Three Lions on a shirt

„So many jokes so many sneers, but all those oh-so-nears, wear you down through the years“... This comes from one of our favourite World Cup songs, the classic ,Three Lions’ released in 1996, and its central theme is about disappointment, which tells you a lot about supporting England!

A(nother) New Hope

Traditionally, before any major tournament our media will totally over-hype our chances, sending the nation into an excitable frenzy. Each time the hype is bigger, expectations are higher... and then the disappointment is unbearable... This year, however, things feel different

Maybe it is a result of our biggest humiliation ever – defeat by Iceland in Euro 2016 – or perhaps it is the fact that we have one of the youngest squads in this world cup tournament, or that we have simply accepted our place in the football hierarchy after all these years.

Whatever it is, this year feels different – we have hope without the weight of so much expectation. Our team is ready and so are the fans. Let’s go!

Our traditions

Flags, we love flags, suddenly everyone owns an England flag – we have them on our cars, hanging from windows in our houses, and in the office.
 
We also love a  brave underdog, and most people in England will adopt a second team. At DAS UK our department teams have all been assigned an adopted country. Their task is to decorate work areas and embrace the culture of adopted nations (culture normally takes the form of food from that country).

Anyone but England

So far this year’s World Cup has been unpredictable and there have been some crazy results. Amongst the joyful chaos and excitement there is only one certainty, and one thing we can rely on – the full and unreserved support of our neighbours… for the opposition. Anyone who is playing against England is strongly supported by our friends from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This is commonly known as “Anyone But England” (ABE).

Watching The Game

English fans are drawn to giant TV screens like moths to a light and this almost certainly means a trip to the pub (or a bar as our international friends might call it). There is something about being in a confined space with sweaty strangers that brings us some comfort – all wearing replica shirts and draped in cheap flags, we feel we are as one. DAS UK will be having a company outing to a large nightclub for the exciting England vs Belgium match...

With queueing being a big part of the British culture it is vitally important to get to the pub early in order to claim a good seat; you might need to arrive 2–3 hours before kick-off. With so much time to kill, and too nervous to engage in meaningful conversation, there is only one way to entertain ourselves – football songs!

And we have so many to choose from, some very good and some extremely bad. Songs will (or should be) played in order of popularity leading up to kick off – and any good host knows this rule.

There is much debate but the top three is normally accepted as:

• World In Motion
• Three Lions
• Vindaloo

We’d like to tell you more about our traditions and how we celebrate victory but unfortunately we can’t remember – England has only won six games in the knockout stages of a world cup since 1966; and only two since the turn of the century.

But one thing is certain; there will be flags, joyful singing, lots of noise and friends. And maybe this time there will be dancing in the streets… follow #ERGOFansUnited if and when England win and we will show you how we will celebrate.

Authors: Alex Taylor and Josh Gater DAS UK Marketing Team