Perfect Sunday

As an English sports fan I don't get many chances to celebrate either my country or my team, Tottenham Hotspur, winning things. Spurs have been average, at best, for the majority of my life, the last time they won the league was a few years before I was born. The English football team have mirrored Spurs in a lot of respects, winning the World Cup 2 years after I was born and since then promising much but delivering nothing. When I moved to Belgium I considered supporting another team, Manchester United. I was tired of supporting a team that wasn't going anywhere and just wanted a bit of glory for once. I found that I couldn't change my allegiance, even if I wanted to. If you are a true fan of football then your team is in your blood. Tottenham Hotspur were the team local to where I was born, as much a part of me as being English is.
This leads to another interesting point and one that I've been thinking about over the past few days. Do you ever truly lose your identity? You can change your nationality but I truly believe that you can't change who you are and where you come from. My wife has been having a light hearted bit of 'banter' with a friend who has lived in Australia for 20 years.

Banter is nothing more than light hearted joking between friends which often involves mild insults, especially if sport is involved.

It seems that the Englishman has gone native, declaring his love for the Australian cricket team and delighting in the destruction he believed would be inflicted on English cricket! It couldn't have been easy for an English sports fan living in Australia for the last 20 years. But, I have to protest, in writing, to the Australian government, for brain washing innocent Englishmen into believing that Australia are better at cricket than England!
England won The Ashes back from Australia, in case you haven't guessed yet and for the next 18 months, us English can hold our heads high...until we lose them again in Australia!
I don't personally know the guy my wife was joking with, but I enjoyed being part of this banter. But, I did think seriously about whether it is possible to lose your national identity. I suspect my wife's friend's opinions were very much tongue in cheek but I did wonder whether his support for the Aussies was similar to me wanting to support a winning team. To ensure he doesn't lose his Englishness, we are sending him an emergency package containing a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts, a Bowler hat, a photo of the White Cliffs of Dover and a dvd of Mary Poppins! Come back to the light, before it's too late!
So, yesterday was a perfect Sunday, England won the Ashes and my team Spurs won their third game in a row. Already Spurs fans are talking about glory, as they do every season. I will be treating our current good run as I usually do, on a match by match basis.

The Ashes Dates back to 1882 and is only played between England and Australia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes is an entertaining and informative link which will tell you all about the legend surrounding this great sporting rivalry.