Why don't the English realise that going on about 1966 is really boring.?

Question

One hit wonders are so dated!

Answer 1

After they won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, the English carried on as if they had beaten Australia in just about anything and everything (the opposite was the case) and that we antipodeans were a bunch of losers.

This sounds like the rantings of a people so starved of joy that the smallest thing must be blown up. Now they're carrying on about 1966, good win but in the days when fewer nations contested the World Cup.

I guess it's just not much fun being English. The weather is crap, the country is being swamped by EU migrants, the sovereignty of their governments and courts is being eroded every day by the EU, the food is crap, the beer awful (Danish brew Carlsberg is the official beer of the English team) and their pop groups are getting worse and worse. So wherever there's a little glory, they cling on to it like a child to lollies.

Answer 2

I don't think referring often to a seminal sporting moment is boring to anyone. Brazilian fans still talk about 1958, and I am sure the French supporters will still be talking about 1998 in the same way if they have a long spell of not winning.
To say it is boring overlooks the main issue, which is that people should and do celebrate a special day that defined English football.
I think that even if England win the World Cup again, 1966 will still be special to everybody.

Answer 3

It is really annoying. We Scots don't care about English sporting success any more than we care about French or Belgian sporting success but we get the news as though we should.

It wasn't exactly a secret but most English people don't know Scotland had a referendum over a Scottish parliament in 1979 even though it was all over the news in Scotland. If they could keep that information from overwhelming the English media to the point where hardly anyone knew about it, surely they can do the same with sports the other way round.

Answer 4

The English mostly don't care and keep it as a fond memory.

It's the newspapers and TV who have to drag it up every 4 years and all points in between and pretend that Hurst or Peters or Charlton have got anything new to say about it.

Having said that, I'm sure that if France win zip for the next 32 years French TV will start showing an awful lot of France 98.

Answer 5

Our media are a bunch of moaners who reflect the national culture. Britain is a gloomy, pessimism culture. People don't think optimistically enough about our sporting chances (but look at our achievements in the past couple of years, quite impressive) when they really should. So they hark back to our pinnacle moment to give us 'reminders.'

I personally, am bloody sick of 1966, and should we reach this year's final (playing Italy, Brazil, Argentina or whoever) I will LOVE IT if we beat them. Then the media can drone on about something else for a change.

Pete V - really liked your answer. You are thinking on the right lines. Wish the British media would follow suit.

Answer 6

I agree, every 4 years its the same old thing about 1966. The english media go on abit also.

Answer 7

I don't go on about it - it's the tabloid press and the TV stations that do - a large chunk of the population understandably weren't even born when it happened, either that or they didn't watch the game, or just weren't interested in football!

But still - it's one more World Cup win than a lot of nations in the World, why can't people show some pride if they want to? I'm sure the Greeks are still revelling in their Euro 2004 win - and deservedly so!

Answer 8

As said by another answer, I don't hear the English going on about 1966 all that much. It seems to me that the Scots go on about it a lot though.

Answer 9

Well, we used to rule the whole damn world in the good old days, then we won WW2( with a little help), then we won the World Cup, and then mmm, we won mmmm, well er mmm nothing. Yeah about that World Cup, what a game, what a team, what a great Russian linesman(is he still available), were the officials biased? No of course not.

Answer 10

I agree. I'm English and have never said anything about 1966 as it was before I was born....and I've not heard too many others going on about it either.....so where do you hear us talking about it?