I’ve seen them. You’ve seen them. What do you really think of them? Rain-sodden pieces of tat drooping from grime smeared windows. Freebies from tabloids because not even the most jingoistic of England fans has the patriotic spirit to spend his own money on showing how much he loves his country. Funny how they are only patriotic during a few weeks of the year.
Mini emblems of national pride stuck on to windows and the tops of cars. Stuck on with the spit that they usually keep for those that they feel do not belong here. Nothing appears more chav like than seeing the fluttering remnants caked in petrol-fumed blackness. The new England flag…red, white and black. Ironic, no?
I feel tempted to fly the flag of Argentina but know that doing so would incur me having to brush up broken glass and find a use for the free brick so lovingly thrust my way.
Don’t get me wrong. I will be supporting England during the world cup, as it’s hard not to still be drawn to the country of your birth, no matter how much you wish there was a single flag for Earth. Perhaps the Flag of Europe is a start but I fear there are too few among us that share my belief in the unity of womankind.
So, back to my original question. What do you really think of them? And I don’t mean the media driven aspect of how you should feel about them. Do you truly like seeing them strewn around pubs like a badly wrapped anaemic present? Do they fill you with pride or a fear that the real reason they flutter is because the person who embraces them is more often than not a racist thug?
Enjoy the world cup. I am going to. Tonight I will cheer on England even though I have a bet on the USA to win. Before that I will get behind Argentina. Isn’t that what sport should be about? Not alcohol fuelled national pride that ends up face down in it’s own vomit?
