We are a nation that loves sport. Whether we are watching or participating millions of us are involved some type of sporting activity.
It is a shame that often our national teams or individual sports men and women often let us down as our passion for sport deserves more success. As a country that gave the world so many sports and games you would think we would be better at them.
Football (Soccer)
Without doubt this is the national game stroke obsession. Every newspaper carries so much in depth information about what is going on. Fans delve into the minutiae of their heroesՠknee ligament operations and how such and such a player has a touch of knee pain so they wonִ play this week.
Day after day players make the front and back pages of the national press as the country follow their progress. It creates rivalries amongst families and friends and unfortunately sometimes the first aid kits are needed in the stands as well as the football pitch.
But when played properly it is the beautiful game. We gave it to the world only for the world to play it a lot better than we do.
Fishing
This is the biggest participation sport in the UK. Millions of people every weekend sit by a lake or river in the hope of catching a fish.
It is though, such a British thing to do. Only Brits love to sit in the cold for ages and wait for something to happen and then when they do catch something they throw it back. That is correct the thing they have waited an age to catch they return to the water.
Cricket
Cricket bamboozles foreigners or I should say foreign people who are not from the commonwealth. An American friend of mine came round while I was watching the cricket and asked me who was winning. I told him it was hard to tell.
He could not get his head round a game that lasted five days and could still end up in a draw.
It is though a truly English game (I say particularly English as the Scots and Irish are not really that keen.) We even have a saying that things are Ӯot cricket,Ӡwhich means it is not fair or that that someone has cheated and this is such an English notion deriving as it does from an English pastime.
Other Sports
We also love Rugby, Athletics, Golf, Swimming and once a year rowing. Yes, rowing. For one day a year the nation suddenly becomes gripped by two university boat crews even though the majority of the population has never stepped in either institution.
Very few people in the country know very little about rowing but millions tune in to watch the race on television and thousands line the river on the day.
Such is our love of sport we will watch the race every year because we just love the inherent drama that two teams competing against each other will inevitably create.