If Blake was living now he'd probably be sectioned, or at least on industrial strength anti-psychotics. Yummy.
They're already exceptionally smug, especially when criticising football and footballers. I'll watch this tournament and I'm going to a game at Milton Keynes. What I'll hate is when rugby is given preference in pubs. Pubs which would 99% of the time rely on football fans to stay solvent suddenly being taken over by Hugo and the boys demanding Namibia v Tonga is shown over Leeds v Leeds' Opponents.
Here's an Irish view on all the anthems http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/ot...very-teams-national-anthem-ranked-696272.html
Not in the eyes of Sky, no. But Hugo and the lads will be ordering expensive lagers with jagermeister chasers to sip out of each others' arseholes at half-time of Antartica v Narnia in the group stages and pubs will accommodate this.
I never played rugby, apart from informally, though my dad did. My son played to a decent standard at school, county triallist etc. But his club coaches and 'supporters' drove me nuts - they would slag off any dissent to the ref as 'we're not playing soccer!', but condone and even encourage cheating and violence and scream at the ref themselves. I took great pleasure in pointing out to them that football fans rarely if ever compared their favoured sport to rugby, the chip was definitely on their shoulders. I also find it strange that men of my age still engage in competitive drinking in rugby club bars, something I grew out of in my twenties. I'm an attritional drinker now. It is a great game though, especially as you can watch it from the snug comfort of the bar at club level.
Strolls, I completely agree with you that the British national anthem is a dirge and should be replaced. Apart from the tune, more suited to a funeral, I think the wording aimed at the monarch is outdated. When the Queen dies, are we really going to sing about how gracious and noble King Charles III is? This is when pressure to change the anthem will be at its greatest. Find an anthem addressed it to the nation rather than the monarch, and republicans like Corbin can sing it with a clear conscience (still think it was disrespectful of him not to sing at the B of B memorial) The best national anthems are Welsh and German. I'll vote Land of Hope and Glory.
As a public schoolboy from a state school background and considerably lower class than 99% of my peers, rugby was great fun as you can get away with loads of the things you can't in a football match. Chinning some little **** from Harrow or Eton on a Saturday morning before going off to watch QPR was a regular part of my routine aged 11-16. It's a shame my skills were limited to being bigger and stronger than most my age but I got to take the kicks which was nice as a very irregular scorer in football.
That reminded me of a great moment a couple of years ago, when my son's school team were playing Harrow and winning. A big Harrow forward rose up out of a ruck and started thumping my son on the back, repeatedly. I was expecting a mega violent reaction (my lad does not hold back), but he just detached himself, grinning, as the other bloke got sent off. When I asked what had happened the response was "I don't blame him really, I had him by the balls. Literally".
I don't think I got sent off once playing rugby but have done numerous times in football and once in hockey when playing in goal with little knowledge or care for the rules. I don't think I've ever seen it kick off in Sunday league close to as much as seeing 30 posh 12-year-olds kicking each other over a large leather egg.
I find God Save The Queen rousing because I sing it with pride and fervour. As a tune it is a dirge but that makes no difference to me. For an English anthem I'd go for Land of Hope and Glory.
Ok a few factets for you all............. GSTQ is not the English National anthem...it is the anthem of the United Kingdom...so wholly inappropriate. Jerusalem...is based on a very old folk-tale/myth/legend....that Joseph of Armithea bought the body of Christ to England, to his cave on the side of Glastonbury Tor, where he bought it back to life. (I have read stories of poisioning with tetrotoxin, to feign death...so Christ was never dead at all)...and Jesus lived a long and happy life in the south of England with Mary Magdalena...where they had children .....for more of that read "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" and stories of Rennes-le -Chateau, of their blood line that exists to day. Blake new of these stories and is said to have been in on the conspiracy to maintain the blood line of Christ. Jerusalem is probably therefore the most heretical of all "sacred songs"...which is good enough for me
