Is it just me?

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,627]

...that isn't as excited about England being in the Euro 2020 final as they thought they'd be?

I'm in my early 30s so I've never experienced anything like this before, and had you told me before the tournament (or at any point in my life) that England would reach a final I would've thought that I'd be really excited, as there are few bigger football fans than me. 

But I'm just not feeling it. 

I think it's because international football just isn't the same as domestic. As a Norwich fan who follows Lecce as a second team, I've been spoilt with loads of promotion battles in the last few years and I feel so much more invested in those than this England run. I always enjoy the major tournaments but I'm celebrating England goals as they go in with about 10% of the excitement and gusto that I celebrate a Norwich goal.

I see people who are not really into football getting massively into the Euros with England reaching the final, but there's me as a huge football fan that just isn't feeling the enthusiasm. 

Are any of you feeling like this, or am I just weird?

[cornish sam 1,040]

Similar for me. Last night I was feeling strangely elated (almost high) but that has totally gone now, hopefully it will kick in for Sunday (though who scheduled the final for 8pm on a Sunday? My kids are under 10, they deserve a chance to see this and if it goes to extra time then they'll not be in bed much before 11 on a school night, for the continental folk it'll be midnight! It's not even as though there's a market this makes sense for, in the far East it's 4am and the US don't care about soccer enough!)

I think it's.paetly because the expectation wasn't there before hand. International football has been a bit of a chore for so long that the connection to the team is weak. if you weren't excited going into the tournament as a football fan then it's hard to get as excited now...

[Danke bitte 1,155]

No you're not weird. I'm mid-30s and suffered at the hands of Euro 96 and WC 98 as a kid to know better than to get excited by England and have barely followed them since.

2018 was an anomaly for me, the whole country got 'Coming Home fever' and I got swept away with that, but mostly because that summer was so amazing if I recall through the drunken haze.

I think for me, I just don't feel attached to the team because there's no Norwich players in it, they're players that are mostly superstars which I'm completely detached from. Secondly, on a more sociological note I hate all the nationalistic tub-thumping that comes with it. So I've distanced myself from even bothering with the England squad for a long time. 

I go into almost every game feeling apathetic because I've been excited before and, as England supporters are fully aware, that is usually followed by massive deflation. 

Until England build on a more consistent tournament record then I'll continue as I am. 😄

[canarydan23 4,769]

I've not been a big fan of the national team for years. Stopped watching friendlies and qualifiers years and years ago but I always get into the Euros and the Worlds but then as soon as we're out, I move on pretty much a couple of hours after the game (unlike Norwich defeats that p*** me off for days).

However, this Euros I'm gripped, I'm celebrating goals as I celebrate Norwich goals. I'm not quite at the shirt buying level I was at 15 years or so ago, but I'm not far off.

 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,627]

10 minutes ago, Danke bitte said:

2018 was an anomaly for me, the whole country got 'Coming Home fever' and I got swept away with that, but mostly because that summer was so amazing if I recall through the drunken haze.

It was the same for me in the sense that 2018 seemed far more exciting, but I don't know why. 

Was it because this was the first time we'd got to a semi-final that I was old enough to understand? Was it because the World Cup is bigger than the Euros? Was it because I was living abroad which made it more interesting as I was one of very few English people around?

[Worthy Nigelton 1,306]

It isn't just you. I want us to win on Sunday but ultimately I don't care anywhere near as much as I do when Norwich are playing.

[king canary 8,763]

I spent most of WC 2018 in a daze as my Dad passed away midway through the tournament and he started it off in hospital. So while I enjoyed the tournament I can't claim fond memories of the general time and I honestly would have felt slightly gutted that my Dad would have missed us winning it by such a slim margin.

So this has been cathartic for me- its been lovely to be able to enjoy the progress and the generally excellent tournament without that sort of cloud hanging over me and my family. 

[lake district canary 4,836]

Echo a lot of the above.  I feel no connection with any of the England players, actively dislike some of them and have only disillilusionment with the FA and the way they have approached managing the England team for decades, so it would take a lot for me to get interested in it again. That probably means having a Norwich or even an ex-Norwich player in there. 

Having said that, have been impressed with some of them, Shaw and Sancho particularly and last night Rice. Too much diving though from Kane and Sterling in particular. Somehow they get away with it in the PL and VAR doesn't help - but the refs have been pretty good and no nonsense in these Euros.  The penalty was soft, so not impressed with that either.

Happy to see people celebrating the win, but feel outside all that euphoria, in fact so ambivilent I had no real sense of wanting one side to win over the other.  The Denmark story has been emotional and dramatic and in some ways would have been happy if they had won.  Treason? Heresy? Surely not these days where the world is so interconnected, just not into "England" when it comes to football, too much baggage attached to it over many years.

[Yellow Fever 4,415]

I have the same feeling and it appears I'm older than some - can recall '66!

I just don't feel so invested. Of course I want them to do well but secretly I was wishing Scotland on and Hanley & Gilmour in particular. Perhaps if we had some city players in there I'd feel closer. Always like to see the underdogs do well but that may also be a Canary thing after years of practice!

[AJ 1,359]

I think, had I been with friends in the pub or at the ground, I probably would be but sitting at home watching it on the tele just isn't the same.

I also think I just don't get as excited about England as I do Norwich, but that seems fairly normal for most people. Southgate has definitely helped start to change that though, I'm quite enjoying the atmosphere he has created around the national team

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

6 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Too much diving though from Kane and Sterling in particular.

You say that but our players have generally been one of the better sides for that type of 'gamesmanship'. I can't recall many times seeing our players writhe around in agony at a non-tackle, or throw themselves down theatrically.  Whereas the Italians and Spanish players for instance, are absolutely disgraceful compared to ours!

[Yellow Fever 4,415]

9 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Having said that, have been impressed with some of them, Shaw and Sancho particularly and last night Rice. Too much diving though from Kane and Sterling in particular. Somehow they get away with it in the PL and VAR doesn't help - but the refs have been pretty good and no nonsense in these Euros.  The penalty was soft, so not impressed with that either.

Right result but pity to win it on 'never a penalty'. 

Will all be forgotten Sunday but don't cry 'foul' if an Italian as is quite likely falls over his laces in the box. 

[Danke bitte 1,155]

24 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

It was the same for me in the sense that 2018 seemed far more exciting, but I don't know why. 

Was it because this was the first time we'd got to a semi-final that I was old enough to understand? Was it because the World Cup is bigger than the Euros? Was it because I was living abroad which made it more interesting as I was one of very few English people around?

A mix of all three I reckon. WC is a lot of fun and makes it much more accessibly global in terms of vibes, Euros are super intense and fuels the unhealthy rivalry we have with certain countries I feel. 

[king canary 8,763]

10 minutes ago, AJ said:

I think, had I been with friends in the pub or at the ground, I probably would be but sitting at home watching it on the tele just isn't the same.

 

This is certainly a part. I've been pinged by the covid app this week so have to isolate until Monday, meaning any plans to watch the final with friends are gone, while I'm pretty gutted about.

[TheGunnShow 7,379]

11 minutes ago, Danke bitte said:

A mix of all three I reckon. WC is a lot of fun and makes it much more accessibly global in terms of vibes, Euros are super intense and fuels the unhealthy rivalry we have with certain countries I feel. 

I think that's a VERY good shout, and lob in an element of Brexit mentality with some England fans this time around and I think it's been stoked further.

For a long time I've noticed quite a ridiculous BBC bias against the Germans in tournaments that gets wound up when England and Germany collide. There was one when they faced a somewhat weakened Turkey side in Euro 2008 despite missing a few themselves, and every single bit of commentary was how well the Turks were playing despite their injuries. In short, I think the broadcasters also get caught up in similar rivalries, masquerading as passion.

[Capt. Pants 5,015]

41 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

It isn't just you. I want us to win on Sunday but ultimately I don't care anywhere near as much as I do when Norwich are playing.

Other way round for me.

Memories of England winning a tournament would last a lifetime. Not the same with Norwich.

 

 

 

[Petriix 3,222]

1 hour ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

...that isn't as excited about England being in the Euro 2020 final as they thought they'd be?

I'm in my early 30s so I've never experienced anything like this before, and had you told me before the tournament (or at any point in my life) that England would reach a final I would've thought that I'd be really excited, as there are few bigger football fans than me. 

But I'm just not feeling it. 

I think it's because international football just isn't the same as domestic. As a Norwich fan who follows Lecce as a second team, I've been spoilt with loads of promotion battles in the last few years and I feel so much more invested in those than this England run. I always enjoy the major tournaments but I'm celebrating England goals as they go in with about 10% of the excitement and gusto that I celebrate a Norwich goal.

I see people who are not really into football getting massively into the Euros with England reaching the final, but there's me as a huge football fan that just isn't feeling the enthusiasm. 

Are any of you feeling like this, or am I just weird?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and take this to a different level from what you'd expect to find on a football forum... 

When you attach any kind of emotional investment to something like 22 men running round in a field, that can only lead to feeling underwhelmed and a bit flat when you wake up the next day to realise that nothing has actually changed.

The same is true for any of the many other vacuous things that we all do in pursuit of happiness: drinking, gambling, buying new things etc. It's ultimately because there's nothing actually really fulfilling about it. We haven't personally achieved anything. The anticipation is always greater than the outcome. 

There are some positive things that can come out of it: if you're sharing the experience with friends or family (even strangers on the Internet) then it can help you to feel connected to other people. On a bigger scale it can help to bring larger groups of people together around a common feeling of excitement.

In the end, it's worth appreciating it for what it is rather than what you thought it would be. I watched it with my girls and we'll now always have it as a memory of being together. That's worth more to me than anything to do with the overpaid players or the moronic pundits fawning over them on TV.

[hogesar 10,771]

I've loved this tournament from start to finish but i've always been pretty passionate about supporting England, even though they've done nothing in my lifetime.

This is the first time in my supporting lifetime (baring in mind i was 4 years old for 1996, so memories non existent) that I feel a connect with the players and manager. I don't think Southgate is the best manager in the world but he's the perfect fit for England right now, he has a good relationship with the fans and he's got the media on side which in turn means the players speak with them far more openly.

I really like everything Sterling stands for and to now see him delivering on one of the biggest stages in football for our country is fantastic. The young players we have coming through are exciting and put us in a position where we have some real talent in the squad for the next 2, perhaps 3 tournaments.

A group of us will be watching the final, one of my best friends is Italian and we're going to have a blast.

I'm always typically Norwich > England but I must say i've celebrated England's goals in this tournament just as much as Norwich's goals firing us to promotion.

[Danke bitte 1,155]

1 minute ago, hogesar said:

I don't think Southgate is the best manager in the world but he's the perfect fit for England right now, he has a good relationship with the fans and he's got the media on side which in turn means the players speak with them far more openly.

I'd agree with this, he also appears humble and honest, and his 'down to earth' persona seems to have filtered into the squad. This England team don't feel like a bunch of diva individuals to me a la France who thought they'd won it already by showing up. 

[chicken 3,088]

1 hour ago, Danke bitte said:

No you're not weird. I'm mid-30s and suffered at the hands of Euro 96 and WC 98 as a kid to know better than to get excited by England and have barely followed them since.

I'm in the last year of my 30's, technically, as my grandparents would have told me, I am actually into my 40th year... Anyway, I am the same, I was 14 for Euro'96 and I remember the feeling of not having seen an England team at the world cup in 94. I don't remember much of the previous world cup or euro's.

Euro'96 is the only international tournament that I have really felt like I cared about and got that into. I don't know what it was, but there was the resurgence of British indie rock... perhaps the winds of change were also apparent with New Labour rising to power the following year. Everything just felt so different.

I don't remember their being stupidly high expectations like there have been since. The entire build a huge pedestal and then set fire to  it when those unrealistic projections are not met. Everyone just seemed brilliantly positive. The team was entertaining. Shearer, Sheringham and Gazza working their magic around teams... we out total footballed a Dutch team with Bergkamp in it?!!

We've had some good teams since, but this age of superstar footballer seems to have impacted the team coherency of many teams. Portugal has some great players but it always seems to be the Ronaldo and friends show. For once, perhaps England don't have any standout stars as such, no real out and out superstar flair players, or great but sulky strikers. The unity seems to be better and the team work much improved.

Am I excited about the final? A bit. I guess now that I don't play either - that more direct connection is no longer there. I used to watch as many games in a tournament as I could. Now I just watch the ones that interest me.

Norwich is the only team I really follow properly and get passionate about - though not as extremely as some folks do when we lose players or get relegated etc. Promotion - always. 

[Ken Hairy 4,272]

Nope am absolutely buzzing for this, genuinely didn't think it'd ever happen in my lifetime. Being 45 maybe it's because I have more vivid memories of '90,' 96, Maradona etc that this really is eradicating all that pain. 

[chicken 3,088]

1 hour ago, Capt. Pants said:

Other way round for me.

Memories of England winning a tournament would last a lifetime. Not the same with Norwich.

Yup, no one that can remember it ever goes on about the Milk Cup win... no one at all.

If we won the Prem you think anyone would not live that up as often as they could?

[chicken 3,088]

10 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Nope am absolutely buzzing for this, genuinely didn't think it'd ever happen in my lifetime. Being 45 maybe it's because I have more vivid memories of '90,' 96, Maradona etc that this really is eradicating all that pain. 

It may do that to me Sunday. I suspect that the way the press treats our sports professionals does much to dissuade me from going along with the "best player ever" type unrealistic hype. This time there is a little bit more quiet assuredness. No fuss. Plugging away. Unspectacular but consistent and determined.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

10 minutes ago, Petriix said:

I'm going to go out on a limb here and take this to a different level from what you'd expect to find on a football forum... 

When you attach any kind of emotional investment to something like 22 men running round in a field, that can only lead to feeling underwhelmed and a bit flat when you wake up the next day to realise that nothing has actually changed.

The same is true for any of the many other vacuous things that we all do in pursuit of happiness: drinking, gambling, buying new things etc. It's ultimately because there's nothing actually really fulfilling about it. We haven't personally achieved anything. The anticipation is always greater than the outcome. 

There are some positive things that can come out of it: if you're sharing the experience with friends or family (even strangers on the Internet) then it can help you to feel connected to other people. On a bigger scale it can help to bring larger groups of people together around a common feeling of excitement.

In the end, it's worth appreciating it for what it is rather than what you thought it would be. I watched it with my girls and we'll now always have it as a memory of being together. That's worth more to me than anything to do with the overpaid players or the moronic pundits fawning over them on TV.

I get what you are saying Petriix. I would say that we do these things that make us happy, hopefully each day, but, (a bit deep I know) ultimately they are just part of our journey on this planet , and you are spot on with what makes your life truly memorable etc. It's sharing it with loved ones/likeminded people that is what MAKES life special.

This conversation could take a few different paths, but I am in general agreement with this thread. I'm English, I want always want England to win. I cheered last night when the goals went in, because I want people to be the best they can in life, and this group of players could reach the summit of their profession, IF a lot of things (as I have said on this forum already this tournament) align, but if they (we) lose on Sunday, so be it, it won't be the end of the World. I will be sad for those players, but it won't change my life. I had a great affinity with the 1990 WC as it helped me greatly that year as I had a tremendous amount of life changing stuff going on so it was a great distraction for what  I knew lay ahead for me but it was just that, a distraction and a form of entertainment. That's what football and many similar things in my life offer me. 

It's partly to do with my loathing for the fawning of some athletes who are there just for our entertainment. They are not brain surgeons etc. It's just trying to kick a ball into a particular part of a field. It is something to do with what I know is important in life, and as much as I love my football,  there are (modern day ) aspects that I abhor (money/morals/responsibility for example). People are what really matter to me. I watch football to watch 'my' team entertain me and hopefully win, but it comes with a caveat that that is not possible all of the time.

I saw a video this morning of some of the Millwall firm (FFS 🤦‍♂️) having a go at Portsmouth fans and it was truly pathetic to see grown men making death threats to people 60 metres away in the stand, who they do not know, and would normally walk past in the street any other day of the week, purely because of they like to see 11 different men try to entertain them (Oo err missus and all that). I wonder, on their deathbed, whether they will still harbor this huge grudge and want to wipe those opposition fans from the face of the earth? We cannot help where we are born, and there is always something that influences which football team we follow, so to pitch tribal tendencies against other football fans to beyond a bit of banter, is mind blowing and ridiculous. 

[Steve White 24]

Agree with many of the posts on here, I am an exiled Brit, many of my Swedish friends expect me to want England to win but I couldn’t care less - I just say that I am really just a Norwich supporter. The only match I watched was v Scotland because Grant was playing. Plus I can’t stand Sterling, watching him fall down from the draught of an opposition player.

[Badger 2,745]

1 hour ago, king canary said:

I spent most of WC 2018 in a daze as my Dad passed away midway through the tournament and he started it off in hospital. So while I enjoyed the tournament I can't claim fond memories of the general time and I honestly would have felt slightly gutted that my Dad would have missed us winning it by such a slim margin.

So this has been cathartic for me- its been lovely to be able to enjoy the progress and the generally excellent tournament without that sort of cloud hanging over me and my family. 

Similar in a way - lost both my parents in 2019 - and watching the football with my brother and his family together with mine, kinds of reminds me of when we were young and watched the matches as a family together, same as we watched televised Norwich away games and the UEFA cup run etc.

Football has always been a family thing for me - used to go with my grandads etc when I was young.

[Essjayess 307]

As a 12 year old in '66 seeing England win the World Cup obviously left an indelible mark on me forever but as the years rolled by and the competition grew larger one sensed more and more that  back then Englands ride to victory was shorter and easier than it would be these days. I think decades of watching England either suffer bad decisions against them or jut simply not being good enough has worn down my feelings of both patriotism and excitement, but regarding the first reason its a good thing as im much older now and can appreciate more what both teams did last night.

Recall watching Sterling's last run  very near the end of the game when his shot was saved by a  great Schmeichel save once again and his momentum carried him into the hoardings for a camera to pick up his smiling , beaming face..he and the whole team were so enjoying the game, giving their all, as were Denmark..in such a hard fought game is always sad  there has to be a loser but bravo to both teams and to all the fans there, they were loud and noisy and never stopped believing.

[hogesar 10,771]

19 minutes ago, Steve White said:

Agree with many of the posts on here, I am an exiled Brit, many of my Swedish friends expect me to want England to win but I couldn’t care less - I just say that I am really just a Norwich supporter. The only match I watched was v Scotland because Grant was playing. Plus I can’t stand Sterling, watching him fall down from the draught of an opposition player.

I'm interested, what can't you "stand" about Sterling?

It's a genuine question - because it's been a problem for some time with a selection of people. I really don't understand what it is about Sterling that some have such a problem with.

[Lord Horn (again) 154]

Absolutely gutted that we are through to the Final - was hoping that I could still be one of those on here who could still remember us not only qualifying but winning a major tournament - now all you nippers are jumping on the bandwagon after only a couple of years of 'hurt' rather than my 55 years of hurt.  I will now remove my tongue from my cheek.  Seriously though, I hope we win it but not as pumped up as I'd thought I'd be.  I'd take a Norwich FA Cup Final win over it any day.

[Foxy2600 380]

45 minutes ago, chicken said:

Yup, no one that can remember it ever goes on about the Milk Cup win... no one at all.

If we won the Prem you think anyone would not live that up as often as they could?

Well I do but don't go on about it. Its funny and I'm sure I'm not the only one but attending that 25 May 2015 game at Wembley has more excitement for me. That was for finishing 3rd in the Second Division lol! I'm unlikely to be attending anything meaningful at Wembley in the near future. So no, nothing short of FA Cup or Prem.