Monday, May 29, 2006
The World Cup and Corsica
In a few days time the World Cup starts and I will be able to watch some of the games in Corsica on French television. We'll be staying there for part of the time the event is being staged.
I was in Corsica for the last World Cup. I was in a restaurant near Calvi to see the England-Argentina match and was a little dismayed but not surprised to find that my friends there tend to support other Latin nations in preference to England. We saw England lose - and David Beckham red-carded - while the Corsicans cheered and I groaned.
One might think that some Corsicans would support teams other than France in National Football competitions, but if there is any sporting disloyalty on the island I have never observed it. The bars and restaurants in the Balagne are packed with cheering drinkers and diners when France play, and I think those who prefer to de-emphasise the island's links with the mainland are able to forget their feelings for a few evenings.
Perhaps the extreme nationalists gather together in the privacy of their own homes when France play, and cheer on Germany, Norway and the USA when they play against them as they sup their Pietras and Colombas. Perhaps they even cheer England...
I was in Corsica for the last World Cup. I was in a restaurant near Calvi to see the England-Argentina match and was a little dismayed but not surprised to find that my friends there tend to support other Latin nations in preference to England. We saw England lose - and David Beckham red-carded - while the Corsicans cheered and I groaned.
One might think that some Corsicans would support teams other than France in National Football competitions, but if there is any sporting disloyalty on the island I have never observed it. The bars and restaurants in the Balagne are packed with cheering drinkers and diners when France play, and I think those who prefer to de-emphasise the island's links with the mainland are able to forget their feelings for a few evenings.
Perhaps the extreme nationalists gather together in the privacy of their own homes when France play, and cheer on Germany, Norway and the USA when they play against them as they sup their Pietras and Colombas. Perhaps they even cheer England...
# posted by Derekthered @ 10:03 AM 
