Tag: football

Vikki Spit and her fiancée. Spit has become the first person in the UK to receive compensation from the government for a death — her fiancée’s — resulting from the Covid-19 vaccine.

1,779 words

Beware the Ides of June

Under British parliamentary rules, a vote of no confidence in a Prime Minister is similar to a recall vote in the United States, but it is the members of the incumbent PM’s parliamentary party — 359 Conservative MPs, in this case — who vote, and not the people. The peons only get to vote in general elections, where their choice is essentially between two brands of the same soap powder. (more…)

British MP Jeremy Hunt, whose surname is as perfect an example of Cockney rhyming slang as you could find.

2,490 words

A bad month for the Iron Lady and the suffragette

There is never a good time to be a statue in England. You are out in all weathers, for a start, and on the rare days the Sun does shine pigeons seize the opportunity to take a dump on your head. But you do usually get to hang around on your pedestal or plinth for a few decades, or even centuries, before you are abused by humans. That, like much in the old country, is changing, and 2020 shall henceforth be known as the year of the great toppling. But the last month has seen attacks on statues of two famous English women, proving equality is alive and well. (more…)

Adam Vinatieri, the kicker who holds the NFL’s all-time scoring record.

2,014 words

A long time ago, in a magical kingdom tucked safely away from the flaming hell we currently inhabit, there used to be this crazy, hate-filled idea that if some groups performed better on average than other groups regarding any given task, it’s highly likely that the main reason for this is that they simply were better than other groups at that task. It was so pure and innocent in its reasoning that someone invariably had to come and fuck it all up. (more…)

J. K. Rowling, who earned praise for getting herself cancelled this year by refusing to back down from her normal views on genitalia and gender.

2,411 words

We can be heroes just for one day. — David Bowie

Hans, are we the baddies? — Mitchell and Webb sketch featuring Nazi soldiers

As European and Commonwealth countries act like faithful servants to the autocratic global coup currently taking place, my own home country of England has fallen into step like a good foot-soldier. The government, nominally Conservative but actually a sort of Green Socialist elite oligarchy, has gone full Bezmenov, contradicting itself on a daily basis about COVID and preventing its people from seeing dying loved ones while it parties maskless indoors. (more…)

Mária Schmidt & Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

688 words

Following the Hungary-England football match in Budapest on Thursday, September 2, during which racist abuse against the British team was reported, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a tweet in which he expressed that it was “completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary.” (more…)

2,285 words

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
the score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
a sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. (more…)

1,284 words 

In the final days of the holy Pride Month, the National Football League told the world: “Football is gay.”

The message came in a pro-gay ad released by the macho sports league. The ad also said that: “Football is lesbian;” “Football is queer;” “Football is transgender; “Football is bisexual;” “Football is American;” and “Football is for everyone.” (more…)

1,442 words

Football players in England resumed their interrupted season in front of empty stands this month. Before the first game, each player, in addition to their name, squad number, and advertising slogans (including the now-sainted NHS or National Health Service symbol), wore the slogan “Black Lives Matter” on the back of their shirts, (more…)

2,420 words

I know, the fifty-fourth Super Bowl is old news. Who cares about something that occurred more than 24 hours ago? We might as well discuss a Babylonian sporting event. However, this Super Bowl averaged 102 million viewers, which makes it the eleventh most-watched event in US history — the top 10 are nine other Super Bowls and the final episode of M*A*S*H — and it is the pinnacle of Americanism. All football games are one elongated advertisement to consume more product, but this particular commercial, Super Bowl LIV, was blatantly hostile to its own consumer base. This seems unique and warrants dissection. (more…)

“My fellow white people!”

1,821 words

Ever watch a movie and discover that you’re actually rooting for the bad guys? That was my impression when first noticing a Guardian article posted on American Renaissance called “‘Everybody Hates Us’: On Sofia’s Streets, Roma Face Racism Every Day” by Vivek Chaudhary. (more…)

983 words

Some people think football (soccer) is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.

(more…)

4,350 words

There seems to be no slaking Western man’s thirst for spectator sports. The “bread and circuses” of the Roman Empire seem almost trivial by comparison. American culture is awash in worship of sports teams and professional athletes. (more…)