Sweet Victory

England 4 - Croatia 2.
THIS, by far, is THE match of Euro 2004.
To hell with the czech-holland match, it doesn't even come close to the excitement of last night's.
Croatia's first goal into a mere 5 minutes of the game was on hindsight, a blessing in disguise. The pressure to attack that ensued had never seen English football any better (okay, i'm exxagerating)... but still, it was fucking amazing. Not just the match, but the atmosphere where i was watching it. I had never seen that many females watching football at one same place.. usually it's just me and the boys. The union was jammed packed, four screens showing the match simultaneously; flags, music, jerseys...I was somewhat bemused at the extent of how England's national pride takes the forefront most visually and emotionally when it comes to football. A nation united in dismal cries against a foul badly taken, a pass badly placed, united in victory raves and chants at amazing goals, beautiful saves. (NOT referring in particular to David James)
Suddenly, nationalism makes so much sense. And football surprisingly contributes immensely to this imagined community of the nation.
I lament the lack of national identity for my own country - I stand somewhere between being mildly defensive of a home i grew up in, and an inherent desire for a different national identity. I was even far more genuinely excited about last night's sweet victory than most England supporters were...
to be fair, i have always been a loyal fan.
So to you twats out there who gleefully gloated France's freakish victory over England, and arrogantly insisted England wouldn't have gone through, or that they played bad football - TAKE THAT!