The European nations football championship starts tomorrow night. It would be undignified to claim that I am excited, but I am certainly looking forward to watching some football on TV over the coming weeks.
One item from the necessary fans' toolkit which I am missing is a nice coloured magazine, giving details of the national teams and a match schedule. I'll skip the sticker album (do they still have those?), and I do have beer. Good.
So I got onto my dear friends at Amazon.co.uk, to order a magazine, and I found just the thing.
Maybe if I had been better organised I might have ordered one earlier, but they didn't know the details of the team selections until a week or two ago. Hmmm. Not to worry - I think I'll just not bother with the online thing, and see if I can pick something up in the newsagent's.
Old School. Ye cannae whack it.
Best thing about the football is it is nice and quiet when I walk the dogs in the evening!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt. You do realise that your dog-walking schedule is built into the computer program that works out the match timings? These things do get taken for granted, I think.
DeleteMatt - you sent a further comment, and for some reason I don't understand Blogger refused to publish it. The algorithm may have struck again...
DeleteAlso looking forward to the footie, somehow can't get excited about club competitions, but international games are another matter but...
ReplyDelete...I shall be supporting Germany so I guess that makes us mortal enemies? ;o)
Not at all - I usually support Scotland in such circumstances, but many years of practice take much of the pain out of suffering defeat. If Scotland play England I'm pretty much ambivalent, having residential and family/birth loyalties in both camps.
DeleteMy forecast for tonight's match is Germany 1-0 Scotland, and a pretty poor, tentative game. Like England, Germany will start off paralysed with fear of what the press will say about them. For the whole competition, I have an open mind - I always have a soft spot for Croatia, Netherlands, teams like that - strong outsiders.
Do you remember the tokens from the petrol stations? I had a full set of the 1966 World Cup England team which all fitted into a rather smart display holder :)
ReplyDeleteI too am looking forward to a bit of footie on TV.
Cheers,
Lee.
They maybe couldn't produce a full set of stickers fast enough nowadays, since
Delete(1) there are far more teams in the finals
(2) the final team selections are pretty much last-minute
(3) it requires a committee meeting involving 83.7 people to decide anything
With no hint of malice, I have rather enjoyed all the football/Euros themed adverts featuring Jack Grealish - shame for the lad not to be picked, but he must have scored a few quid on the advertising. He can have a rest - he can spend the summer lying on his sofa, instead of lying on a football field, appealing for a foul.
Whoa!... malice was doing its best there...
The answer to your question as to whether there are still stickers looks to be closest to 3) in your options above - I read somewhere that the 'image rights' to either the players or the kits has got split between two rival stickerbookmakers. I hope no-one lets this spoil their enjoyment of the football. An oracular dachshund in Munich thinks Germany will win - will his predictions age as well as Paul the Octopus' did?
ReplyDeleteI think this is all very interesting - there may be something in this. I tried asking my lucky wardrobe, but it didn't say anything. What could that mean?
DeleteToo clothes to call, I suppose.
DeleteThat must be it - thanks.
DeleteI still have my 'Mexico 70' World Cup sticker album, but I fear it is too late to write in with a postal order to complete the collection...
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm afraid my interest in football didn't last much longer.
That Southgate chap seems a nice man, anyway. Do nice guys ever win?
I hope they do - I understand that Mr Ancelotti is a nice man, and he's doing all right. The English papers will already have written the hand-polished condemnation of the poor souls in their national team, long before their exit. Perfect business model - create a false hope, and then destroy it in glorious colour. Journos never lose.
DeleteLooks like you'll have to make your own chart Tony. Get the felt tips out. Hours of fun.
ReplyDeleteI shall commission a portrait of me with my handicrafts face on, with tongue sticking out at one side.
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