- Jul 22, 2008
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the trouble is that the manner in which the English enjoy themselves is very distasteful & offensive to many Europeans. It plays on your British high street but it doesn't on your European sidewalk
Most people, even on this site, appear to have no idea quite how offensive continental Europeans find what we'd consider 'normal behavior' ... & then become nonplused & taken aback at the response earned
Yeah that's a fair point. Personally I tend to be quite relaxed and comfortably reserved in other countries. I don't have the overwhelming urge to rip off my shirt and start yelling at the top of my voice, or just generally start being obnoxious.
Maybe it's to do with being islanders. We don't really consider Europeans to be our neighbours, but random cultures that we feel a bit distanced to (thanks to an education that largely looks down on other countries). We're also horrible in groups. One or two English tourists will be fine, but it does seem as though any big group descends into ape-like behaviour.
There's plenty of wankers in England. However, I think that overall things have improved as far as football supporters go (certainly compared to the 80s). Unfortunately there are enough pricks that still manage to get tickets to stir up all the historical clichés about England fans, and the majority end up suffering for it.