Ingerlundflags!

The World Cup approaches. Who should we support? Well, for me this is in the no-brainer category: I support England. And that is as far as it goes. I’ll no doubt watch some of the matches, and hope that I get to watch England at more than just the group stage.

But for some more or less serious fans, merely willing or cheering on the England team is not enough. There has to be a visible sign of their allegiance. And the most obvious sign, available for your car at just about any supermarket, is one or more Ingerlundflags.

Thus your motah will look suitably cheesy, its fuel economy will decrease, but your support will somehow be superior to mere agnostics like me. Well, that’s how I imagine it to be justified. But to my way of thinking, it’s another way of tempting fate.

My first recollection of large numbers of Ingerlundflags being displayed was during the 2004 European Cup. We didn’t win. True, Sol Campbell looked to have scored a perfectly good goal, and the caricatures of the referee with a golden retriever guide dog photoshopped in were great, but we still didn’t win.

Then there were lots of Ingerlundflags on display in 2006 for the World Cup. There was confidence in the air. And we didn’t win again. Portugal and penalties once more. So that’s lots of Ingerlundflags and no tournaments won.

This time round, there are lots and lots of Ingerlundflags appearing on cars all over town. So it doesn’t look good.