The Euro may be in trouble, but The Euros are looking strong

Welcome to Euro 2012. If you have, like me, been voraciously consuming the first two rounds of group games then you know how great this tournament can be. If you are just now catching the Euro fever you may well be arriving at the perfect time. Not only are you perfectly poised to get a feel for what’s been going on and prep yourself for the knockout stages, but perhaps more importantly, you have (hopefully) been spared the most painful moments of Alexi Lalas and Michael Ballack trying to debate each other in the ESPN studio. Woof. It’s not pretty. But on the bright side, I guess that makes this the perfect tournament to view as you have plenty of time during the half to eat, use the facilities, or talk trash to your friends without missing out on anything.

 In any event, I thought I might resurrect this blog as a venue to share some of my thoughts on the matches as well as some of the surrounding social issues that are at play in the way this year’s tournament and the nations competing therein are treated in the media and understood generally.

Since I am a notoriously verbose and occasionally belabored writer, especially by internet standards, I will try to make this first entry short and sweet.

Let’s start with the most recent match, shall we?


ENGLAND 3 Sweden 2.

Yes, ENGLAND needed to be in all caps. Why? Because I will not shy away from my undying love for The Three Lions. And I unabashedly rooted for them today like I always do.* This love leads me to do irrational things like wear my lucky “Cambridge, England” shirt (which interestingly enough displays a Union Jack rather than St. George’s Cross, but more on that whole British vs. English thing another time) AND my Three Lions jacket even though wearing a jacket in our sauna top floor Brooklyn walk up in June is a bit daft.** Oh, did I mention that neither of these items will be laundered until they fail me? Don’t worry though; I only wear them during the actual match. Two games, two results, and I’m still feeling so fresh and clean like OutKast in 2001.

My Three Lions jacket

I should also note here that my England fandom leads to the joyous and boisterous celebration of goals. I was watching the match alone so today’s celebrations tended towards the uninhibited and shamelessly ridiculous side of things. Otherwise known as the side of you that only comes out when dancing in front of your bedroom mirror or singing in the shower. Carroll’s header from Gerrard’s cross produced some running punches Billy Blanks would have been proud of. Walcott’s fortuitous floater after the corner brought out Pete Townshendesque around-the-world arm swings like those seen here, and Walcott’s brilliant, creative run and pass for Welbeck’s brilliant back heel elicited an almost involuntary, giddy yelp that I am pleased was not recorded.***

Class. Here is to hoping that the Walcott - Welbeck connection will provide many more such moments in the future

Despite my unwavering faith in England and Roy Hodgson, I have to say that for actual Englishmen (and women) this team certainly seems to be the stray puppy that won them over. The normally cutthroat English media and the confusingly negative England diehards seem to have generally nice and measured things to say, a stark contrast to the usual heaven-or-hell paradox that often surrounds England at major tournaments. Perhaps it is a case of love versus lust, in a footballing way, of course. While this squad, and especially its workaday manager, did not initially capture the imagination of the country, they have established hallmarks of hard work and discipline to build from. They also project a positive team spirit that endears whereas the oft-heralded-only-to-be-maligned “golden generation” teams tantalized, but ultimately left England fans wanting. Or maybe we can just suffice it to say that actually believing you are the underdog is kind of a nice change. Whatever it is, I like it this way.

A note on the football:
My biggest take away from this match was that if England need to open up and attack, they can. After watching England pre-tournament against Belgium, and then against the French in the opening round of the group, I was fairly confident that with Hodgson preaching shape and discipline England would have a strong defense that would give them a fighting chance in every game they played. And despite conceding three goals in two Euro matches so far,**** it must be said that England have yet to be carved up at the back.***** I still hold faith with the defense and accept that staying true to that game plan is likely England's best route to winning matches, but I was very pleased with the offense produced by England’s young guns today. The threats they posed make England more balanced and certainly more fun to watch. I know there are a lot of teams with stronger defenses than Sweden’s, but, putting Rooney to one side, if England needed to get a goal late on in a match it seems that chucking on Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain on either wing with Welbeck up front and Ashley Young in the hole would give most teams fits... talk about pace to burn. I was especially glad to see Walcott produce on a big stage and just hope he can stay fit for the rest of the tournament.****** .

I hope to be back with more musings on some of the subplots you may have missed (or not) in coming days. Thanks.



Notes:
* Well, except when they play my home country, but that is rarely a conflict of interest.
** Ok, ok, I will quit with the anglophilic tone. Maybe.
*** I am not giving you the Gary Neville link. We sounded completely different.
****and even if France were content to play for a draw.
*****Nasri’s shot was a good strike from outside the 18-yard box, one of Sweden’s goals came from a scramble after a free kick and the other was a free header, which looked more like a miscommunication than a permanent issue.
******Hard to believe he is still only 23.