`ERE WE GO`...

As you can see, Mrs. Snopper is getting a bit excited about the World Cup kicking off today in South Africa. All around there are houses with England banners and cars going round with flags on. I`ve just been to Tesco`s and they have a vast range of tacky `merchandise,` which we are supposed to buy to signify our support for England.

Now, on the one hand I harbour vague hopes that the England team does well - maybe reaching the quarter-finals and going out on penalties, which seems to be their default fate in this and other competitions. On the other hand, there still lurks deep within my troubled psyche the notion that, given the excesses and the appalling examples set by players like John Terry and Ashley Cole in particular, an early exit followed by the derision of a disappointed nation might just be the cummuppance they deserve. For English football at the highest level has become little more than a `product,` a `brand` so far removed from the reality of everyday life that the Premier League in particular has now become a caricature of itself. And the sad truth is that it is blissfully unaware of the absurdity it has become.

So I`ll give a mumble of encouragement and as I see which of my vague hopes comes true, I might just wish that all the flags and banners and facepainting and misguided `patriotism` might perhaps have been more appropriately displayed on St. George`s Day?