind of talking about sports as a whole though, even though I broke it up in my article, we seem to be bad at sport in general, no matter what sport it might be. Or maybe we're good at sport and our expectations are to high, who knows!
on Jul 02, 2004
this article leaves me with a single question: Why are sports the singular "sport" in England? There is more than one sport, so wouldn't they be referred to as sports?


This is something that Americans like to do, it is gramatically incorrect. Sport is collectively thought of as a whole, and indeed Sally is referring to sport in a collective sense so she is correct.

You're correct it should be sports


He is only "correct" by American standards, which are linguistically flawed. Remember Sally, we are English, we are better.
on Jul 02, 2004
This is something that Americans like to do, it is gramatically incorrect. Sport is collectively thought of as a whole, and indeed Sally is referring to sport in a collective sense so she is correct.


Thanks for the support Petey, it's appreciated

on Jul 02, 2004
You should not give in to these Americans, they are bloody idiots. They have ruined our language, a language which they sabotaged.
on Jul 02, 2004
You should not give in to these Americans, they are bloody idiots


Petey! I just don't like being rude to people
on Jul 02, 2004
I just don't like being rude to people


Then address me by my proper title then.
on Jul 02, 2004
Petey.....you think I'm rude?
on Jul 03, 2004
The English better? Hah!

And I totally think American English is better. We've made it more flexible and user-friendly.

I still don't see why you refer to sports collectively as "sport." I could see one collectively referring to activity in sports as "sporting", but to me it's clear that sport is singular, used for a particular sport, such as baseball or basketball, while "sports" is clearly plural referring to a group of sports, such as "racket sports."

Anyways, it really doesn't matter. Language is vernacular, not theoretical. In the U.S., we say sports. In the UK, you say sport. That doesn't change the fact that it is the US, not the UK, that has proliferated the English language throughout the world to become the international language of choice for the foreseeable future.
on Jul 03, 2004
That doesn't change the fact that it is the US, not the UK, that has proliferated the English language throughout the world to become the international language of choice for the foreseeable future.


That would have nothing to do with the British Empire would it? Bloody idiot.