Bollocks Dai, they only represent 'Britain' if they are any good. The same with Andy Murray. Everybody in the English media referred to him as Scottish when he was losing/bottling it etc, but as soon as he became successful they referred to him as British. Joe Calzaghe was the same too, they kept calling him Welsh until he spanked Jeff Lacy in 2006
Don't invoke Llewellyn the Last or Owain Glyndwr here Valley. Llewellyn was a Gog who tried (and failed) to conquer South Wales, and Owain Glyndwr was half English and had a land dispute. Glyndwr had served in the English army, conspired with the French who actually landed a Milford and ran away when he finally lost. Glyndwr spent his last days in hiding dressed as a woman. The greatest feature of all of us who are Welsh is our open warmness that shines through to all who come here, and often makes them want to stay, it has little to do with the petty parochialism of Welsh nationalism.
Dai has said on the Macedonia match thread that he doesn't care what Wales do which really makes me wonder why on earth he's put this thread up then if he doesn't care perhaps you can tell us why Dai. For the the record I've got bugger all against the English. I've got quite a few friends from Ingerlund but the idea of one team is a total no brainer. We have 4 countries each with different flags, anthems and cultures. In Wales we have own language too. Personally I see myself as Welsh and not British. I do not recognise their royal family. I chose to speak in my native tongue which is my 1st language at every opportunity and I take offence at anyone that tries to stop me. I will support Wales at anything no matter what it is. I will not support England in anything, that said I will not support any other country in anything too. Why should I, I'm Welsh ! Now just because I have these beliefs doesn't mean I have anything against any other country. I have no objection if a foreigner wants to move to Wales and contribute to our society. If there's any English, Scots or Irish people say the same then good on them, there's nothing wrong with being proud of where you come from. If you want to support a GB team then fine but count me out.
I seem to recall someone else saying the only way a Welsh team would ever be successful would be if we merged......we all (including Dai & every other poster here) said unanimously that it was a disgusting idea and we would rather not win anything than sell our souls and merge. It turns out Sam Hamman was talking complete **** and we proved him completely wrong. So what's the difference here? Some would say those arguing to create a team GB are complete hypocrites (unless you are willing to confirm you were in favour of Swansea/Cardiff becoming one team......didn't think so!!) End Of Debate
whilst wales is its own country it still forms part of GB. whether in sporting terms or not. is wales seen as a country by the UN- NO GB is wales forms a quarter of the 4 unions. I have been drinking and say this as long as a welsh man, scots man or irish man a representing GB im British. when an english man is im welsh. Cheers and good night.
That's part of the point I was making earlier. While I'm as much a critic of petty local nationalism as gendrosjack is, I'd prefer as an Englishman for us to retain our own national team and I'm sure that is the case for most in all four constituent countries. I would also like to avoid setting a precedent where people might actually consider allowing some Scottish teams to enter the league ladder. The Old Firm can jog on! And honestly, the declarations of loyalty to a king who has been dead for ~700 years, if I remember correctly, seem a bit absurd. No wait - completely absurd.
I think the precedent has been set Cherry by allowing Welsh teams into the English Leagues. Berwick play in the Scottish League, Gretna have played in both English and Scottish Leagues. the argument re this can go on forever.
The Germanic tribes have always been a problem through thousands of years of history, climaxing in two world wars, the imperialism of the British empire was indeed driven by Germanic blood again, all be it under the title of the English. The people of Wales have for century's been treated, as second class citizens, and the reason why so much Welsh migration took place over the centuries, personally I have a very informed historical perspective of the deceit and ambiguity of our Germanic friends across the water, they can never be trusted, and history is a testament to that fact. PS: Say no to team GB...........
Well if you pull your head out of the sand and have a read of Welsh history and how the Welsh have been treated by the English for over a thousand years then you will understand why some of us are of a very nationalistic nature. Also may I point you towards the direction of Tryweryn.
I am for tradition, keep the home nations. Not sure I have ever heard an English person refer to themselves as being British in the first instance. The only time we feel British in sport is at the Olympics. Lets keep it that way. We have a joint team with England at cricket and while they may refer to England and Wales Cricket Board when it comes to the admin, they only ever call the team "England". The same would happen if it was a British team, they would call it England so they should remain separate!
I have a few Welsh speaking friends that absolutely hate the English with a passion and I do mean hate. They tell me they will never forgive them because of things like the treason of the blue books, getting soldiers to murder Welsh miners and flooding of Welsh villages just to supply water to the English. Personally I think educating them of previous indiscretions is the way forward but that's just me. Whenever I travel to England to watch the Swans I usually come away thinking thank fcuk I don't live here. The way I see it they've got enough problems to be getting on with
I don't hate them, but I do feel sorry for them, it's an intrinsic Germanic problem, of thinking they are superior than everyone else, but I whole heartedly agree with your every word there Dilli, and I too have some very good English friends, but i can distinguish the wider general issue from that of a personal nature on this subject, it's even true to say that there are 'Northern Englishmen' who hate there southern counterpart with the same passion as you have described, how do I know this? well I have many friend from up north, who tell me on a regular basis! With regards to your travels to England Dilli and how it makes you appreciate your home, that's one I've often contemplated when going through some of their pretty horrific areas!.................
I received just about zero education about Wales when I was growing up in England. It was only when I moved to Swansea to study in university that I became aware of certain events in history that are kept quiet in England. I was mystified by some of the open hostility I faced and asked why the Welsh seem'd to have an inbuilt hatred towards me. Finding out that the Westminster government actually targeted the Welsh language and tried to bribe Welsh schools not to teach Welsh was very very embarrassing, little wonder why you lot are very touchy about your language. I feel if things like this and the villages being flooded to provide water for Liverpool were taught in schools in England then there would be greater harmony between the countries. I've come a long way since then. I love living in Wales, I never want to go back to England and I've come to support a Welsh team. I can't bring myself to join in with the "England is full of ****" song but I can raise a smile when it's sung. Also, I do hope we beat you lot whenever we play you but I hope you can forgive me for that.
