Sunday, 26 November 2006

Norm's Reply

I emailed Norm to apprise him of my criticism of his stance. He has replied thus:

..I'd like you to understand my point of view. I have no objection to people having fun, taking the mickey, supporting their team. I'm happy to listen to football songs and chants whenever I go to Old Trafford to watch ManUnited.

But the Barmy Army specialize in relentless noise - mainly with the "Barmy Army, Barmy Army, Barmy Army...." chant which they can sometimes keep up for extended periods. If you're sitting next to that, or even nearby, it can absolutely ruin your day at the Test. So I stand by what I wrote. I've seen many different sets of supporters - cricket and football - getting behind their team without doing what the Barmy Army do.

Fair enough. I don't agree, but I'll leave it here.
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2 comments:

James Higham said...

I had a similar experience as Norm and it's unpleasant. I saw the opposite at Headingly too with the Australians. I tried speaking to specimens of both sides and gave it away. They were not even on the same planet and not remotely interested in the cricket. It was some sort of alcohol fuelled uber-patriotism of the jingoistic kind. I prefer cricket lovers.

5:37 pm
Bill Haydon said...

I'm not disputing that this happens (especially, in my experience in England, at Edgbaston); but I disagreed with Norm's description of the Barmy Army as an "infestation": these are guys who spend a lot of money supporting England, often throughout the direst tours; raise money for charity; and generally have a good time, with opposing fans (I've been to some of their parties, with loads of aussies). Yes, there are prats, as you get in any sport, but I think the Barmy Army are generally good guys who support England. My feeling is that the Australian authorities think that this is unfair, so they are doing their damndest to prevent it, including songs and official slogans of a not very nice kind. Aussies love dishing out abuse, but return it in any way and that just isn't cricket.

9:10 pm

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