ON REFLECTION..

OK, I`ve used this image before of a fellow Southampton fan trying to come to terms with yet another defeat.   But in some ways, it sums up my reaction to the events surrounding the European Championship over the past month.

I mentioned in my last post that I would give time a chance to settle the dust of the last few days but I have a feeling that it will take more time than I bargained for before any semblance of normality returns.  So let`s begin with the outcome - England perhaps predictably losing the final on penalties.  I`ve got over that - it happens and I guess I`m used to it by now after all the similar outcomes over the years.   But football is a game, the definition of which - according to my standby dictionary - is `an amusement or pastime; a single period of play in a contest.`  And that`s it - it`s not World War 3, it`s not about famine or pestilence, it`s not about deprivation or even pandemics.  It`s a game.

Trouble is, games like football at the professional level have long ceased to be an amusement or a pastime but have morphed into a world-wide industry and have reached an importance and status far beyond their value.  And so against that background, I am able to accept that England lost to Italy on penalties - surely the most ludicrous method of determining an outcome - and lost to the better, more experienced team on the day.   It was disappointing, of course, but as they say, "That`s football."

So that`s the game dealt with but what are infinitely more disturbing are all the things that have gone on around it.  Which is where disappointment turns to embarrassment.  And I think embarrassment is what accurately describes my reaction - not to the football itself but to the antics that have shown themselves in various ways, most of which are offensive and unbecoming of a nation that used to pride itself on `playing the game` and knowing how to lose with dignity and good grace.

England`s football team under their excellent manager did themselves and the nation proud.  They came through the games before the final with skill, determination and a togetherness and in the final itself acquitted themselves admirably before the fateful penalty shoot-out.  As a nation we should be celebrating all that but instead there are probably criminal acts of abuse being perpetrated on the anonymity of `social media` by an unthinking minority which brings discredit to them and the rest of us.  I hope collars are felt.

And drink fuelled fights and squabbles in towns and cities, reports of Danish fans being abused by England followers as they left Wembley after the semi-final, a mural of Marcus Rashford being defaced and a misplaced sense of being let down by a team who have achieved more than any other in the past half century, not only on the field of play but also by their dignified and measured attitude away from it.  For them to have to live with the nonsense being directed towards them after all they have achieved is not only genuinely disturbing.   It`s embarrassing, so much so that I`m heartily relieved that it`s all over and I can look forward to about a month`s respite before it all kicks off yet again.