www.flickr.com

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Scottish Sporting Ambivalence



When Scotland inevitably don't make it to the finals of major football competitions as they do in recent years, the quandry is who to support. There is a concerted effort to get the Scots to get behind the Auld Enemy, but at a very basic level, it is just not possible. The anglocentric BBC has compounded this discomfort by choosing as a theme tune for their World Cup coverage, a piece of music composed by Handel, to honour the Butcher of Cumberland, overseer of one of the great humiliations in Scottish history. At Culloden in 1746, he and 5,000 like minded souls tromped and slaughtered 1,000 of Bonnie Prince Charlies faithful supporters. That particular battle was really about religion, but it really sticks in the craw of most Scots. Anyway I think that most Scots would rather support Trinidad and Tobago than to get behind the English Football Team. At least they have Scotland on their side.

No comments: