The World Cuppy

Having said that I have to express a smidgen of disappointment that no Beauty Salons have cashed in so far....I mean what better time to promote 'Brazilians' than during a World Cup?

But the thing that is really buggin me is the various political groups and individuals who are hijacking the event to put forward their rather tedious point regarding not supporting England.

Let's get one thing clear....wanting England to get humped is not in anyway equivalent to joining Settler Watch.

The idea of throwing your allegiance behind your sworn immortal footballing enemies is simply a no-no for any genuine fitba fan....and exposes those that suggest Scots should support England as simply not being genuine fitba fans and more to the point not understanding the game at all.

These people can get to f*ck in my book.

I'm an Aberdeen and Scotland fan...anyone else I really dinna care about and regards the OF and England I eternally want them to get humped...that's what fitba fans do.

I took great joy and delight at supporting Porto when Celtic played them in the UEFA Cup Final a few years back and even though I hold out little hope of them doing anything Paraguay and Trinidad will get my full unconditional support over the next fortnight.

Having said that even a cynic, no scratch that, even the village idiot saw through Jack the Twat McFuddle's "Ahm no supporting England" as pure political opportunism.

Lest we forget as he was scuppering the Euro 2008 bid Jack the Twat declared he had no interest in the game...you'd think there was an election next year or summat.

Anyway the World Cup eh....the first one I remember was Espana '82...ah memories...Panini sticker books, the best Brazil side never to win the thing (Zico, Eder, Socrates, Falcao et al), Narey's 'toepoke', Algeria beating the Germans and that Austria-Germany farce, Paulo Rossi, Boniek, Schumacher vs. Battison, Marco Tardelli's goal in the final (Look at his face! Just look at his face!)...

Maybe I'm just a nostalgic auld fool but it was the first and best World Cup I've ever seen. Me and drinking buddy the Basset often muse that we were born 10 years too late...too young to really enjoy Gothenburg, Munich etc and a World Cup in Spain for f*cks sake! [Amen brother - Similarly Young Ed :-(]

Having said that the endless games of World Cuppy and World Cuppy doubles played under a blazing sun from early morning until tea time stick in my memory....as does ma mate Kev's somehow managing to knock the wing mirror of a Vauxhall Viva with a 'Sport Billy' inflatable or 'Plazzy' fitba...ye ken the sort of cheap 99p balls you could get that gave even the crappiest of players the ability to bend a ball like Garrincha due to their approximate weight being 2.5 grams.

Since then I've actually been to the World Cup twice, once thanks to an enlightened teacher who took us from a dull School trip canoeing in the Ardeche to nip over the border to see Scotland play in Genoa...well I say 'nip' it was 5 hours there and 5 hours back...and the game in question was vs. Costa Rica.

Thankfully I went to France in '98 as did (or so it appeared) every able bodied male in Aberdonia between the ages of 18 and 35...however my World Cup jinx struck again as the only Scotland game I managed to get tickets for was against Morocco...

Having said that it was a superb experience even if I did spend the first 2 weeks drunkenly shouting my undying devotion to a certain French sports brand...Lacoste/L'Ecosse - easy mistake eh?

The TA marches thru Bordeaux and St Etienne will stay with me forever and going to USA-Iran and being with a bunch of mad Iranians most of whom seemed to be waving placards and t-shirts featuring some woman on them was a truly unique experience.

So if you've never been to a World Cup I would move heaven and earth to go to at least one in your lifetime....every fitba fan should do it to complete their education.

As for this years een...who's gonna win it...well f*cked if I know.

I am quite confident however it won't be England...as mentioned above it's wishful thinking to believe Paraguay and Trinidad are gonna do anything but the crucial game of their campaign is vs. Sweden (a side they havenae beaten since 1968)...if the Swedes come out on top in that one it's off to Munich to play the Germans for the English after that and even if that disnae work well there's always Eriksson's tactics as a fall back position as in the last 2 major tournaments they've been in Sven's indecision has cost them the game.

If forced to make a choice I'd go for a repeat of the '82 final and a Germany-Italy final. The Germans obviously have home advantage and in my World Cup lifetime (1982-present) have only failed to make the final twice. The Italians - well in '82 they come in unfancied and mired in domestic match fixing scandals...in 2006 their coming in unfancied and mired in a domestic match fixing scandal.

Anyway enjoy it and try not to get too upset at the English media...ours would be just as bad in a similar situation and even worse employ Vougie Dipond and anyway the schadenfreude when it all goes Pete Tong as it inevitably will, will more than make up for it....Iain Wright's petted lip when they get bumped will make it worth while on its own IMO.

And remember not supporting England disnae make ye a bad person or a racist it merely confirms your a genuine fan.

The Red Avenger