Which country to Root for?

[TOMLION]

if we get past the cheating hungarian scum, and we get you in our group of course i'll be there, as i've said before i've got relatives up in scotland so i've got somewhere to stay,ibrox is one of the few scottish grounds i've been to though that was years ago, went there with my cousins when they played celtic,also been to hampden,boghead pk though they have moved now,celtic, partick and ayr,what did you think of larssons goal the other night, must admit i did chuckle, bet it pissed my cousins off.

[Billy the Bluenose]

quote:Originally posted by TOMLION

if we get past the cheating hungarian scum, and we get you in our group of course i'll be there, as i've said before i've got relatives up in scotland so i've got somewhere to stay,ibrox is one of the few scottish grounds i've been to though that was years ago, went there with my cousins when they played celtic,also been to hampden,boghead pk though they have moved now,celtic, partick and ayr,what did you think of larssons goal the other night, must admit i did chuckle, bet it pissed my cousins off.

Oh mate, i tell you, i jumped outta my seat like a giddy little girl when Larsshole took his old employers apart the other night. Top marks to Alan Thompson though for providing him with the excellent through ball!!!

Pity i cant get it right up them yet though, what with our pathetic display in Portugal last night!!

I'll reserve my glee for the day the league flag returns home to Ibrox.

[Guest Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by DJT

What Daniel and amacpher said is correct. Let's use Jeffrey S. as an example, if he doesn't mind. He's been living in Spain a long time and is raising a family there. Yet when Canada played Spain in the U20 WC quarterfinals, he supported Canada. No one here had a problem with him doing that. But let's say the situation was reversed, let's say he was from Spain and came here to raise a family, then cheered for Spain against Canada --- most people here would have criticised him. That's not right.

I think if you have spent "a significant amount of time" living in another country and truly "identify" with that country (I won't define those terms in quotes, but I think you get my point), and then move to Canada, it's okay to cheer for that country against Canada. However, I think in that case you should also show some support for Canada in that particular game (certainly not boo Canada), and then cheer for Canada in all other games.

I think the real problem is not when immigrants cheer for their home country, and it's not even when they cheer for their home country against Canada, it's when they don't ever cheer for Canada (or maybe even boo Canada) or support Canadian soccer. I know my grandfather, who has been living here for about half his life now, would probably cheer for Italy over Canada, but otherwise he definitely cheers for Canada (even our women's teams, and older Italian men supporting women's sports is not common to say the least!), and I'm okay with that.

I really don't mind you using this as an example, as I have been following this thread for a while and going through scenarios in my head.

Basically I support Canada in all things, but in some sports I don't care too much. I also support the teams that are close to me here in Spain, including the Spanish national teams in almost everything, and I also like to watch the Catalan sides (have seen them in football vs. Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Nigeria, Latvia, and Brazil). I am a Barça fan but don't hate Espanyol, and go to watch my neighbourhood team in 5th tier with a dirt field and 300 fans if lucky. I support my own.

In soccer as Canada are weak and an underdog and I am living in a soccer-mad town, anything we can do to make me proud is worth it. Obviously reading game reports on that great quarter final Spain-Canada (it was indeed a damn good game) in the papers here, where the Spanish said they were against the ropes and sweating it when they went a man down, when Humey hit the post on that amazing free kick, well that made me proud. So did Radz striking in Champions, our winning the Gold Cup and the Confed participation, bragging rights for all.

One key factor as has been said is the underdog question. I tend to support the weaker team, or the team who can win in a more meaningful way, in case both sides are close to me. If Canada ever played vs. Spain in soccer it would be Canada all the way, and the same if it were a Catalunya-Canada friendly. But if it were a question of a hockey match, I would want the Spanish to do as well as possible, and if they could get a result would be very pleased. Maybe a sense of fairness, or of balance, or better of a world balancing out. Sometimes when I watch other sports and there is a Canada-Spain rivalry (world Swimming Championship last year, a women's waterpolo match, or in mountain bike racing in the Olympics) I can be cheering for one or the other for reasons that are merely related to mood, perceived merit, or my feelings on the day about who I am and where I live.

To conclude, I must say that I do not feel at all Catalan or Spanish, though I speak and write and in fact have published in both languages, I have a Catalan son and wife, they are from here, I am not. I am Canadian, can't shake that as I came here at the age of 27 exactly 17 years ago today (how about that). Won't ever be Spanish mentally, though I could go for citizenship now. This is a plain reality, and I think many immigrants feel the same way.

Supporting your birth-nation team in football does not mean necessarily you are negative about the new country you live in, could even be just the opposite, you are keen to have the people you live with and admire respect who you are all the more for what your original people can do. In the end if you live in a country like Canada and could return to your birth nation but don't it is because it is a better option for you, you "like" it. And supporting your birth nation side is your way to send a message about part of you to people you live with, respect, and know are your true "people" in the day to day.

[andyb]

For me personally i lived for 90% of my life in England and i first and foremost support my old home team who i followed through thick and thin (mostly thin)which is Portsmouth FC.I transfer this local support to my current home team which is the Calgary mustangs and I want them to win every game.

Have to admit i do follow England as a nation for football and i would love for the Canadians to do better so i could have two chances for success.

The great thing for me at the moment is the English and Canadians are better at different sports so i feel that i get a good deal,though team Canada actually win world cups in recent history.

The strangest thing for me and i will never understand it is when all someone from another part of the UK wants, is England to get beat.The only time i want them to lose is when they actually play England, i guess it helps if you have not got a chip on ones shoulder.

[argh1]

quote:Originally posted by andyb

The strangest thing for me and i will never understand it is when all someone from another part of the UK wants, is England to get beat.The only time i want them to lose is when they actually play England, i guess it helps if you have not got a chip on ones shoulder.

I actually understand this thinking. As a none Torontarian I truthfully hope every Toronto club or team loses even if it's to an Amurikan team . Yes I have a chip on both my shoulders .

Maybe it's the same for the Scots , Welsh or Irish . We just hear so much T-O this T-O that and when we meet them in person it's everything IS better in T-O ya know . So maybe it's the same in the U.K. England is this England is that ......etc.

Oddly though when a player puts on the (national team) Maple Leaf he ain't from no-where he's just Canajun .

[beachesl]

quote:Originally posted by andyb

The great thing for me at the moment is the English and Canadians are better at different sports so i feel that i get a good deal,though team Canada actually win world cups in recent history.

The strangest thing for me and i will never understand it is when all someone from another part of the UK wants, is England to get beat.The only time i want them to lose is when they actually play England, i guess it helps if you have not got a chip on ones shoulder.

England is good at Rugby.

They will never match 1966 in Football, unless there is a seachange of attitude (they go in expecting to win and then get flustered when the first thing goes wrong) and they get rid of unimaginative managers like Erickson.

I think that for most Canadian football fans (as small a band as we be), seeing England continually muff it is a source of communal joy. The cheers that went up form the 30 odd Voyageurs when they saw Austria tying it at the Sherlock Holmes was deafening. This is much like most Canadians happy to see the Tarana Maple Leafs choke since 1967:D.