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| No curveball from Becks. He'd have sung! |
Though irritating to the Unionists among us, it's easy to understand why they didn't join in. The over-aged big names were merely confirming the blur, nay fudge between what's English and British.
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| He's a miserable git anyway |
While Flower of Scotland is Hampden's hymn and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau's definitely Welsh, (Old Land of my Fathers to thee and me), God Save The Queen's the choice for both England and Northern Ireland games. But in reality, it's the UK's anthem.
The solution's simple: we either all sing God Save The Queen before each Home Nation game (distinctly unlikely in this age of devolution, other parliaments and all) - or England and Northern Ireland find regional solutions, so pokerfaced Bellamy would feel more compelled to have a Great British sing-song.
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| Goal! But no complaints over his commitment. |
And there was nothing wrong with any of the player's commitment to the cause. Giggs, Bellamy and Joe Allen, the Welshman pictured above next to Bellamy, all played their part in a game that we should've really won. A couple of bars of our anthem wouldn't have hurt either of them, really.
But whatever the song, we've uncovered another fault-line in a football project that only a minority believes is meaningful. A Great Britain Olympic football team is at best a flash mob and at worst, a political pawn which FIFA can bully us with in the future.
God Save The Queen!
I think all home nations should sing the same anthem. We're all part of Britain and the devolutionists are having it all their own way at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGod Save the Queen is 'The British National Anthem', so really everyone should have sang along at this event as it is a British team.
ReplyDeleteBut God save the Queen is NOT England's National Anthem and must not be played at English events, it isn't Scotland's, Northern Ireland's or Wales's Nation anthem either. It should only be played if the states of Britian are all represented.
What’s interesting is that in Lions rugby tours, this has never been an issue. Welsh and Scottish players sing God Save the Queen, and, although Irish players have no moral obligation to join in, I can’t ever recall them having a problem with it.
ReplyDeleteRyan Giggs ought to tread carefully. Whilst his reputation as an all-time great player is secure, serious questions can be asked about what kind of person he is. Amanda Platell’s description of him as a ‘serial philanderer’ and a ‘vulgar, self-indulgent bore’ just about sums him up.
If Giggs is so proud of his Welsh identity, why didn’t he show more commitment to his country during his 16 year international career? I can recall him making one excuse after another for pulling out of Wales squads, especially during friendlies, only for him to turn out for Manchester United a matter of days later.
His turn-out rate for Wales was especially poor during the Bobby Gould era. In 1994, when he was arguably the biggest star in the Premier League, he played just one game for Wales, as he did in 1998. In 1995, ‘96, ‘97 and ‘99 he played just three games each year. His highest tally came in 2003, when he played seven matches. Pathetic!
I haven’t even touched on the number of times during the Mark Hughes era when he was substituted during matches due to cosy arrangements with Manchester United. Giggs doesn’t have many qualities as a man that makes me warm to him.
I doubt whether Giggs, Bellamy and Allen actually gave this issue any serious thought. If they hate the idea of singing the British anthem so much, then why did they make themselves available for Team GB at all? Are they Welsh nationalists? If so, they should declare it, and, ask a consequence, make themselves unavailable for the squad.
It’s worth bearing in mind just how little support there is for Welsh Nationalism here in Wales. In the National Assembly, Plaid Cymru have just 11 of the 60 seats. Of the 40 Westminster MPs for Welsh constituencies, just three are from Plaid Cymru. Most of their support comes from pockets of West and North Wales.
There’s a real nepotistic, Welsh nationalist ‘old boys’ network’ in the hierarchy of the Welsh media, particularly at BBC Wales (for whom I used to freelance), and at S4C. As an aside, a hugely popular, now-retired Welsh broadcaster once said to me: “Take a look at the car park at S4C’s offices. It’s full of expensive Mercedes and Jaguars belonging to veteran Welsh language campaigners from the 1970s!” He was right.
As a result, the level of nationalistic feeling in Wales is often exaggerated by the Welsh media. (By the way, S4C, until recently, relied on a public subsidy of £100 million each year, in case you were wondering who was actually paying for all those expensive cars!)
Whatever the Welsh media tells you, take it from me: The actions of Giggs, Bellamy and Allen in no way reflect how the overwhelming majority of people in Wales think.
However, there’s a wider issue at stake here. I agree with Jonny – God Save the Queen should be saved for British sporting occasions. England deserves its own, unique anthem. Northern Ireland is a tricky one – I’m not going to go down that road on here.
By the same token, it’s time to rebrand the English cricket team as Great Britain. Prominent Welsh players like Simon Jones and Robert Croft have played key roles in ‘England’ sides during the last decade or so, and historically, there have been at least two Welsh ‘England’ captains. The one-day side rightly plays in red, white and blue, representing the whole of Great Britain, and only snobbery stands in the way of renaming the side.