Yesterday was the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, one of thee if not the biggest battle in any of the world wars. Millions were lost in that battle and very few people who were there live today. The British nation as well as those other nations who took part mourned the loss yesterday or did they?
For yesterday the English national football team were beaten in the Quarter Finals of the World Cup. Whilst over half the population of the country watched or listened to the match, it doesn't come into comparrison for what was given 90 years previously, and yet the football was the top story on the news.
It's not that I'm anti football far from it, I enjoy football, I love football, but there comes a time when the nation has to realise that it isn't life or death, that the exploits of 11 men kicking a ball around a playing field isn't THAT important. I wouldn't even mind, but the English team didn't even wear black armbands, like they should have. Apart from those that died at the Somme, yesterday saw the passing of a true sporting legend in Fred Trueman, a cricketer and a proud Yorkshireman. Even with the rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire, I don't think any sports fan in England and those cricketing nations would argue that this guy was a legend.
A very big thank you to those that died for the nation at the Battle of the Somme, whilst it may seem that 90 years on the country you fought for is ungrateful, we shall never forget your sacrafices, your names may not mean much to the world or the press, but what you did, what you gave was more than anyone could have asked for.
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