It’s football time– everyone excited yet? Not as much as you should be? Same here. I have a strange relationship with the fever you with major tournaments. It used to happen automatically; a month before they started I’d be bouncing off the walls, counting down the minutes until the first England game. Then age and repeated failures took their toll, and I stopped getting so excited. Once the tournament starts I’ll be back on the bandwagon, even if I try not to be to save myself the heartache. The pre-tournament buzz doesn’t come automatically to me anymore though.
It actually came back a bit in the last few tournaments. After the “golden” generation the pressure came off, and Southgate got us overperforming. We were one of those teams that would probably get through the group, but weren’t going to win it. So you could relax and enjoy it more. I feel that’s where Scotland are now, in a place where they get the fun without the stress.
Now though, the pressure is back. We got to the final last time, and our team is even better this time around. You can’t see this England attack and not feel like we should win the thing. Centre midfield looks solid, and there’s the Jude factor. So conversely I’m back to feeling defeatist, like there’s no way this tournament won’t end in disappointment, and my pre-tournament excitement has suffered.
So if you’re not yet feeling the buzz– what do you do about it? You might feel that less excitement is a good thing, I sometimes do. In theory, that means you don’t get quite so depressed when we inevitably go out. But sometimes you want to, especially if you own a bar or other small business. Getting yourself in the mood, and more importantly your customers, can be great for business. Here’s some help getting yourself into the moment, for anyone who needs a little boost.
Watch Some Old Clips
A good way to start. Watching clips is easy, and requires no enthusiasm from your end. But it does get you going, and remind you of how fun major tournaments are (until you-know-what happens). We’ve all got our favourite videos to get us going. If you don’t have one, just watch everything Becks did against Greece all those years ago.
This works for any business that has a screen too. Bars, shops and other establishments can put some iconic clips on loop to see what it does to the mood of their customers.
Stick Vindaloo On
The best song for getting yourself up for the tournaments. I love 3 Lions– there’s probably no song on Earth that’s got me quite as emotional over the years. But sometimes, when you’re still trying to get yourself going, you’re just not quite ready for it.
Vindaloo doesn’t come with the emotional baggage. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it gets you right up for it. Next time you’re walking somewhere put it on– cans on, sound up. You’ll be right in the mood by the time you arrive.
Get Kitted Out
You need to be halfway there already by the time you start this stage. Once you’re feeling the vibes a little, it’s time to dig out your old England shirts. Consider which classic shirts you don’t have yet, or maybe get the new one. If you don’t have the money, you can also order England t-shirts for a fraction of the price.
There’s no need to stop at shirts, or at England, if your allegiances lie elsewhere. Get flags, sunglasses, or body paint for your country of choice. Pick up a little football for the kids to help them catch the buzz too. This is where everyone helps each other out– once you start to see flags on the street, and England shirts in the pub, it really hits home that it’s really coming home.
Create Your Own Strip
Custom clothing isn’t just a way to make fan gear on the cheap, it also helps get all your mates, staff, or customers in the mood. You can create custom uniforms for your staff, or custom apparel and accessories to sell in your shop or street stall. Take advantage of Bellingham fever to boost your sales.
With our teams tool, you can add names and numbers to the same t-shirt design in no time, so everyone can have the same kit. You can add your own names, or run a sweepstake for top scorer, and get those names on your shirts instead.
Remember– We’re Definitely Gonna Win It
You may have gathered from the start of this article that I’m a bit of a pessimist when it comes to football, well it turns out, all I needed was to write an article, and now I just can’t see us not winning. We’ve got the player of the year in the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga. Even our much-maligned defence has Walker and Stones in it; plus a renewed Harry Maguire, who always delivers in tournaments.
Rice and Trent or Kobbie make a great central pair, and we’ve got a front four that’s the envy of the whole world– one of Saka, Foden, and Palmer isn’t going to start, and Rashford isn’t even going to travel! We’ve got cheddar cheese, kettles, Southgate’s the one, what could possibly go wrong?
I know, Kane could miss a penalty and France could knock us out again. But still, we might as well enjoy it while we can. No more years of hurt lads, let’s do this.
We hope this article helped you get your football fever back. Find everything you need for the football, and much more besides, on our website. For more inspiration, and to see how our sweepstake goes, keep an eye on our Instagram: @wearewordans.
