retired_bibitte

Following "your" team blinds you to a lot of other interesting facets of an international tournament in my opinion. The desire for your country to win often ruins the enjoyment of the tournamnet as a whole; you don't take as much of an interest in other nations' teams, particularly lesser nations who you might not know as much about.

There's nothing wrong with being passionate and supporting England but the media hype frenzy that is whipped up, as well as the pathetic championing that this is our year/we have a golden generation/we can win it!, overshadows the package itself. I tend to look at a Euros or World Cup as how England can progress at any cost, whether we play well or not. With no England there, your bias is gone and you can enjoy the football.

We don't have a divine right to be there, plenty of similarly big countries have missed tournaments, as we have before. Just because you don't have your own team to support( a team that regularly fails to play well and massively undererforms lest we forget), doesn't mean the competition is devalued in any way at all.

Sit back and enjoy a bias free tournamnet where the focus isn't on England's players being pampered and told they are good enough(they're not) with no daily reports of what shops the WAGs went to today.

retired_kathydonatto

the majority of English fans only watch football when England are in a big tournament.

Same can be applied to any sport, and for an example of that head down your local this Saturday evening.

And as for this:

Where did I say I gave a flying about England? I'm fed up with the mongness that English fans come out with when they say we are the best team in the world, yet as you said we haven't won jack in 40 years. Yet when you suggest possible solutions (i.e. formation) they tell you that 4-4-2 is what our players are used to, yet none of the players (apart from the defenders, who are one of the world's best defensive group) play in the rigid 4-4-2 that the English fans want. </BLOCKQUOTE>

so what if people who dont watch that much footy, rugby or whatever come out for the big matches?? Who cares, the fact that you choose to engage yourself in debates with these types says more about you than them. if you know they only come out for the big games why do you let it get to you, very silly if you ask me.

retired_jessicadon

And? He's a Chelsea fan. Don't think he's ever claimed to follow England with the same interest.

retired_jessicadon

</BLOCKQUOTE>

Preaching to the converted here fella.

retired_kathydonatto

yeah, there is that but I would rather see all that and watch england. the fact that they dont play well is neither here nor there its the thrill of the ride, the joy, the despair the ups and downs. The competition is not devalued as a whole I agree but as an englishman tournaments that we do not take part in are not as exciting as ones we do.

why people get themselves all het up about media hype is beyind me, rise above it ffs, its that simple

retired_princess160

</BLOCKQUOTE>

Preaching to the converted here fella. </BLOCKQUOTE>

RvP got injured during the Oranje match btw...

BobbyK

Basing the enjoyment of watching the coverage on the contents of the coverage. Shock horror. You're a tad paranoid too really. A dig at Gerrard? It was a dig at the sickeningly patriotic twats they bring in to co-host the shows and I could've used any English name to the same effect. By all means take it as a sign of my one-man crusade against Gerrard, who was average again btw. That's a dig at Gerrard for comparative purposes.

Been covered by Ratinho but I'll go over it again just in case. I am a Chelsea fan. I am not an England fan. Irrelevant comparisons ftw.

retired_barbie34

There still be coverage of England.:
"As you all know our brave boys didn't make the tournament, so we sent our camera men to follow McLaren on his holidays/Have an in-depth interview with the new England coach"