FIFA 2010 World Cup, English Fans

After travelling all the way from England to support their team the English were rather disappointed with the performance of England against Algeria in Cape Town. Was it wrong of them to boo their team off the field you may be asking. I think it was their way of saying that they came all this way to support them and they wanted to see some descent football.

I saw lots of English flags and heard the accents in my city. 30,000 football fans were in town. It’s great having such a good vibe in the city. I heard excited fans with their vuvuzelas driving towards the stadium and as I switched the television on I saw them pouring in, totally confident they were going to pull off a win, but it was not to be.

The question everyone is asking is why are England playing like they are? Then you might ask the question how New Zealand were able to draw with Italy and what is happening to France. There have been countless surprises in this world cup.

There has been a talking point at how the media handle a loss and how much pressure it puts on the team. Is it really necessary to be that interrogative right after a match. On the other extreme when a team like South Africa loses the attitude of the nation and the press is played down rather too much, saying don’t worry, you will do better next time. To find a medium might be a good thing. Some people are saying this may be why England has not won for a few decades.

The fans wanted to see their team playing with passion. The same amount of passion they have for the game of football, but the boys just seemed to be passing the ball around without any heart at all.

When passion turns to anger it can have harsh results, such as the English fan who broke into the English dressing room demanding an explanation. The result for his actions is that he will probably not be allowed to go to anymore games.

Wayne Rooney let off some steam after the match with a few words of note saying how he didn’t appreciate the fans. However, Rooney apologized for his outburst.

The other side to this argument is that fans were not forced to come out to South Africa. Maybe they only love the side when they are winning. This is often the case with sports fans and this is what sports stars have to get to used to, but the way England played against Algeria I’m sure a lot of English fans feel that if their team were to draw or even lose at least when coming to Green Point stadium they could put in a little effort.

The spirits of the English fans are still high, however in South Africa they await the next game with a positive frame of mind.

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