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The Wales thread -- as proudly promoted by Grecian
- Thread starter nick-o
- Start date
flibbertyjibber
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Shame he isn't a goalkeeper.
Uppercut
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Haha it's the 'Aberdeen, Reading, Birmingham, Real Madrid' that gets me. Still surreal that one of this generation's Galacticos is a Welsh bloke called Gareth.
Scaly piscine
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
All the more reason to dislike them.
I hope all the countries from the British Isles do well. But not when they play England.
GIMH
Norwood's on Fire
Was even crazier when Fon Williams was with us and we were bottom of League Two
BoyBrumby
Englishman
I think I count 9 ringers: Ashley Williams, Chester, Edwards, Jonathan Williams, George Williams, King, Robson-Kanu, Church and Vokes.
More Englishmen than most test XIs.
nick-o
State 12th Man
Yeah. Good for them, I'm proud of it.
I was born and raised in Wales; my parents were born and raised in England; one grandparent born and raised in Scotland. Who cares?
If they choose to represent Wales, then that's a choice they've made, and good for them. If I was good enough to play international sports, I'd play for Wales. My sister, with identical upbringing, would choose to play for England. Her children, as far as I can make out, would split fifty-fifty, although none of them have ever lived in Wales.
It's about what you choose. I'm happy those guys chose Wales.
In fact, I'm happier those guys chose Wales than I would be if they hadn't had to choose.
nick-o
State 12th Man
So, this is my thread, albeit with a generous dollop of promotion from Grecian, and I'm just going to say this, and I don't really care what anyone thinks about it.
Tomorrow's match is probably something none of the rest of you have ever experienced, in the sense that, win or lose, it is the single biggest football match of my life.
Coming from Swansea, not a hotbed of soccer when I was growing up there in the 60s and 70s, even taking into account the Toshack years and the yoyo up and down the divisions, even taking into account our elevation into the premiership in the last few years, even despite all of that, where I come from it's all meant to be about rugby. Soccer is just the punch-line to a cheap joke.
And the national team were the biggest joke of all, routinely drubbed in qualifying tournaments by countries we'd hardly heard of ... the very idea we could make it to a major tournament was just a joke.
So for Wales to have finally, for the first time in my life, qualified for a major tournament, and to play the BigBrother from across the Severn, knowing even a draw will probably be enough ...
Tomorrow night, I'll be sitting in a sports bar somewhere in Shinjuku, and the Japanese kids will just assume I'm some old Englishman whose had too much to drink, and they will never know it's the greatest sporting moment in my life.
Tomorrow's match is probably something none of the rest of you have ever experienced, in the sense that, win or lose, it is the single biggest football match of my life.
Coming from Swansea, not a hotbed of soccer when I was growing up there in the 60s and 70s, even taking into account the Toshack years and the yoyo up and down the divisions, even taking into account our elevation into the premiership in the last few years, even despite all of that, where I come from it's all meant to be about rugby. Soccer is just the punch-line to a cheap joke.
And the national team were the biggest joke of all, routinely drubbed in qualifying tournaments by countries we'd hardly heard of ... the very idea we could make it to a major tournament was just a joke.
So for Wales to have finally, for the first time in my life, qualified for a major tournament, and to play the BigBrother from across the Severn, knowing even a draw will probably be enough ...
Tomorrow night, I'll be sitting in a sports bar somewhere in Shinjuku, and the Japanese kids will just assume I'm some old Englishman whose had too much to drink, and they will never know it's the greatest sporting moment in my life.
GIMH
Norwood's on Fire
What makes you say that?
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Haha yeah, I experienced exactly that just 2 months ago.
nick-o
State 12th Man
I watched the Wales-England match in a sports bar down by the station, somewhere I'd never been before. There were about five other groups of people there, all Japanese. When the barman took my order, he asked where I was from, and then went about his business, chatting with the other punters. When Wales scored the first goal, everyone in the bar was on their feet cheering and high-fiving. That kind of sums up what it's like to live in Japan -- there is no way everyone else went to that bar to support Wales over England, but once they knew that I did, they were all cheering along with me.
So, yeah, come and live in Japan, by all means. As to how: I get the impression you are not -- are are no longer -- a footloose hipster who can just turn up and teach, which is the simple way and certainly worked for me first time round, long before you were born. Have you thought of doing a PhD or something -- lots of universities here are open to overseas PhD students. If you've already embarked on a profession it's harder; most of the big law firms have some sort of presence here, I think. I work in publishing for an NGO, but I guess that depends a lot on language skills as well. I think there are other people on CW who probably have more recent experience of looking for work here than me, though.
nick-o
State 12th Man
I think I meant not only the biggest there has ever been but also the biggest there ever will be. I'm really not convinced that even getting into the Final here would be bigger than playing England in the finals of a major tournament.
sledger
Spanish_Vicente
Fair shout, thanks for that. I'm an academic at present, and am (still, after many years of slog) working on my doctoral thesis. I've always had an interest in Japan, and have some basic proficiency in the language after taking some courses during my degree. I strongly considered looking for a job over there at one point, but I imagine that ship has probably sailed for me now. Just thought I would tentatively attempt to explore how, if at all, that window might be re-opened one day if I ever felt the urge.
