Three Lions on a shirt, but are we still believing?

Just over a week to go now until the biggest fiesta on the planet. An event that once every four years eclipses the Olympics, and has groups of men ogling round the TV at the pub as they can’t have an outdoor barbecue because it’s raining in the summer. 

And that won't be the only water falling when the tears start as England yet again bow out of the World Cup early.

Even this ball can't be as deflated as some England fans...
Picture: irish-adam (Flickr)

I’m too young to really remember 2002, and 2006 is a hazy memory so in truth this is only my second proper World Cup experience, and there is not much optimism going to Brazil. Talk about walking into the gates of Hell, Manaus will certainly provide a similar heat…

I feel though that were it anywhere but Brazil, or South America, there would be a reason for optimism for once, not a pessimism that is somewhat alien in England in the build-up to a World Cup.

Back in 2010 with a squad that contained the likes of Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips, knowing we could come up against powerhouses like Spain and Germany, there was still a dumbfounded belief that we could win. Fabio Capello soon tarnished that with Heskey’s introduction against Germany, while other unfortunate ‘factors’ didn’t help either… Lampard's ghost goal, Green's blunder, intensive training, boredom.

But this time round there is a common acknowledgement that we are doomed from the start, despite having a squad with a good mix of experience and young talent, eager to show what they can do having terrorised the Premier League for nine months or so.

The other thing that has been lingering around for nine months is the scape-kid though, and I’m sure that if/when we get knocked out of the tournament the kid will have become a goat, and his name will be either ‘Heat’, ‘Humidity’ or ‘Typical England’.

It’s a pretty damning sign of the level of pessimism when excuses are already being thought of by those people who appear to be blind to the advances of modern day football. Do they not think England’s pre-tournament build-up will focus on helping overcome the heat and humidity to give us a level playing field, or even an advantage over countries who haven’t identified it as a critical factor? 

Most importantly, have they forgotten that 2-2 draw with Brazil at the Maracana just over a year ago, where if anything it was the atmosphere generated by the home crowd that carried Brazil over the line? England’s defiance and bravery was - clichéd - like that of a lion, and they fought and battled against the odds to come away with an unlikely draw from a place where Brazil are unbeaten against European opposition since England won there in 1984…

So, what conditions? Now comes England’s record…

Rooney hasn't really fully formed on
the international stage...
Picture: Stephen Matthews (Flickr)

Thanks to us in the media, we don’t forget the stats about England’s dismal penalty record, or Wayne Rooney’s inability to perform on the international stage, or Gazza’s tears, the Hand of God, the Germans, Jorge Larrionda. Mike Bassett’s 4-4-f***ing-2. The list goes one...

It’s hard to see how all these recounted memories in the build-up to the tournament do anything positive; they are just a reminder of the disappointment we are set to bask in for another couple of years until the next tournament. It’s like instead of preparing for the tournament, we are trying to prepare people for the misery that follows instead of trying to get people supporting the country. 

Surely to capture a town square one evening full of fans singing and chanting would be much better motivation than a reminder of how we’ve failed before, and the pressure that comes with needing to beat those before this generation.

I’m not a believer in false optimism, but at the same time pessimism isn’t the answer. What I do think the current mindset of England fans could bring though is an ease of pressure; for once we are heading into a tournament with no expectation.

With that in mind, anything beyond getting out of the group stages could be regarded as exceeding expectation, and with hope and belief, who knows what could happen in that next 90 minutes?

Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds famously sang “thirty years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming…” 

Well nearly 50 years on, the dream is still there, it just needs the belief to go and achieve it. Like I said, I’m not a believer in false optimism, but support in the present could go a long way.