Hell's teeth: I do not even support England, but the sneering elitism of the metropolitan elite, as exemplified by the little read Independent newspaper (below), almost makes me want to. For the avoidance of doubt, with no Irish team in Russia, I am hoping that England triumph. I would not go as far as some of my neighbours in flying the cross of St George but I understand their pride in their country and why they do so.
Where I live in Greece, there are Greek flags everywhere, all the time. In Germany, France, Sweden and Belgium national flags are fluttering today as they cheer on their boys in the World Cup. Only in England is patriotism considered a dirty word by some, that is to say the liberal elite.
If a few racists or extremists fly the English flag they might only be said to have co-opted it if everyone else did as the elites urge and declined to show pride in their nation and shunned the flag. But as anyone who has actually been to a sporting event knows, millions of ordinary folk will these days happily paint their faces or fly the flags with the cross of St George. They do not see themselves as tarred they just have some pride in being English.
It is not how I feel but I see nothing wrong in it. That a rag like the Indy even asks this question, or that the Royal Mail has banned posties from flying the English flag on their vans during the World Cup for fear of offending someone, is a sign of just how out of touch the media, political and business elite has become with the 99%. No other country in Europe is this silly.
