Shame On The Nation?

Before I start I want to tell you a couple of things. I'm English. I live in Swansea. Swansea in Wales. And I class myself as part-Welsh because of that. I have no Welsh ancestory. But I class myself as part-Welsh. Ok, I shall go on now I have cleared that up.

Last week I read and listened with great interest to the debate over whether you guys should follow us guys in the Rugby World Cup final. I was more interested because I never saw anything on the debate on whether us guys should follow you guys in your Euro play-off. Although I did catch a couple of snippets on Five Live about whether we should follow Scotland.

I read the article from Stuart McDonald with some interest on Friday and I can genuinely see where the guy is coming from. I don't agree with him much but I can see where he is coming from. Last Wednesday I sat in the Millennium Stadium and watched the game with you guys. I felt the same pain that you felt to a lesser degree as I so badly wanted you to join us in Portugal next summer.

The rest of the week I lived with the build up to the game. I knew that it was never going to happen you all backing us in the game and I accepted that. As far as I can see it is part of sporting rivalry and that is what makes the games so great. But this morning I cracked and that is why I sat down to pen this article. I have no affiliation to Swansea City other than I watch about six games a season at the Vetch. But I want to air my views on here because I have read some great debate over the week on this situation.

I refer to your 'National Newspaper of Wales' - The Wales on Sunday. I picked it up this morning as I always do to find a picture of three English rugby fans on the front in the middle of a red circle with a line through it. The line contains the words 'Gloat Free Zone' underneath is the headline 'This paper is free from page after page of smug English back-slapping' and the whole thing got my back up.

Supporters I can handle having this attitude and I have no problem but a newspaper. Can you imagine the reaction had it been the red of Wales that triumphed yesterday morning and every English Sunday paper had a similar thing about the Welsh. You guys would be up in arms and rightly so.

But then it got worse. Page two opens with this sentence "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, England went and won the Rugby World Cup!" Erm, I'm sorry but I fail to see how that can make your week worse. Surely you guys losing at football is far worse than England winning the World Cup? Surely that must hurt you far more? Or is the inferiority complex of these journalists that bad that they feel worse when someone else wins when they lose themselves (I hasten to add here that the article was written by two women and without being sexist they have no idea what they are on about I suspect)

Not wanting us to win is one thing but that being worse than you losing at something is far worse. My dilemma came two weeks back when you played us in the cup. My dilemma was solved by realising that I couldn't really lose although on the day I did support the English.

The same paper goes onto really get desperate in claiming that Clive Woodward has Welsh roots (he went to college in Anglesey) apparantely. This is tabloid journalism at it's worst surely?

Come on guys England won the World Cup. I'm not asking you to celebrate it but do you really have to lower yourself to the level of this 'rag' - you are all better than that? No gloating from me or anything but maybe today I was wishing I didn't class myself as part-welsh.

JackArmy.net adds - some valid points in that article I thought. I haven't read today's Wales on Sunday but it does not surprise me that they have taken this stance. For a long time they have believed that they represent the Welsh public but so many of that public do not buy the paper for the print that they write. Swans fans in particular get a rough ride from a paper that struggles to tell the difference between our two Leon's despite the obvious and their bias towards the capital is incredible. Personally I wanted England to win yesterday although I would not have lost any sleep had they lost. The Englishman is right in had it been the other way around we would have been up in arms and people would have been calling anti-Welsh cards amongst other things. The Wales on Sunday has probably let itself down even more today with this front page as described above. But, again, I won't lose any sleep over it.

Jonny kicks the winner - joy or sadness across Wales as his mother shopped?

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