A Rallying Cry
ONLY salutes in Nuremberg will be for new spirit of England fans.
Thats the headline in the Mirror. And so it is we enter the city where, as Olive Holt (SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR AGAIN) says 200,000 brainwashed idolators massed to cheer Hitler.
Its place full of ghosts. And now its full of England fans. So it is a measure of how low the reputation of England fans has sunk that their convergence on Nuremberg tomorrow should be anticipated with so much trepidation.
Like you we are unsure what Holt means. Are we to believe that singing song about Ten German Bombers, wearing plastic Nazi helmets and even yelling a few sad chants about not surrendering to the IRA can instil a fear in the locals in excess of the horrors of Hitler and his Herrenvolk?
Sure, some disgusting England fans have been complicit in act of violence and even death, but the Germans and their partners killed 6 million Jews and 20 million Russians.
Holt, seemingly intoxicated by Nuremberg, goes on. The fear is that something about this beautiful citys place at the centre of Nazi folklore will stir the bestial instincts that many sceptics believe only lie temporarily dormant within many travelling fans.
Thats right. It is the location that gets some England fans pissed and encourages them to start smashing the place up. If they can do it in Holland and France, imagine what will happen in darkest Germany. Go on. Imagine. Holt is.
But wait a moment. Our man with a pen has not yet finished writing his postcard home.
We hear the strains of Ponchiellis “Dance of the Hours” from La Gioconda. Hes in the forest about to be eaten by a bear. Take me home. His bunk mate has malaria. Take me home.
But wait a minute. The guys are organising a cricket match between England and a combined Trinidad & Tobago and German side. Call off the searching party. Teams of English football fans are kicking a ball for a mental health charity.
From the ruins of the reputation that once damned England football fans, a new spirit is rising.
Which is better. So kindly disregard Olivers letter…
Posted: 14th, June 2006 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
