2:48pm Tuesday 17th June 2008
By Ben Barnett
It’s a true showing of how popular football is in this country, or possibly a sign of how confident the broadcasters were about England playing, that every single kick and whistle of Euro 2008 is being beamed live into our living rooms this summer despite our absence.
The likes of Rooney and Gerrard have no doubt been nursing their hangovers from young Wayne’s stag do on some sunny beach somewhere, and the fact that they’re there and not in Austria and Switzerland will no doubt mean a proportion of football fans aren’t excitedly tuning in.
But for me, there’s a wealth of enjoyment to take from England not making it It means I can sit back and make objective opinions about the players, a chance to scout out the Pre-miership’s next flock of foreign importers without biased eyes.
In this vein I’m better placed to make a bet or two on the winners (France - you read it here first), the tournament’s top scorer (Spain’s Fernando Torres) and the like for a bit of fun.
I’ll no doubt pop down to the local to take in some of the action without having to fight for elbow room with fellow England fans. And with Tesco stockpiling Polish beer our Polish friends, I might treat myself to a crate or two.
But wait a minute…all this means I don’t care who wins and I’ll be a few bob lighter in the pocket after trips to the pub, the supermarket and the bookies. If I turn into an emotionless, alcoholic, gambler it’s all Steve McClaren’s fault.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/trade_directory/