Sentence:  The idea that Ireland's rugby and soccer fans would have to go to England to follow their teams was intrinsically unpalatable, Kelly said, but he was also motivated by common sense: "That would have been an immense cost to the economy, it would have been a major drain on the fans, but the prestige and image of the country would also have been affected badly." / His pragmatic <WSD>patriotism</WSD> paid off. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The desire to compete with other nations; nationalism.