Poppies

With 11/11/11 upon us, it was nice to see the many tributes in the sporting world for Armistice/Remembrance day. Despite FIFA's best efforts, the England football team were finally given the go-ahead to wear poppies on their black armbands for their friendly match against Spain. I was so glad to see that common sense had prevailed. I guess that the worry had been that it was some sort of a political statement, and FIFA didn't want to have to start making exceptions to their rules. But in England, the poppy is nothing political (for most people). It doesn't have to be pro-war or anti-war. It is simply a symbol - a way for us as patriotic people to honour anyone who has died in any conflict. To deny us that show of respect would be heart-breaking. It was great then, to see the boys wearing their poppies with pride, and also observing a two minute silence before training and the game itself.

As a side note...in that very game, England beat the World Champions, Spain! Yes! It wasn't pretty, but it was efficient, and showed great promise for the future of the England team. Now if we could only see that in a tournament...