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[NiteFox]

English people find this attitude quite bizarre. If England were not in the World Cup but Wales was, we'd be supporting Wales. I suppose it is another symptom of the petty nationalism that leads people to burn holiday homes in Wales.

It's basically down to perceived English arrogance. It's not just localised to Wales; hell, go to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and you'll get the same attitude.

Consider this: Of all the teams participating in the World Cup, only one has actually planned and prepared their victory parade: England.

England last won the World Cup in 1966. Forty years ago, and pretty much every time any major football tournament rolls up (Which is every two years) the primarily English media refuses to allow us to forget that. Forty years ago the game of football was an entirely different thing to the modern game, and it's a pretty pathetic reflection on a nation that their only conquest was a fluke victory four decades ago.

Really, most of the enjoyment is watching England set themselves up for the fall - Every tournament the usual collection of pundits and talking heads and "experts" go through the motions of running through the usual "this time we'll win it" routine, and inevitably the precious national team buckles under the pressure and falls flat on their face.

But until then, when you're deep in Wales and find that your local supermarket is flying England flags and England-related junk food promotions and cardboard cutout of England football players because someone in the central English office decided that all stores across the nation has decided it should be so without giving a damn about local sensitivities, it's pretty offensive I can tell you.

Regarding the whole "well, if England was out and Scotland/Wales/Ireland were in we'd support them" is a pretty easy promise to make and one that is hard to put into practice. The fact is that Wales isn't a big football country - It's nowhere near as important a sport to us at all, it's unlikely that there will be a situation where Wales is competing in a major tournament and England is not, it's also unlikely that Wales will progress further in a tournament than England should both qualify. England is perceived as an old and ancient enemy, and it's hardly likely to make that situation any easier when the country next door is constantly strutting around in front of you demanding your complete unconditional devotion.

Yes, it is nationalism, but it's hardly petty. Those "holiday homes" are driving up Welsh house prices far beyond the affordability of the local people. It's an absolute nightmare to be a first-time homeowner in Wales thanks to the droves and droves of English yuppies coming across the border to buy homes that will only ever be occupied for at the most three months a year.