Stupid British sports fans (drunken idiots)

[Cromlech]

I watched the Mayweather - Hatton fight yesterday (recorded), and was at first thrilled by the vocal support of British fans for Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton. They were chanting the usual sporting anthems, as well as ones specifically for Hatton. They all sang along with Tom Jones to 'God Save the Queen', and it put me in a really good mood for the night. That lasted about three minutes. 

Tyrese Gibson stepped up to perform 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and it took less then ten seconds for intense, LOUD booing to commence, from the British fans. The British commentators on out end made it clear that they were at once embarrassed, disgusted, and disappointed with this stupendously childish showing of disrespect.

Once again, drunken Brit yobs ruin a perfectly good sporting event.

Sorry guys.

[Sergeant Bob]

Drunken idiots are not confined to sporting events in England and I'm sure their conduct is not the norm for subjects (just a bit of good natured ribbing from a colonist)  of the Queen.

The British fellows I talk to on a regular basis are some of the most polite and thoughtful people I've ever known.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Reminds me of that incident a few years ago during the run up to the more recent Iraqi invasion, where Canadians burned American flags before a children's hockey game between Canadian & American kids.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31846

Canadians hurl abuse
at U.S. hockey players
Canadians barrage U.S. children with insults, burn flag as team goes to 'unfriendly territory'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: April 2, 2003
4:45 p.m. Eastern

? 2003 WorldNetDaily.com


A road trip for a group of U.S. peewee hockey players to a tournament in Montreal turned into a foray into enemy territory as the boys were barraged with anti-American insults and witnessed protesters trashing the American flag, reports the Globe and Mail.

 

The paper said the 11- and 12-year-old boys from Brockton, Mass., had been looking forward to the trip, which soured soon after their "Coach USA" tour bus rolled into downtown Montreal on March 20.

Hundreds of college students were marching through the streets in an anti-war demonstration and seized upon the bus as a target for its anti-U.S. venom. Several demonstrators made obscene gestures toward the bus, and an American flag was dragged through the street.


 

"We felt horrible," Brockton Boxers coach Ernest Nadeau said. "How would you feel if the Canadian flag was dragged down the streets in the U.S.A.? This is a country that's supposed to be our ally," he told the paper.

At another demonstration, the Americans watched as a crowd cheered when a protester waved the Iraqi flag, and booed the U.S. flag. Next, the Stars and Stripes were doused with kerosene and ignited.

"It went up in a puff of smoke and flames, and the crowd went wild. They were all cheering," said parent Bill Carpenter.

"I said to my kids, 'These folks disagree with our government, not you personally,'" he told the paper. Carpenter's 24-year-old son is a U.S. Marine who was sent to retrieve bodies of Americans killed in the 2001 terrorist bombing of USS Cole in Yemen. He has canceled his family's planned summer vacation to Quebec.

At the Montreal Canadiens-New York Islanders game at the Montreal Bell Center that night, the U.S. national anthem was widely booed by the crowd, creating confusion for the visiting youngsters.

Parent David Cruise felt so uncomfortable that he left with his son after the first period.

"Whether you're for or against the war, we have guys over there dying," he said. "The next time, we'll stay in the States. I'm not going back there again."

The insults grew personal when the players hit the ice. During a game against the Beverly Bandits, a team from Beverly, Ont., the boys said their Canadian counterparts were verbally abusive during face-offs.

"They told us we s----, gave us the finger and said 'Down with the U.S.A.' or 'The U.S.A. s----," Nadeau said.

Making matters worse, the referee chimed in, "I agree with you," following one Canadian player's derogatory comment.

"It was a shock to go to a tournament and have kids saying this to us. These are our friends that are doing this," Nadeau said. "We didn't expect Canadian players  especially young boys  would take things to that extreme."

"We were very offended by the whole thing," said Carpenter. "I understand the opposition to the war. But we were made to feel unwelcome just about anywhere we went. ... As Americans, we felt in the past that Canada was our closest ally and friend. No one told us we were heading into unfriendly territory."

A Canadian father contacted WorldNetDaily after hearing about the story to "apologize on behalf of all decent Canadians."

"I want to express my regret that such a thing happened. I am a hockey dad and it made me see red when I read that story," George Wannan told WND. "The majority of non-French Canadians feel outraged that our French Canadian prime minister and his predominantly French Canadian cabinet have made all of us appear to be anti-American. That just isn't the truth  not at all."

Wannan emphasized that it was French Canadians who dished out the insults, "and they are French, after all," he said.

"God Bless America!" Wannan said in concluding his comments to WND.

[Zsa-Zsa]

 Do not feel bad Cromlech. This is a sign of the times. Anti-patriotism is cool right now. A similar crowd in New York, L.A., Paris, Berlin, or Tokyo, might just as well have boo'd "G-d save the Queen" for exactly the same reaons.

    When our band pipes up "G-d save the Queen" I stand up. I remove my hat. I place my hand on my heart. Not because I particularly think that the British monarchy is the greatest thing ever, not that I think your current monarch is the greatest thing ever (although, everything I've read about her indicates to me that she's a top notch human being), but because I respect people like you, Cromlech, who love your country.

     I think your country is easily one of the top two or three best empires the world has ever had. My display is respect for the citizens like you who love their country.

    Now, that brings me to other countries... if I go to a ballgame featuring a Cuban team, I will wait until after the niceties have been conducted to enter. Unless I am at a rally that is endosing the removal of Castro, I will not rise, I will not remove my hat, and I will not place my hand over my heart, to respect Cuba. I will go out of my way to avoid being in a place where doing so is required by good manners... even though I have no love for (the current admistration) of Cuba, like North Korea, and Iran, I love Cuba's people. I will not disrespect them by offending their national anthem if I can avoid doing so.

[Manedwolf]

When our band pipes up "G-d save the Queen" I stand up. I remove my hat. I place my hand on my heart. Not because I particularly think that the British monarchy is the greatest thing ever, not that I think your current monarch is the greatest thing ever (although, everything I've read about her indicates to me that she's a top notch human being), but because I respect people like you, Cromlech, who love your country.

Though she's the last with any dignity, I think. After her, most of the rest of the royals, it's more appropriate to hold up a copy of The Sun.

[Iain]

Not that its any excuse, but I think the Hatton fans were probably demonstrating their dislike of Mayweather more than America.

Not a bad time for British boxing at the moment though. Hatton might have taken his first defeat, but he was a very very good boxer against a great. Haven't heard so many non-boxing fans talk about a fight since perhaps Tyson. Calzaghe wins Sports Personality of the Year.

[jefnvk]

Being from Michigan, the Canadian anthem gets played very regularly at sporting events.  Drunk Americans act the exact same way.

[Zsa-Zsa]

Not that its any excuse, but I think the Hatton fans were probably demonstrating their dislike of Mayweather more than America.

Not a bad time for British boxing at the moment though. Hatton might have taken his first defeat, but he was a very very good boxer against a great. Haven't heard so many non-boxing fans talk about a fight since perhaps Tyson. Calzaghe wins Sports Personality of the Year.

     That sounds like a perfectly plausible explanation to me. British boxing fans may be just as poorly educated on proper manners regarding other people's reverential totems as ar American boxing fans.

     Regarding "losing", look up the Muhammed Ali and Chuvalo fight. Chuvalo may have "lost" but he lost with pride, and was a credit to himself and to Canada. I think he may have inspired the "Rocky" series...

[Cromlech]

I guess you guys are right about there being other guilty parties. I do feel though that guys like these, and the football (soccer) hooligans are really giving us a bad name.

[mfree]

When our band pipes up "G-d save the Queen" I stand up. I remove my hat. I place my hand on my heart. Not because I particularly think that the British monarchy is the greatest thing ever, not that I think your current monarch is the greatest thing ever (although, everything I've read about her indicates to me that she's a top notch human being), but because I respect people like you, Cromlech, who love your country.

Though she's the last with any dignity, I think. After her, most of the rest of the royals, it's more appropriate to hold up a copy of The Sun.

Her Majesty the Queen apparently knows her way around under the bonnet of a series A Land Rover and can also quite deftly pilot it around offroad.

That there's enough to make me stand and honor

[grampster]

I'll take issue with you jefnvk.  The GR Griffins play Toronto, Hamilton and Manitoba regularly.  Our fans all politely stand and we applaud after the Canadian anthem.
I have never, ever heard a boo since we got our team in l996, even after hearing about Canadians booing our Anthem.  There is a good deal of beer being consumed.  It is, after all, a hockey game.

I do, myself, indulge in a small selfish indulgence when I hear the part of their anthem that says ..."O Canada, we stand on guard for thee..." I think, yep, we Americans surely do stand on guard for thee..

[jefnvk]

Oh, I'm certainly not saying it happens on a regular basis.  Just that it does, on occasion, happen.  I am sure that most Britains who hear the American anthem would never show disrespect, either. 

And no offense, but the makeup of the Griffins games I have been to has differed greatly from those who attend college games, or NASCAR races.

[gunsmith]

I lived in Ireland for two years and had lots of English friends while I was there.
imo there is a huge difference between sports fans in America and elsewhere.
We have rivalry here, over there they have  tribal warfare.
Onetime, among my Christian friends there, the subject of American violence came up
I pointed out our football players and fans pray together during games....the subject quickly changed to foriegn policy.
You might get razzed a little bit for wearing a Tampa shirt in Oakland, you wear a Celtic shirt in the wrong hood over there and they'll kill you.

[geronimotwo]

Regarding "losing", look up the Muhammed Ali and Chuvalo fight. Chuvalo may have "lost" but he lost with pride, and was a credit to himself and to Canada. I think he may have inspired the "Rocky" series...

i have heard rocky was based on the ali vs wepner fight.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Being from Michigan, the Canadian anthem gets played very regularly at sporting events.  Drunk Americans act the exact same way.

In the S.F. Bay Area, I have attended sproting events against teams from Canada, Mexico, and China, and I have never once heard a boo towards any national anthem.  In the cases of the games against Mexico and China, the vast majority of atendees are rooting for the foreign team, as most immigrants have no allegience to America, at least when it comes to a sporting event.

Last year when I saw the illegal alien marches in L.A. on TV, with all the American flags flying in the vangaurd, I had to laugh at such a blatant lie.  On the street you always see Mexican flags on their cars and clothing, never an American one.  At a U.S. vs. Mexico soccer game they all root for Mexico.