Football: England 2-0 Wales: Whoopiedoo.

So... England beat Wales. Yay.

Forgive me if I'm not exactly overjoyed, but I just don't get as excited over England playing as much as some people who are so passionate about the team that you'd think they (the fan) were English, not Malaysian.

England has got to be one of the most overhyped and yet most underachieving national teams I have ever seen. Granted, they have some pretty good players, but they can never seem to get their act together when it counts. Furthermore, everytime a major tournament comes around, the hype always centres around England, as if it is they, not Argentina, not France, not even Brazil, who are the hot favorites.

Perhaps it's also because most of the websites I have been reading are pro-English, and that the EPL is probably the league that commands the most support these days. People tend to support something that they're familiar with. After all, most of us can name all the players (and positions) of the English team, but can we even PRONOUNCE the names on the French, Brazilian or even the Swedish teams' teamsheets? So, it makes sense to support the English team, no?

Or maybe because most of us are fervant fans of English clubs, so one is 'naturally' expected to support the English national team as well. As one colleague put it - "How can you support an English club but not support England?"

Well, my friend, maybe that's because I'm Malaysian. And although I'm also not exactly enamoured with Malaysia's standard of football, the point is, I'm not about to declare my loyalty to a nation that is not even my own, even if I DO support a CLUB that happens to be IN that country. And so there!