Unabashed Patriotism

The glory days of 1966

Three Lions '98
Baddiel & Skinner with the Lightning Seeds
[Listen]

Vindaloo
Fat Les
[Listen]

Eat my Goal
Collapsed Lung
[Listen]

Obviously, the world is awash in World Cup fever, and rightly so. I'm sitting with a beer [at 10am], watching every grass-stained minute, and preparing for the big [big in context, of course] England vs. Trinidad/Tobago match in two hours. My boys [yes, I own them] looked a little rough in their opening game against Paraguay, but they did enough to get the 3 points, and will now be looking for a more emphatic performance that befits the three lions on our crest.

Therefore, I present three songs hailing our England lads, all from various stages of previous sporting campaigns. The Baddiel/Skinner track was our "official" anthem for the 1996 European Championships, and the version here is the World Cup '98 "remix", which really doesn't come across that differently but sold well nonetheless. It does contain a truckload of references to English football achievements of the past, but by and large, is a typical chant for those long, lager-soaked summer nights. Baddiel and Skinner are English comedians/soccer pundit types, and their song came along at just the right time. Fat Les tackles the limey obsession with curry after a few pints, and this too became a great drunken chant late into the evening. The final track had a good little funky loop to it, which was quickly undone by bad rapping, but hey, it's a football song, so leave it be. I love all these songs because of what they represent, and I'm leaving my "snobbery" at home for the day!

I will be liveblogging the England match over at the hilarious Deadspin, so come across if yr about and we'll enjoy the game together. Cheers! Eng-er-land!