CatNamedRudy wrote:ARRRGGGGHHHHH! Another damn interception! Why oh why does he do these things?
Much as I love Brett Favre, sometimes he just makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall for hours and hours!
welshben23 wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:ARRRGGGGHHHHH! Another damn interception! Why oh why does he do these things?
Much as I love Brett Favre, sometimes he just makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall for hours and hours!
Calm down! The Packers won didnt they?
CatNamedRudy wrote:welshben23 wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:ARRRGGGGHHHHH! Another damn interception! Why oh why does he do these things?
Much as I love Brett Favre, sometimes he just makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall for hours and hours!
Calm down! The Packers won didnt they?
Yes, but it was too close for comfort!
Beats the hell out of last weeks game though and now they have a week off to get themselves back in the groove!
welshben23 wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:welshben23 wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:ARRRGGGGHHHHH! Another damn interception! Why oh why does he do these things?
Much as I love Brett Favre, sometimes he just makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall for hours and hours!
Calm down! The Packers won didnt they?
Yes, but it was too close for comfort!
Beats the hell out of last weeks game though and now they have a week off to get themselves back in the groove!
Last week was just a little blip Do you think they can reach the NFC Championship game or even the Superbowl?
Dorset Girl wrote:Following on from the rugby thread - the longest post in history. Please feel free to rant at me.
I'll probably regret getting involved here... usual disclaimers apply, I'm talking generally and not about individuals.
IMHO (not just about rugby, but in general):
A lot of Welsh people have a big 'chip on their shoulder' about the English. This particularly shows itself with regard to rugby, which is a very important thing in Wales! Pretty much the whole population - young and old, male and female are quite passionate about it, and I don't think that's anywhere near the case in England.
English people, for the most part, either don't realise the Welsh 'hate' them, don't care, or are mystified by it! They are so busy disliking the French, that it doesn't cross their minds.
In my opinion, one of the reasons a lot of the Welsh are so 'anti-English' is because TV channels, the media and the world in general often group Wales with England. Non-Brits often view Great Britain as 'England', rather than England, Scotland and Wales. This leads to such gems as "Wales? That's the capital of London, isn't it?" as an American friend said to me once, or the German student's saying - "if all else fails, try Wales!"
Even the BBC are guilty of ignoring Wales to a large extent. Okay, there is the channel S4C, which is a collaboration between the BBC and C4, is that right? But that's largely for Welsh speakers (approx. 600,000 out of 3,000,000 - and not all of those are anywhere near fluent). To go back to the rugby, if there are two games playing simultaneously - England in one, Wales in the other - the BBC almost inevitably show the English game. The Welsh game is either made available interactively, or sometimes is relegated to S4C, with Welsh-language commentary only. I imagine the BBC do this to gain the most viewers - after all, the population of England is much larger. However, when it happens continuously, I can see why it would be grating, and could look as if the BBC see Welsh rugby as inferior (no comments on that please, that's for the other thread! ).
What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO. I don't think it's intentional, it's just that the media report it endlessly and as the vast majority of newspapers sold in Wales are produced in England, and the majority of TV channels broadcast there are English too, then it inevitably gets reported ad nauseum in Wales too.
Finally, the rugby - in fact any sport. This is very 'simplistic', and I know there are other factors to consider... but here's my idea. Population of England - approx. 61 million. Population of Wales - approx. 3 million. As a random figure, let's say 1 in 100,000 people is good enough to play for their country. That gives Wales a choice of 30 players, whereas England can choose from 610.
If 10% of those players are truly outstanding, then Wales has 3 outstanding players (a fifth of a team), whereas England has 61 (more than four teams). Surely this must have an impact when playing internationally?
Oh, and if I can just add a PS - people like Anne Robinson don't help, do they? Her now infamous remarks about the Welsh on Room 101 are blatantly racist, I don't know how they could be seen otherwise - whether she said them in jest or not it not an issue, if she had said the same things about e.g. Pakistan, she would have been legally liable.
welshben23 wrote:Wonderfully put DG. That is a marvellous post, I agree with the whole lot.
Moon-Crane wrote:Hey they're America's Team - isn't it the law to cheer for them
Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Dorset Girl wrote:welshben23 wrote:Wonderfully put DG. That is a marvellous post, I agree with the whole lot.
Thank you Ben, but I wouldn't mind betting that you're the only person who responds to my post like that!
Beer Necessity wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Nah. The media report spectacular Welsh, Scottish and Irish sporting triumphs just as much.
CatNamedRudy wrote:I have to admit my ignorance in that prior to belonging to this forum, I was unaware that Wales was it's own country! I thought it was just a "region" of England!
Beer Necessity wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:I have to admit my ignorance in that prior to belonging to this forum, I was unaware that Wales was it's own country! I thought it was just a "region" of England!
They WISH!!!
welshben23 wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Nah. The media report spectacular Welsh, Scottish and Irish sporting triumphs just as much.
Just one word from me. Bollocks.
Beer Necessity wrote:welshben23 wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Nah. The media report spectacular Welsh, Scottish and Irish sporting triumphs just as much.
Just one word from me. Bollocks.
What Welsh triumphs do you feel have gone unreported, Ben?
Beer Necessity wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Nah. The media report spectacular Welsh, Scottish and Irish sporting triumphs just as much. Remember when England didn't qualify for USA '94 and we all became Irish that summer?
Scots, Welsh and Irish victories successes don't get reported too much because there aren't many of them. It's a sporting fact of life that if you hail from those countries you're going to resent your bigger, more successful neighbours. Personally, I'm happy to see all the home nations do well (I'll be rooting for the Scots to qualify from their very tough group, they've almost done it) but the fact that that goodwill isn't extended the other way means I'm able to laugh if they fall flat on their faces. Irish fans are the least resentful, I find.
welshben23 wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:I have to admit my ignorance in that prior to belonging to this forum, I was unaware that Wales was it's own country! I thought it was just a "region" of England!
They WISH!!!
My point is now proven.
Dorset Girl wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:What Ben said on the other thread about it getting 'rubbed in' if England do well is perfectly valid, IMO.
Nah. The media report spectacular Welsh, Scottish and Irish sporting triumphs just as much. Remember when England didn't qualify for USA '94 and we all became Irish that summer?
Scots, Welsh and Irish victories successes don't get reported too much because there aren't many of them. It's a sporting fact of life that if you hail from those countries you're going to resent your bigger, more successful neighbours. Personally, I'm happy to see all the home nations do well (I'll be rooting for the Scots to qualify from their very tough group, they've almost done it) but the fact that that goodwill isn't extended the other way means I'm able to laugh if they fall flat on their faces. Irish fans are the least resentful, I find.
Yes, there are more English triumphs, that can't be denied (perhaps for the reasons I outlined above), and as an English person myself I obviously want to see England win! Perhaps the reason the Welsh seem / are more bitter about it is because they suffer the most from 'Englishness'.
I don't know much about Northern Ireland, but in terms of Scotland (population just over 5 million) - they have 'devolved' much more than Wales. The Scottish Parliament has much more power than the National Assembly for Wales, and consequently in areas such as education, they have been able to 'break away' from England a lot more. There are more Scottish newspapers than Welsh ones for instance, and it is obvious that 'local' papers give preference to 'local' news.
Wales is still very much ruled from Westminster, and as the population are dwarfed by England, then IMHO they sometimes sink into oblivion - well, if not oblivion, somewhere very close!
Beer Necessity wrote:welshben23 wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:CatNamedRudy wrote:I have to admit my ignorance in that prior to belonging to this forum, I was unaware that Wales was it's own country! I thought it was just a "region" of England!
They WISH!!!
My point is now proven.
Come on Ben, you must find it a little funny that some of our friends across the pond see Wales as a region of England!
CatNamedRudy wrote:Dorset Girl wrote:welshben23 wrote:Wonderfully put DG. That is a marvellous post, I agree with the whole lot.
Thank you Ben, but I wouldn't mind betting that you're the only person who responds to my post like that!
I have to admit my ignorance in that prior to belonging to this forum, I was unaware that Wales was it's own country! I thought it was just a "region" of England!
I guess I have always been too busy drinking with the Irish and the Scottish to consider Wales!
welshben23 wrote:Beer Necessity wrote:Come on Ben, you must find it a little funny that some of our friends across the pond see Wales as a region of England!
Yes, but not for the obvious reasons
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