...8 Weeks To 2012: Euro 2012
For such an avid football fan, competitions like the World Cup and the Euros don't really excite me. They used to; I have a vivid memory of being nine-years-old and, having been fully inducted into the world of Arsenal following their double-winning exploits just weeks before, I wanted to see what happened to the likes of Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn in the summer. My mother bought me and my brothers each a coin book, where you had to collect coins with the faces of the England team on - somewhat similar to sticker books, but a little bit more up-market. So I happily collected the faces of Teddy Sherringham and the Alan Shearer, and swapped my spare Martin Keowns and David Seamans with my brothers for Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. I hadn't been a fan long enough to develop an overwhelming sense of hatred towards anyone who was not Arsenal and who was not an Arsenal player, and so I saw no problem in supporting my country and the men who played for it.
So what's changed? Simply put, I'm far too big an Arsenal fan to make room for anyone else. Such is my commitment and loyalty to the Gunners that it would be cardinal sin for me to roar for Rooney, whoop for Terry or spur on Spurs players. I'd feel like someone who goes on holiday with the girls in the middle of the summer, forgets all about her husband and spends two weeks drooling over some shiny-chested Italian guy who probably runs through a car wash every morning in order to achieve maximum gleam. Supporting England became particularly difficult several years ago when England's only Arsenal representative (Theo Walcott) spent all his time on the bench, picking his nose and flicking the retrieved boogers at the back of Aaron Lennon's head (well done); admittedly it is easier now to find a little bit of love for England when you see Theo Walcott with the ball at his feet, standing beside Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs. It's still hard - just not impossible to support them. Especially when they're playing Germany.
I think I spend most of these international competitions chewing my lip and refreshing Twitter in the hope that I don't read something about Arsenal's frailer players (ahem: Robin van Persie) picking up "a little knock" which always, always keeps him out of the Arsenal team for the rest of the season. In fact, I think I spend most of these international competitions cursing the Arsenal players' respective national teams, while at the same time secretly hoping that they do well because aww, it would be nice for them to win something.
There might be a tiny part of me looking forward to Euro 2012, but the majority of my body is overtaken by total fear. If certain players can get through the experience unscathed (*knocks wood*), then we should be in for some good football.
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