Hello, my friends! I love England and I love sports, so do y'all think I am enjoying this World Cup? You bet, I am! Tomorrow, England will be playing Croatia! I will be working but...if I work through my lunch and get off an hour earlier, I will just be able to get home in time to watch the last few minutes of it! Don't worry, I won't drive TOO fast...wink, wink!
You would not believe the excitement in England while the World Cup is going on! I have been there in years past while they have been playing. (Photo above is our son in 2010.) Lots of people will put their English flags on their front doors or else hang them out their windows. Please note that the English flag does NOT have the word "Gillette" plastered over it but that just proves my point, that companies will give those away (with a purchase) and football fever is everywhere! I wouldn't say that the streets in England are completely deserted while England plays in the World Cup, but they looked pretty empty to me!
Anyway, if you have seen England playing in the World Cup, you might have heard them singing several songs, like "God Save The Queen" and "Rule Britannia". There was one song that I didn't know and just couldn't quite make it out but with a little research, I found out that it was "Three Lions". This song was written in 1996 but you know that it has now been re-done for 2018! Guess what, I just saw on the BBC that is number one on the charts! Of course, it would be! "It happened once before, it can happen once again". If you see guys wearing football shirts in England and you wonder why they have the year "1966" upon them, that is because that is the only year that they won the World Cup! (And you can't say, "better luck next year" the way we Americans are taught to say, the World Cup is only every four years!)
Three lions, they are on the uniforms for the England team. Why is this so? Look up the Royal Arms of England and you will know why! You may read all about it here.
Here, just had to give you a few seconds of the fans singing "Rule Britannia"!
Come on England! It's Coming Home! (I hope!)
UPDATE: England lost to Croatia, 2-1. Oh well, there's always next year! WAIT, there's always four years from now! LOL!
I wish our friends luck.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was disappointing. Came home to watch the first goal from Croatia and it seemed to be all Croatia after that.
DeleteIt is so nice to see a country involved in something besides politics and hate! Green Bay is like that during football season...everyone here is crazy (well, except the writer of this)...lol...
ReplyDeleteHope you get home in time to enjoy the last bit of the game! xo Diana
Thanks, Diana! England lost, but that's how it goes!
DeleteI'm not into soccer, but I hope England wins. When I hear the words Three Lions or seem the emblem, I know that means England. Though (I'm sure you know) it really is for the House of Plantagenet. I have a lot of English Scottish and Irish ancestry so it's pretty unlikely for anyone in the 21st century not to be at least descended from at least King John and thus his father King Henry II, the first Plantagenet king.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I just recently did research of my family tree and it was mostly English and Scottish! I am sure I am descended from kings, I must be because I can be a royal pain sometimes! LOL!
DeleteThe moment Germany was kicked out of this World Cup (and fully deserved it), I started cheering for England :-) You have seen my post about it, haven't you.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that you did not know the "Three Lions" song. When it was first out in 1996, my sister understood "Three Lines on a Shirt" and was wondering, what three lines…?
Ha! I am like your sister, I thought they were saying "Three LINES" too! Had no idea what they were saying, so that is why I looked it up! I hope your relatives in England are not too disappointed over England's loss. I will have to cheer for France now.
DeleteWe're having my cousin from France and her son over for a brief summer holiday, and of course they have been cheering for France all along... I doubt I'll be watching the final, though.
DeleteGood job my heart is not really in it - it's only footie, after all :-)
Keeping my fingers crossed for England!
ReplyDeleteOh well, it must have been my fault for getting off work early to watch them, that made them lose!
DeleteWhat excitement! I am hoping England will win. There is a lot of chaos (as far as I see it) around the political situation at the moment. They need something to cheer for!
ReplyDeleteIn 1953 nothing was going well for Hungary and when they won the world cup it gave the entire nation something to celebrate!
How wonderful for the 1953 World Cup win for Hungary. I can only imagine the excitement!
DeleteThey did their best...and making it to the World Cup and making it as far as they did is admirable.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a soccer/football fan...but I understand because there are sports I like and follow...such as Wimbledon, which has my attention at present! lol
You know I agree with you, very admirable indeed! And they are a young team, so four years from now is not so bad for them!
DeleteWimbledon! Can you believe it this year? I hate that Roger Federer is out and what about Serena being in the finals? They gave her such grief...blah, blah, blah...she wont' be able to play, she had a baby. She showed them!!
Serena is awesome! I hope she wins the final.
DeleteIt certainly was a surprise to see Roger Federer go out...I thought he would be in the final against Rafa. I love Rafa, too. I think he is great. I'm hoping he wins tonight (Aussie time).
I'm sitting here presently watching the Isner-Anderson match....waiting for Nadal's match. This could be a long, long night! :)
I hope Serena will win too!
DeleteI ADORE Roger Federer but hey, he has won so many and Rafael Nadal is VERY deserving!
I just saw that Anderson won! Wow, what a long match!
Yes. I think some rules need changing so those lengthy matches don't occur. It was 8 am here Eastern Aussie Time this morning, Saturday, when I finally gave up watching the tennis....that was when the Nadal-Djokovic match was brought to a halt because of the 11 pm closure ruling at Wimbledon.
DeleteI started watching the tennis last night at 11 pm...finished at 8 am!!!
So...another late, late night ahead of me is in the cards. And then again on Sunday night! :)
Oh bless you! But I totally understand! After all, one does not have tennis matches like this every day of the week! Hope you got some sleep today!
DeleteWe are all feeling flat today! We really were daring to dream, but we take heart from the fact that we haven't got this far in any major football tournament since 1990. My grandson had one lion on his vest (and I don't mean a waistcoat!). x
ReplyDeleteTake heart, you know you must do so! I so much wanted them to win it but it was not meant to be. Whatever it is called, a vest or waistcoat, I think it looks quite nice on a gentleman! xx
DeleteLovely post, Kay. Even Mrs Britain, who is a proud Scot, wanted England to win. And the boys done good, bless 'em! I'm thinking Gareth Southgate has made a better job of unifying people than any of the mediocre and/or divisive politicians we have at the moment - so maybe after he's sorted out the World Cup in 2022, he can be Prime Minister. If it's not too late...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike! Gareth Southgate for Prime Minister, that is a great idea! We need a uniter not a divider, to quote one of our former US presidents! :-)
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