Sporting heroes
My newspaper of choice is The Times.
My routine is to buy the paper version, skim-read the sports section and – to fight off dementia – do the quiz and chess puzzle.
There is a section on the Euros within Section 2 largely dedicated to the Arts.
Yesterday the section padded out the Ollie Watkins story and there was an interview which said nothing.
However the cerebral and articulate Matthew Syed wrote an excellent column entitled “The England team represent the best of our nation”
He took pride in the way these boys have grafted to become outstanding footballers.
It made me think that my criticism that they were ‘flakey’ and constrained once they wore the England shirt was cruel and unjustified. They now carry the hopes of the nation and have had to endure the brickbats of the so-called experts.
These experts, who would melt under such pressure, are out of alignment with the millions who will be eagerly and expectantly watching the game.
I shall do so on ITV as I cannot take Gary Lineker. Lineker is sufficiently shrewd to realise he is out of step and will doubtless take back seat to the excitable but patriotic Ian Wright.
However the damage has been said and done and it’s Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon for me.
Few bother to say now or before the tournament that England do not possess exceptional players. None would make a world XI but Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Pickford might make the squad. France are a better team but I wonder if the political turmoils of lurching first to the right and then to the left had shattered an often fragile Gallic esprit de corps?
Sportsmen – more than politicians, admirals, generals and churchmen – have become our heroes. The country, underwhelmed by the election in which Labour won by a landslide but with only 34% of the vote, and depressingly awful weather has come alive.
My local supermarket has in its foyer a rack of England shirts and ‘Come on England’ banners are ubiquitous.
Spain are the better team but maybe, just maybe after 30 years of hurt, football is coming home.