World Cup madness will be boosted by extended licensing hours for England’s first game against Italy that kicks off at 11pm on Saturday, June 14. Scotland will be furious and, if England were to win the competition, the consequences could be extreme.
This will be the start of a celebration of everything Eng-er-land during which supporters will hope against hope this will be the year the national team brings home a trophy.
Flags of St George will be waved, shirts worn with pride, voices raised in the hostelries of the land and gallons of alcohol consumed. By the end of it all there are likely to be sore heads, inevitable scuffles and the occasional fan left sleeping in the gutter.
I shall watch the games at home and shall not even be flying pennants from my car. As an Englishman, I believe patriotism should be understated. We don’t need to wave the flag. Other nations already envy us even if we are not very good at football.
And let’s face it, we’re not.
The game against Peru was memorable for one thing only – the goal scored by Daniel Sturridge.
But at least we are better than Scotland and we will be in Brazil; Scotland won’t. They haven’t qualified for either the World Cup or European Cup since 1998 which makes their dislike of Eng-er-land all the stronger.
And David Cameron rubbed salt into the wound when he ordered licensing laws to be relaxed for the World Cup in England but not in Scotland. If bars north of the border wish to remain open late for the games, owners will have to apply individually and pay a fee.
This is galling when you think of all the foreign fans that will be there on June 14.
Every Scotsman will be cheering Italy on before changing their allegiance to Uruguay when we play them five days later. And on June 24 they will be out in force to passionately cheer on Costa Rica against England on what is will be the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. That’s one they actually won.
It is accepted fact that, while an Englishman will support Scotland in a sporting competition, a Scotsman will never support England.
Bars in Scotland have reported they are packed for England games but only because Scots are there to urge on the other teams.
So can you imagine their reaction if Eng-er-land were to actually win the World Cup?
All bets would be off as to which way the September referendum will go. The result would be a walkover. The Scots would vote emphatically for independence simply out of pique.
