It's interesting to see that the Scottish hatred of the English team gets some coverage in the foreign press. First the Canadian press:
Pinned against the grill of a lorry rumbling north up the M1 motorway from London is the English flag, the bold red cross of St. George emblazoned on a pure white background.
The same flag is hanging proudly from apartment balconies in Southampton, decorating shop fronts in Birmingham, taped to bedroom walls in Newcastle, draped over curtain rails in Manchester and affixed to car aerials and windows on all the roads joining those cities. This is not simply the flag of England; this is the flag of English football, this is the lead-up to football's World Cup and the flag is everywhere, almost.
Should that lorry venture far enough north to cross the unguarded border into Scotland, its flag will suddenly be overwhelmed most improbably by the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, one of England's opponents in the competition's first round. Scotland failed to qualify for the world football spectacular in Germany; but, even though they share the same country with the English, most Scots would give up whiskey before they would support England's pride and joy.
This has ignited a controversy over national loyalty between two components of the supposedly United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Although England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate teams in international football, only the English have qualified for this World Cup and consider themselves to be the U.K. standard bearer in Germany, a view not shared in the Highlands.
And second the US press:
"My car would be pelted with eggs if I drove around Glasgow with the St. George's flag fluttering from my car," said Maggie Shiels, a radio personality from the Scottish city. "You'd be hung, drawn and quartered."
We've been getting similar articles in droves over here in the UK too; many from Scots arguing for or against supporting England, and others from English columnists bemused at the level of Scottish anguish on the subject. An example of the way that Scots are beating themselves up over the subject comes from the letters pages of the Edinburgh Evening News:
I TRAVELLED through various parts of Scotland on Saturday June 10 and I was disgusted by the number of Trinidad & Tobago national flags being displayed either in private homes or in the windows of various business premises.
To the Scottish people who are unable to support England during this World Cup I would like to say this: what is wrong with you? Why are you so full of hate?
There is too much of that in the world today and we have all seen the result of that in one way or the other over the last few years.
Scotland are not in the World Cup, so please get behind the only home nation that is - or remain neutral.
Supporting any team that is playing against England is pathetic! You are bringing shame upon this nation and your fellow citizens. The world is watching and your behaviour will convince other nations that Scotland is a nation of small-minded individuals who have one very large chip on their shoulders.
I would also like to ask the Scottish people who are displaying the flags of various other nations this question: could you pinpoint these countries in an atlas?
James Urquhart, Stenhouse Mill Crescent, Edinburgh
Personally I couldn't care less who the Scots support but I am getting rather bored of the attitude that says that the Scots should support England. Certain people seem to be of the opinion that the acid test of the Union relies on extending support to age-old sporting rivals. The acid-test of the Union is not whether the Scots support England in sport, no more than whether the acid test of the European Union is whether Brits will support an EU team rather than the US.
Should the boot be on the other foot however - in the highly unlikely scenario that England looks on whilst Scotland goes it alone as Britain's representative in the World Cup - it will be most interesting to see just how many England fans support Scotland. The English used to support Scotland but I don't think that they would do again. Not because the English object to Scottish hatred of English sporting success (we're used to that, the Scots never did support England) but because of devolution and the political strain that it has put on cross-border relations.
There are those that opinion that the Scottish hatred of England is 'racism'. I tend to laugh at those people. I used to live up in Scotland and regularly went out supporting the English football and rugby teams around the pubs and bars in Scotland that showed them (which was most - the Scots prefer to support 'anyone but England' than their own teams). My best non-Scottish friend up in Scotland was an Englishman of Sri-Lankan decent who used to accompany me down the pub to watch England games. He suffered some terrible abuse at the hands of the Scots. Not because he was Asian, but because he was English. The anti-Englishness of the Scots is not a question of race, it is a question of affiliation.
John Prescott, one of the keenest architects of devolution, stated "Devolution has strengthened Britain because it has allowed the different parts of the UK to give expression to their diversity whilst celebrating the values that bind us together as a nation."
So surely the Scots are just celebrating Britain's diversity, by hating England and the English. The Scots hated England prior to devolution and they hate us after devolution. Where's the story? Let's just leave it at that and enjoy the World Cup.
Just for the record my favourite England-supporting moment was watching England win the Rugby World Cup in the Oz Bar in Edinburgh. Can you imagine the joy of watching England lift the trophy in a room full of crest-fallen Aussies and bitter resentful Scots? Schaudenfraude they call it, and it was the prospect of schaudenfraude that caused the Oz Bar to be packed with Scots. You cannot enjoy moments of sporting glory without some poor souls suffering envy, dejection and heartache. As an England supporter I know those negative feelings only too well.