From: dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer
Subject: Re: Just laughing at England
Date: 16 Nov 92 14:10:56 GMT
Organization: Glasgow University Computing Science Dept.

caar18@vaxa.strath.ac.uk writes:


[About BBC sports reporting and English dominance]

>I'm quite surprised that you've had that much `rammed down your 
>throat', as SportsNightis almost always replaced by SportsScene 
>in Scotland, and Match Of The Day is replaced by SportsScene 
>Match Of The Day.

Really? Did you see Sportsnight last Wednesday? I inadvertantly left my video
recorder running after taping Michael Palin's Pole to Pole and taped all of
Sportsnight. I watched it at the week end out of curiosity and perhaps thinking
I had been a little harsh on the BBC. Here's what it contained:-

Brian Clough, manager of the *English* team Notts Forest - long interview with.
Rugby - Preview of *England* vs South Africa.
Basketball - *England* vs Russia
Football - *English* Premier League action

Oh, we did get the Scottish results - thank you very much BBC - it took about
15 seconds to read them out.

One snapshot after I had made some off-the-cuff comments last week before
realising I had taped it. Coincidence?

Then you might want to go and check out BBC Radio 5, the network sport radio
station. SOmetimes I wonder if these guys ever make it north of Liverpool.

Incidently, Sportsnight is not almost always replaced by Sportscene, a *part*
of Sportsnight is replaced if, and only if, there is an important match
being played in Scotland. After the highlights of the match are shown we
inevitably switch back to (zzzzzz) snooker or Horse of the Year show.
Important match is usually defined as a Scottish Cup semi final or a European
match.

Match of the Day is indeed replaced by Sportscene in Scotland, we get one
Scottish match and one English match shown. Ever wonder why the BBC don't
show the first 3 or 4 matches of the season in Scotland and why Sportscene
stars up at exactly the same time as the English League kicks off, at least
2 or 3 weeks into the Scottish season?
    
>>This is the closest we, in Scotland, get to knowing what the English supporter
>>thinks of their own team and have to conclude that this is the popular view
>>amongst English supporters at large.

>>Of course there are some English posters here who say the media is full of
>>crap, but equally there are posters who appear to go along with it and make
>>bold predictions. Therefore it gives us great delight to see England come
>>a cropper as in Sweden or the Leeds Rangers game. Funny thing is, all those
>>who say the media is full of crap only seem to do so AFTER England or an
>>English team has not lived up to the hype. Oh well..

>     There seems to be a large divergence in Scotland's perception
> of England's fans' views, and the reality of England fans views.
> Take the last World Cup; prior to Italia '90 Scotland fans would
> say they believed England fans thought that they'd win the 
> tournament, whereas most England fans to my knowledge considered
> the quarter finals to be a reasonable target; anything less, and
> it has been a bad tournament, anything more a good one. 

I'd be interested to know where you get the notion *most* England fans.

The point I was making was that closest we are *likely* to get to an English
fans views is via the media. If the media doesn't accurately reflect the
expectations of most English fans (making allowances for a certain amount of
hyperbole) then who does? Remember, I'm speaking as an outsider.

[..]

>     Yes England's expectations will usually be higher than 
> Scotland's, but that does not necessarily make them unreasonable.

Undoubtedly so, but the question is one of realistic expectations and who puts
forward that level of expectation to the public at large.

Dave

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