And the embarrassing spectacle is about to unfold full strength…
…of half of Malta scurrying about waving the flags of other nations as if they were their own, rooting for Italy as though they were Italian or for England as though they were English, failing to distinguish between the Union flag and the cross of St George, shouting for Brazil or for Germany or gloating because Spain was thrashed.
Yes, the very same people – in many cases – who shout ‘Malta for the Maltese’, ‘kburi li jien Malti’, ‘immigrants out’, ‘foreigners go back home’ and who celebrate ‘Jum il-Helsien’, ‘Sette Giugno’, Independence Day and Republic Day.
Exactly what is the problem here – that they can’t bear to feel left out and are unable to watch the football without getting all competitive and rooting for a team.
And the ridiculous waving of other country’s flags aside, exactly why is it impossible for a Maltese person to support anything or anyone unless it is against something or someone else?
It’s bad enough that a Maltese person thinks he is Italian and roots for Italy, but then he is also unable to do so without rooting for Italy against England. And the other way round, too.
Some years back – I can’t remember which World Cup that was – when Brazil won something or other and convoys of cars hit the streets draped with the Brazilian flag. The next day I ran into an American associate. “I had no idea so many Brazilians live in Malta,” she said.
“They’re Maltese,” I replied. There was a long pause while she tried to digest this information. And failed. “Why would a Maltese person be waving a Brazilian flag? Americans would never wave anything but the American flag.”
Too right.
Do people actually know what a flag is?
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Malta: World Leader in Hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy why? Because of our harmless love for football? Or for any other sport, after all?
No, because of the ludicrous spectacle of running around supporting the football teams of other countries on such a partisan basis (I have seen no such support for the national team here) whilst displaying hostility to foreigners or anything foreign.
No, because of our ass-licking of other countries in football but never try to imitate their culture, good taste and innovative search for social charms and democratic principles.
@ A.Charles
Right. And not only that, but the same people who root for a foreign football team might be the ones afraid of having the ‘flag of Africa’ replacing the Maltese flag in the near future.
We study and admire foreign artists, poets, dramatists not because we are ass-licking, but because they are real artists who cannot be found in Malta. Shakespear, Dante, Michelangelo and so many other geniuses.. are admired in all civilized countries..We do not have a world class football team and so we have to support foreign teams. That is neither ass-licking nor hypocrisy.
‘Americans would never wave anything but the American flag.’
Your American associate made the common wrong assumption.
We all tend to forget that the ‘Stars and Stripes’ is the flag of the United States.
Canada and every country from Mexico down to the southernmost tip of America has it’s own national flag.
But you say “Americans” not “United Statians”.
America is a continent a bit like Europe you may recall.
But you say “Americans” not “United Statians”.
If one wants to be accurate one would refer to them as citizens of the USA and the Stars and Stripes is their flag.
Although it is often referred to as the American flag it’s not correct besides I’m in the mood of being a bit punctilious tonight.
Yes I do recall, thank you. I think you’ve probably missed my point, which was that the American person was not being inaccurate, s/he was using standard parlance, unless you actually expect people to run around saying things like “Citizens of the United States of America would only ever wave the Stars and Stripes”.
In Spanish you say ‘estadounidenses’. South Americans detest the word Americans as referring to just nationals of the USA. This is because in their eyes all North and South Americans are ‘americanos’.
Actually, the adjective “statunitense” exists in Italian and is used regularly to mean “of the United States of America”.
Yes, but they were speaking English (I assume) so that’s besides the point.
Do people actually know what a flag is?
If you mean originally. It was used in field battles to recognise one’s army from the foe I believe.
The flag (colours) is a regiment’s point of reference in battle. When the regimental colours were captured by the enemy, the fighting men lost their point of reference, ending up in disarray, and the battle was thus as good as lost.
And that is also the reason why artillery regiments do not have a regimental flag. Their artillery pieces are their point of reference.
I remember when my doctoral supervisor visited Malta during the last World Cup. He had returned quite bemused by the fact that the Maltese fly other national flags off their rooftops. He went on to explain that on meeting the president he was entertained with stories of how the president was an ardent England supporter.
‘I would have expected him to support the national team’ is the sentence that stands out most in my mind.
I see nothing wrong with people loving the World Cup or football, however I am very glad that I never got into football because I would have ended up like those brainless supporters stuck in front of a TV (in my case rooting for Italy), and screaming obscenities like a drunk sailor.
Football is all about passion. Where you’re from or who you support is secondary.
Heading off for the match preliminaries (aka beer drinking) in an Irish pub in the middle of Rome. This could be real fun.
In reality they are not entirely foreign flags. Many Maltese surnames are Italian and most Maltese speak Italian and English. Our DNA is probably the same as that of many Italians. In our own Maltese language around half of the words are of Italian origin and now we also have many words of English origin. So what’s the problem? After all Malta is not participating in the Cup and probably will never make it to this stage.
[Daphne – Honestly, David.]
Our DNA has its origins as much in Italy as it does in North Africa, but I never see people waving Egyptian or Tunisian flags.
Support for Italy or England had cultural roots, TV being the main one, and there is nothing wrong in rooting for a particular team in the World Cup if your own country is not participating.
What does not make sense is waving that country’s flag out in the streets.
I heard yesterday on the BBC that there are (surprisingly) numerous Scots, Welsh and Irish who are rooting for England, but can you ever imagine them waving the English flag?
[Daphne – The fact alone that this was a news item on the BBC tells you how extraordinary it is for one nation to root for another as though it were its own – and this when the Scottish and Welsh nations are united with England into a single state, and the Irish – well, let’s not go there.]
Whilst I don’t root for either England or Italy I can understand why this happens and I find it curious and would love to read a study on the sociological/historical/political background to this.
I find it quite normal that a small island nation would support other teams, particularly Italy or England. Italy being the nation Malta would have been part of had it not been for rather strange circumstances in the late 19th century and a clear treaty violation and England being the former colonial power for 164/174 years, alongside which Malta fought numerous wars.
Then there is the sociological aspect, that need in Malta to divide everything up into two halves whether it be politics or football – tribalism.
It is also worth looking into whether England fans tend to be lower class, seeing as it was mostly the lower classes that mixed with and raised families with the soldiers.
David, DNA-wise we are jumped up Arabs (do you speak Maltese?). So in terms of a World Cup DNA equivalent, go support Algeria.
You see, by all means support a team and have fun but don’t over do it because there’s something seriously culturally mixed up watching nutters waving other countries’ flags as if they were their own. Please stop it, it’s irritating.
I will just pull you up on one thing, Iz-Zanzi. Whilst I do not contest the fact that the Mediterranean is one great big melting pot, the result of which is that you will find Vandal (Germanic) genes in Tripoli, Jewish genes in Genova, Scandinavian genes in Aleppo and Moorish genes in Barcelona, one’s language does not reflect one’s ethnicity.
It is a connection people make but it is fundamentally wrong. One classic example is the English who speak a Germanic language even though new studies are showing that Anglo-Saxon blood probably accounts for 10% or less of their genetic make-up. That means you have an entire nation speaking a foreign language – English.
It is interesting to note that one of the many reasons Arab dialect survived in Malta is thanks to the large Jewish presence, most of whom were from Sicily. The Jews gave a certain prestige to Siculo-Arabic due to the fact that they often held high-ranking positions in society.
Albona, I believe you, but Israel is not in this World Cup so Algeria in my wrapped mind would be the most logical team these nutters can go and support or even better a Jewish Italian team?
Agreed, the English do speak a foreign language and let’s not forget the French-Norman influence with the English language or the fact Germanic is derived from Proto-Indo-European (all sounds very Semitic?) .
Albona, I’m travelling to Malta from Soho next weekend to see the family, so can you tell the kids to stop waving other people’s f****** flags, because I just want a quiet holiday. Thank you.
Iz-Zanzi is travelling to Malta from Soho and he wants a quiet holiday. Malta, kindly take note.
[Daphne – Soho is actually extremely peaceful and civilised, despite the surrounding activities. If you’re thinking ‘Paceville with bells on’, you’re sorely mistaken.]
David, please let’s not go down the language route. Check your facts before making the claim that Maltese has half of its words of Italian origin.
Many are borrowed and simply replace the real Semitic word.
As to the abysmal state of Maltese being taught in our schools, well that is chalked up to idiots in charge of our curricula who have no clue as to our Semitic origins and no real love for our language.
Actually our origins are neither Italian nor English.
If you read history properly our forefathers were Phoenicians and Carthaginians, present day Syria and Lebanon. St Paul being of Syrian origin, Tarsus is in Syria, spoke in a language that was understood by the then natives. At least there is nothing to the contrary written.
Our language has a Semitic base. It is true that the Arabs came a lot after St Paul but for the language to catch there should already be a predisposition to the language.
[Daphne – I’m afraid your history is all wrong. The original core population of Malta is Tunisian via Sicily (hence the language) with successive waves of Sicilians and southern Italians over the course of the centuries. That’s the reason for the ‘Phoenician/Carthaginian’ DNA found in the Maltese population – Tunisia was Carthage, settled by people from Phoenicia. Maltese in its purest form is still linguistically closest to the Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It has absolutely nothing to do with Phoenician – that’s all rubbish. If you won’t take my word for it, ring the University’s department of Maltese.]
No wonder they see no problem in selling the Maltese passport for a pittance. As the champions league advert claims there are things which are priceless.
It’s just a game.. and the national team doesn’t quite deserve carcades most of the time..
I sum up football as a bunch of sweaty men running after a ball.
For once, I agree with you completely.
To add a different perspective: a woman I know once said that she adores watching football matches on a weekly basis because “how often do you get to set eyes on that same number of gorgeously fit men in such high concentration?”
For the sake of translation, my Latin teacher used the phrase “inflated leather”. I think it would be appropriate to use this expression in lieu of the word ball.
Some of them grow their hair long, fancy themselves, and wax their chests, too.
‘Do people actually know what a flag is ?’ Why so surprised – so many don’t appreciate what a passport is either .
I could never see the point. Why should I support anyone half my age who earns in day what I’ll never make in twenty years of slave labour, who’s slept with more women that I’ve had hot dinners, and wears shin guards?
Pls dont give an American comparison. They are so proud of themselves. They not only feel superior to the whole world, but even to their fellow neighbour of Canada.
[Daphne – I’ll give you another example then: can you imagine Italians running around proudly waving the Maltese flag? British people proudly waving the German flag? French people proudly waving the Brazilian flag?]
Dear Eve, you’re are right saying the Americans are so proud of themselves. And why not? As we say in Maltese – ghandhom biex.
The Americans, of course Citizens of the USA, love their flag so much that in Florida the dry cleaning of soiled flags is free.
And the Canadians silently feel superior, Eve, too. That’s the whole point of nationalism.
Malta is so small and has always been occupied by foreign powers, that is why the Maltese wave foreign flag and rejoice in doing so. Maybe the lack of Maltese identity in the Maltese. Maybe we always wanted to align ourselves with bigger nations because we are too weak to stand alone.
So your Saint Publius was a foreign power?
We aren’t weak. We tend to be more negative towards ourselves
You seem to be missing the point that MANY Maltese descend from Italian immigrants and since it is in their blood it is normal to support Italy.
[Daphne – Descent has nothing to do with it. The only cultural-identification possible is when your foreign ancestor is somebody you actually knew – a parent or grandparent. Most Maltese people with British surnames can’t even speak English, and the only reason Maltese people speak Italian is because they watch Italian television – it’s certainly not lessons at schools, because otherwise they would be able to speak English too, and they can’t. Maltese people are 100% cast-iron self-identified as Maltese, sometimes even when they have a non-Maltese parent. Present-day Malta is completely culturally distinct from Italy – shockingly so, in fact, given the geographical proximity.]
The USA was mentioned and contrary to some comments, many Americans in little Italy and elsewhere were in fact waiving the Italian flag and celebrating just like in Malta!
[Daphne – That’s because they are actually ethnically Italian, James. Their parents are Italian, or their grandparents were Italian, or their great-grandparents were Italian – all eight great-grandparents, that is. Their self-identify as Italo-American, they have a completely distinct accent and manner of speaking, and they even celebrate the feast of San Gennaro in the street, with food-stalls and a procession. Do you see the same thing in Malta? No. Any random Italians or Sicilians who come along marry in and within a generation the family is totally Maltese.]
One will find many other immigrants in the US waiving their ancestors flags and not the Star Spangled Banner (and the USA is also taking part in the same competition)! The vast majority of Maltese Italy supporters are legit!! On the other hand what really bothers me are people who support England and their surname is Camilleri, Mizzi, Magro, Rossi,etc.
[Daphne – I trust you realise that our surname is just the one we happen to have. It is completely irrelevant because hundreds of surnames (at a conservative estimate) go into the making of us.]
I am descended from Jews. Should I support the Israeli football team?
I am too. We can go to the matches together if you like Baxx.
Only if it’s cricket, rugby, or women’s tennis.
Deal, or netball perhaps.
We Scots tend to support any team which England is playing.
[Daphne – Hardly the best example given the history and current situation.]
What about the way the rest of Scotland looks at Dundee?
The ‘American’ friend is wrong. Obviously she is no football fan as otherwise she would have known what her fellow US citizens did in 1994 especially after the US were eliminated.
It is not uncommon for countries without a strong football national side to root for another country as if it were their own.
Many Austrians support Germany, citizens of Luxembourg support Germany or France, Philippines support Spain and even the US. Even Chinese root for other countries, but they cannot publicly express their feelings for risk of being arrested. The list is longer than one expects and the celebratory means differ by culture.
Football is another world of its’ own in every sense. In fact so that the FIFA and UEFA are the only international sports organisations were national governments don’t dare interfere or their countries are thrown out. Football is a jurisdiction of its own. It is not normal.
[Daphne – Oh, this is exhausting. Rooting for a foreign team? My main beef here is proudly waving the flag of a country not your own and with which you have no connection. That is both absurd and deeply offensive – it shows that these people have absolutely no understanding of a flag’s significance and see it merely as a football emblem. A flag is not a football emblem. It is a flag – the ultimate and only symbol of the nation-state and everything that nation-state stands for. To wave it, you must belong to it. A Maltese person running around wrapped in an Italian flag? For heaven’s sake. It’s really too much that even such basic things have to be explained. Support Italy if you must, but leave the flag out of it. You’re not Italian and it’s not your flag. Your flag is MALTESE.]
Kindly excuse my failing to note that the main beef is the flag. Never gave it much thought, but must agree.
Since we’re on the subject of flags, what about these franchise department stores selling underpants in national flags’ colours? I always considered them as offensive to the respective nation.
What annoys me most inthose FB shots, is the fact that Jason Micallef still cannot distinguish between the use of ‘its’ and ‘it’s’. That’s quite an embarrassing spectacle in itself, especially since it’s directly from the V18 chairman.
I do not find it strange that we wave other countries’ flags. We only do that in football.
People abroad support Italian, Spanish and German football teams , I don’t know why , probably because of the Champion’s League/FA Cup.
In foreign countries people follow and support these teams even if they have their home grown teams. I’ve been in Egypt and they have the Al-ahli football team which has supporter clubs in the Arab world, this does not mean that Egyptians should not support Inter Milan, same applies to Koreans and Moroccans .
We look at football as a game, we don’t look at the nation we look at the team and we support the team under that flag.We extrapolated this support from team level to national team level.
Having said that , I dreaded each time I had to work with some Spaniard because after a day’s work, the humiliating score of Spain 12 – Malta 1, would pop in the conversation.
Do not worry about a flag being used for 30 days every 4 years. Worry about not using maltese 24/7 and looking down on those of us who do.
[Daphne – My Maltese, johno, is better than that of many of those who speak nothing but, for the simple reason that I received an education and they did not. I refer you to Facebook for proof.]
Daphne, I was not referring to you personally, but, to those who are Maltese and never speak their language.
[Daphne – Thank you for clearing that up.]
At least Malta was part of the UK. There is a natural affinity.
For my parents, England (ok, the UK) was their mother country.
[Daphne – Malta was never part of the UK. You’ve got that badly wrong.]
Weren’t we part of the Briitsh Empire before 1964? Didn’t Maltese persons have British money, British passports, sing the Union Jack in schools and study British history in schools?
[Daphne – The British Empire was not the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom was not the British Empire. As somebody who read and qualified in law, you should be proficient in logic. Canada and Australia know the British monarch as their head of state. Are they part of the United Kingdom? No, they are not. Was India ever part of the United Kingdom? No, it was not. Making Malta part of the United Kingdom was something Dom Mintoff tried and failed to do. It was called his plan for Integration.]
How do you sing the Union Jack?
You really are incredibly ignorant, David. You will soon be called to the bar, where you will continue the proud tradition of your profession.
[Daphne – David qualified a long time ago. I believe he is older than you are.]
I am shocked.
I had him down as an undergrad in his late teens or early twenties.
Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the UK. Wasn’t pre-independence Malta in a similar situation to Gibraltar?
[Daphne – David, I am sorely tempted to use capital letters, but I know you are genuinely perturbed so I shall be patient. Neither Gibraltar nor Malta were ever part of the United Kingdom. Gibraltar still isn’t. Both were part of the British empire. The United Kingdom is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Gibraltar is today a British Overseas Territory. Before Malta achieved independence, it was not a British Overseas territory as that is a post-independence description. It was a colony or ‘Crown colony’. British Overseas Territory is a relatively newish class (in historical terms) used for those countries which did not acquire independence in the period of decolonisation following World War II.]
Yes it must have been many ages ago that I graduated. In fact I remenber meeting de (la) Valette in Valletta.
Besides I always thought H. P. Baxxter must be much older than me.
[Daphne – He isn’t. He’s really quite young.]
U ejja. It’s just a bit of harmless fun and allows us a breather from Joey’s shenanigans. Plus I woke up in a great mood this morning.
This was just posted this morning:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=661989913881838&set=a.233349896745844.58868.154671951280306&type=1&theater
Daphne, what’s wrong with people just having a little fun? The World Cup comes along once every 4 years and people are entitled to enjoy it and support a particular team, especially when considering the fact that our country is not participating.
We are talking about the game of football not about war, there is no foul play with people supporting a foreign team.
Did you even read what Daphne wrote?
enlighten me than please :)
Is there a relation between waving foreign flags and passports
I don’t see no harm in waving another country ‘s flag,soccer can be boring to watch ,so what ‘s wrong in choosing a team to make it fun to watch.I think the Maltese are creative, and know to have fun. As a kid growing in Malta I enjoyed every bit of it. I live in America now , I miss all the crazy fun Malta comes up with.
In my opinion, the shameful state of affairs you describe is a residue of the “clash” of cultures that came about when British influence was superimposed on Malta’s traditional Sicilian/southern Italian culture.
A cultural and political undercurrent flows through it still though I doubt the flag-wavers look at it this way. It is as if the idea that “Malta cannot live without foreign aid” is still latent.
Look at the way newborns are given a first name: parents with a higher level of education tend to choose traditional names which are Christian in origin or are rooted in the Greco-Roman tradition.
Others choose names that sound outlandish and mix very poorly with “Maltese” surnames. When traditional Maltese Italian names such as Carmelo and Salvatore had to be translated into English, such concoctions as Saviour and — worse — Charles (which is Carlo not Carmelo in Italian) became popular.
We are still in the process of finding our feet both as a nation and as a state.
And a Sicilian/southern culture (Catholicism) was superimposed onto an Arabic one. Thank you, Kawlata, that’s a very educated comment. Luckily enough football celebrations in Malta never get that out of control:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658299/And-kicks-Rowdy-England-fans-streets-Roy-Hodgsons-men-defeated-game-World-Cup.html
This is common phenomenon all over the world. Why should anybody be restricted to support his national team, especially when his national team is not even playing?
Sure, the carcading is a bit stupid, but it’s stupid in principle and in any context.
And here’s Americans cheering for Italy in the United States… and the USA have their own team playing: http://youtu.be/pDI_zBuUos4
Jeffry ilu ma jaghmel wahda tajba kemm ilu li holom bid diskoteka tal -Mistra.
A real greedy fellow who betrays his electors, who thanks to them he occupies his current position. Thanks to the Nationalists , he crossed to the other side of the fence, beware PL.
There is nothing wrong in supporting another national team, given that your national team is out of the competition and will probably never be in it.
And the carcarding and shouting? F*ck off.
It’s just a bit of fun, Daphne. Football is great fun to watch for billions of people around the world.
Small nations, like ours, never make it at this level, so we choose to support other countries which do.
[Daphne – I suppose it doesn’t occur to you that you needn’t support anyone at all, and just appreciate the game for its own sake and on its own merits. But then I don’t think it’s about the game – as with most things in Malta, it’s about getting worked up on a Them and Us basis.]
The Italy-England thing is obviously a relic from the language question era, and since both countries happen to have good football teams, it follows that Maltese tend to support one of the two when it comes to football.
[Daphne – Oh, do the people who support England or Italy actually know there was such a thing as a socio-political language question 80 years ago? Then they’re better informed than I thought.]
It’s just harmless fun, really. I support Italy in football but would never extend this support to other things outside football. Football ‘fandom’ is, by definition, irrational, and its just a form of escapism. The World Cup is to men what the royal wedding is to women.
With team sports, it’s difficult to just simply ‘support the game on its own merits’…or rather, not difficult, but boring.
People who watch sports like tennis think that way, and that explains the difference in popularity between the two sports.
As for Maltese people knowing about the language question, I suppose a large proportion do not, but that’s not the point.
It’s embedded in their psyche, one way or another, and passed on through generations. Back in those days, the division was political (or social), and since now it no longer exists, that ‘divide’ has transformed to football fandom.
Having said that, I do agree it’s a bit silly how the Italy/England ‘rivalry’ is so strong here – seeing that the two countries are far from sporting rivals.
England’s are Argentina, while Italy have Brazil.
But anyway, if Italy and England didn’t have such good football teams, the support would never have been this strong.
I feel this is heading down the Great Hunting Debate road.
What generations? Back in which days? This social, political and football support division is a fake modern construct. It never existed before the 1960s. And I’m being generous.
The Maltese have a very dangerous habit of claiming that things have existed for centuries in order to justify them.
To the rioters of 7th June 1919, or the learned professors and politicians discussing the language question, supporting the English or Italian football team was as alien as supporting the Martian Women’s Beach Volley team.
Use some common sense. In order to follow your favourite football team, you need a constant stream of information. At the very least, you need regular newspapers, radio and television, to which we have added internet.
You need lots of leisure time. You need spare cash to spend on memorabilia, flags and other trinkets. You need significant amounts of cash to spend at the bar with your mates.
Quite possibly, you also need your own balcony and roof to fly the flag from, and your own car to drive around in.
Did any of this exist forty years ago? Not outside the comfortable middle class, it didn’t.
So the image of a centuries-old Italian-English rivalry evaporate if you apply some basic known facts. You’ll find it is a very modern phenomenon.
Some of you astound me with your short memories. When I was a boy, street parties, carcading and flag waving at World Cup time was an extremely marginal thing. Hardly anyone did it. Big screen? Forget it. Flags? You had to get your mother to sew one if you wanted it. Some famous player’s kit? In your Mintoffian import dreams.
Malta only became Party Nation in the 1990s. That’s when the centuries-old rivalry started. For the fifty years preceding that, it was just pub-room banter between working men. Before that, it never even existed.
Baxxter, I never said Maltese people supported the Italian/English national team at the time when the language question was an issue. Of course, without TV, it’s impossible to get so excited about something like football.
I meant that since the language issue is now dead and we all agree English is more important than Italian as a language, we now choose the same two countries’ football teams.
[Daphne – If we are all agreed that English is more important, then why do so many Maltese speak fluent or quite fluent Italian while being barely able to speak any English?]
As for my memory being short, I’m afraid I wasn’t alive in the 80s, so I really don’t know about how much carcading went on in those times. But I’m pretty sure Italian supporters celebrated when Italy won the World Cup in 82. Probably not like in 06, but surely not everyone was that deprived?
[Daphne – Exactly how would they have celebrated, Ian? Most people didn’t own a car in 1982, or even a television to watch the game on. And if they owned a car, they certainly weren’t going to waste any cents from their miserable pay cheque (if they had a job, that is) burning petrol round the island. And where do you think they would have gone for a celebratory drink? There were no bars to speak of, beyond three in Paceville, one in Spinola and the village-type things.]
The Maltese don’t speak fluent Italian although there are many that pretend to. It is a pity but it is a basic fact.
Just wanted to make that clear, Daphne. If you think the standard of English is bad in Malta – which it is – Italian is virtually dead. You get some people from the older generation, for example my grandmothers, who wrote it perfectly, one could argue better than most Italians, but then there is the majority in Malta who claim to speak it but then couldn’t speak it to save their lives.
I feel that the Maltese should know both English and Italian. Other countries do it with great success: Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Finland. Why not Malta? Oh yes, the N and I words again: Nationalism and Ineptitude.
[Daphne – The vast majority of my contemporaries speak Italian. I appear to be an exception. Also, I routinely encounter Maltese people who can’t construct a sentence in English but who then amaze me by letting rip in Italian.]
“Exactly how would they have celebrated, Ian?”
A side point to your argument perhaps, but I was at the Sliema Front, Surfside area, on that day in 1982. It was the first World Cup I watched and I was amazed by the crowds waving Italian flags, and the noise. Maybe there weren’t as many cars, but there was still a huge celebration.
[Daphne – I lived there, so no crowds or cars or lorries full of johnnies amazed me ever. If it wasn’t the Monday xalata ta’ wara l-festa, every ruddy Monday, making a point of coming all the way from the other side of the island to pass along the Sliema front in junky buses full of screaming criecer waving palm fronds f’wicc il-puliti, then it was some lorry full of drydocks workers and some overfed cabinet minister like Joe Grima draped in Torca flags, or it was some Mintoffian members of the under-class with their bulls and lemons, or football supporters with big hair piled 12 to a Ford Escort Mk I blaring Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.]
Jesus Christ, you mean I’m having an argument with some spotty teenager or twenty-something? Look, Ian, go away, learn some history, ask around, and then come back, because I’ve had it up to here trying to explain facts about Malta to people who live in a fantasy dream fuckworld where bird-shooting existed in the Middle Ages, where carcading goes back as far as 1964, and where Paceville is as old as Mnajdra.
I suspect you’d be shocked to the core if I had to describe the sort of life we led in the 80s. As a toddler, I grew up without television. How’s that for a start? A cousin of mine got caught doing drugs and the communication network was so poor we only knew about it two years later. Petrol was practically rationed. Beer (Cisk only) too. Vodka? Forget it. And you think we went carcading in 1982 or 1986, do you?
Grow the f*ck up. I know I sound terribly patronising but you people need a reality check.
That is strange because in my experience it is all one big farce. They stutter a few words at A1-A2 level and write on their CVs that they are C2.
Wow… Sounds like HP Baxxter needs to get laid.
I was just watching the RAI news – there were German girls who had their face painted with the Tricolori supporting the Italian team at the Brazilian stadium.
Look at it this way, football has no borders.
I don’t think the England/Italy rivalry in Malta is as strong as it was say in the 1970s.
Nowadays one hears people talking about Spanish and German football, but back in the 1960s we started to have Italian RAI transmitting football matches and sports news, so people started to support this or that Italian team which they saw on TV.
Before the arrival of TV this rivalry was nonexistent; people were interested more in their village football team and the support was strong.
On the other hand, the British tabloids, in which football took some six pages, were sold in Malta because there was a heavy British presence on the island.
Football was the main subject of discussion in the British forces where the Maltese joined in also. Do you remember the “Spot the ball” competition, and the censored page three pictures?
I remember (in 1966?) BP petrol pumps distributing aluminium tokens of English players to their clients.
Woah, Baxxter, that escalated quickly. If you do not know of anyone who had a car in the 80s, then I’m afraid we come from very different backgrounds.
I know of many people who did, and who, as it happens, would definitely have watched most games of World Cup 82, as it served as a most-welcome break from the shitty political circumstances of the time.
Italy winning the World Cup in 1982 gave many people something to cheer about (however trivial in comparison to the election of 1987), at a time when there was precious little else to be happy about.
It doesn’t take much to enjoy some World Cup football, seeing that RAI used to show all the important games. Even if you didn’t have a TV at home, you could have always gone to the pub.
As for my complexion, I’m afraid my spots have long gone. I needn’t be an ignorant sub-literate to have been born in 1990. Yes, you do sound very patronising – I thought you were better than that. The language was also very uncalled for and not the sort I expected from someone whose comments are usually witty and make sense.
Daphne, regarding your question as to people’s grasp of Italian as opposed to English, I suspect it’s because of the availability of free Italian TV channels. Maltese people who couldn’t afford cable would tend to get their fix from italian TV shows, and thus grew up comfortable with the language.
The figures are these:
Private car ownership in Malta, per 1000 inhabitants:
1970: 204
2002: 504
The argument wasn’t about enjoying football in thirty years ago, but about street celebrations, car-cading and the level of obsession.
Don’t we all.
What I consider more surprising is the football madness and rivalry in these islands even though fanaticism as seen in village feasts and politics is a typical and old local phenomenon.
I sympathise with, not root for, Italy in football. But I would never fly the Italy flag from my roof. I say I am happy for Italy to have won, but I will never say ‘we Italians have won’. And that for the simple fact that I am Maltese. I can’t stand to hear the words “ahna t-Taljani rbahna lilkom l-Inglizi”. Utter crap.
In Malta we always try to be somebody else.
We try to promote a Beatles concert and look silly prancing up and down the stage giving a poor rendition of the Beatles tunes.
We promote all that is foreign with great passion.
Ghax Ta’ Barra is always better.
There is no shame in supporting a favorite team, but to jump up and down wrapped in a Ghax Ta’ Barra is always better flag shows what a silly people we are.
Waving other countries’ flags, carcading till the early hours of the morning, annoying people who deserve to have some peace and quiet, is another form of “Maltese xalata” galore.
The Maltese in general are a noisy lot, even when speaking amongst themselves, it’s common to hear them shout at each other as though they are arguing. Quite a few of my foreign friends have pointed this out to me.