[Battle of Britain accent ON] Now look here, young Chowder…
England have not won a footie European Championship or World Cup since 1966 (and I expect we were both watching that match :eek: )
England lost to the Dutch at cricket. :rolleyes::smack:
This is not a ‘blip’. They should burn the English players’ bats and make the ‘Ashes 2’.
Jesus could turn water into wine. Therefore he makes the ideal twelfth man, bringing on the drinks!
Actually, it’s by far the biggest sport by participation, full stop.
Cricket is the national game, rugby league is the number one football code in half the country, Aussie rules is number one in the lesser half of the country, but in terms of participation it’s netball first and daylight second.
I was actually at Wembley with my dad watching THAT match.
We lost to the Dutch on purpose, I’m convinced of it. The reason for this is simple, to lull the opposition into a false sense of security.
JC not only batted and bowled for Mercia, he also used to bring on the mead and at lunch/tea all that was needed to feed the players and crowd was a few fish and some loaves.
Now then I’ll just say, "Toodle Pip and Wizard Prang old bean and be orf to the jolly old Naafi.
I’d wager that soccer is the #1 participant sport in America period. Just about every kids plays it at one point in their lives and the number of children between the ages of 6 and 12 playing it in any given season probably triples the number of people playing any other sport at the High School, College and Adult levels combined.
In my modestly sized suburban town there were probably 200 kids playing football each year in the only high school. There were probably 10 times that number of preteens playing baseball and 20 times that number playing soccer.
That said, football is unquestionably the biggest sport in the USA.
Lots of people play soccer because it’s essentially free to play and very safe. For this reason it’s played here by kids and elsewhere by everyone. Accessibility and participation are poor measures.
Rugby Union would be the main sport in:
New Zealand
South Africa (At least among the Afrikaan and English population)
Wales (Not technically a country I know)
Fiji
Samoa
Tonga
In Ireland Gaelic Football would be the largest sport followed by Hurling. Rugby Union would probably beat soccer at this stage.
Of course in Ireland at least, soccer is the sport of choice for a kick around (Pick up game???). But in terms of attendences and number of organised clubs/players its the above order.
Oh yeah and in France I think Rugby and Soccer are almost equivalent. In the south especially Rugby is the dominant sport. Union that is.
Exactly.
I almost swallowed my tongue when one person got it. Now there are two.
Guess you’ll have to swallow someone else’s tongue then.
I remember Accrington Stanley FC going bankrupt if that helps. 
You must be almost as antique as moi then 'cos I remember that.
It looks as if they’re heading down that same old rocky path again unfortunately:(
It’s from a Milk Marketing Board ad that aired in the early 90s… just before the “Cool for Cats” series, IIRC.
Two snotty-nosed kids come in from footy practice, and one takes a bottle of milk out of the fridge, leading to this classic exchange:
Kid 1: Milk? Ugh!
Kid 2: It’s what Ian Rush drinks- and he plays for Accrington Stanley!
Kid 1: Accrington Stanley? Who’re they?
Kid 2: Exactly!
Speak for yourself. I played last night and took a ball to the nuts and rolled my ankle. I need to buy cleats, shinguards, an $80 uniform, and pay club dues if I want to keep playing after next month.
Cue the Brits asking what cleats are.
mmmmmm yes, or you could just continue to play pick-up ball on weekends at the local field.
And compare what you would have to pay to play organized football if you wanted, or organized baseball. Glove, cleats, uniform that is at least as expensive, bat, etc. And in football, the injuries are potentially far worse. Of course, in baseball, the injuries are generally non-existent. 
It’s one of those adverts from my youth that are indelibly stained on to my memory, along with the “J R Hartley” Yellow Pages ad and the Cadbury’s Flake ad with the woman in the overflowing bathtub. Just something about those screechy Scouse accents and terrible acting I guess.
By the way, the correct line is “It’s what Ian Rush drinks. And he said, if I don’t drink milk, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley”. Ian Rush being a Liverpool (where the two kids are from and whose kits they are wearing) legend and Accrington Stanley being… well, exactly.
Thank-you for correcting that. I was really having trouble understanding why the MMB would have put out the commercial in the form originally quoted! :eek:
Well, no I wasn’t, given that it was the MMB under discussion… 
Cleats are what we Brits call bars.
They used to be allowed on footie boots but now it’s just studs that are permitted
Yeah, but the things they call cleats here are what you call studs.
I’d take that bet. A lot of kids play soccer, but I’d say you’re overstating it by quite a considerable margin.
Wait-- what are bars? These are cleats.
