ChippenhamRed

It’s a relatively inexpensive way for families in particular to watch some of the best players in the world in one of the biggest stadiums in the world. The spectacle of watching England v Brazil at Wembley would not be forgotten by any young person, even if it’s not a particularly great game. When I say relatively inexpensive - that’s in comparison to a high profile premier league game at a big stadium, which is less easy to get tickets for, tickets are more expensive, and generally requires a club membership to give you a chance of buying one. An England friendly against a top team is probably the most accessible way of watching elite level footballers.

I find not giving a shit about the colour of a tiny flag on the back of a football shirt helps immensely.

Was tempted to explain it in brackets but I thought…no, just let it sit there.

I wonder if they’re having the same debate on OTIRDJ.

No it’s fine, I get it now, only the colour matters. Was just trying to establish the parameters for being offended. A change to the form would have been fine. So no one would have complained about this. Got it. Cheers.

Got it, just the colours that matter, not the form. So any changes to the shape are acceptable. Could you point me to the rule book please?

I think you mean “fallen” for it.

As if to prove that the cross has been simply been used artistically as part of a consistent colour palette and brand identity, here is the England shirt on the official twitter account today. Note the same stripes on the arm and use of the same colours again in the background graphics. It’s a graphic design and artistic choice, nothing more. The debate is utterly bonkers.

No “theory”. It’s simply an example of a brand using familiar national emblems in an artistic manner. Exactly as has been done by Nike here. But it appears I can’t keep up with the very precise circumstances necessary for people to be offended.

It’s absolutely that, it’s an artistic choice to align with the colour palettes used on the kits. Nothing to do with “inclusion” or anything like that, which isn’t represented by that limited colour range anyway. But that doesn’t fit with people’s weird need to be offended by even the most minor of things.

Thanks for asking, we have considered New Zealand. A better quality of life by pretty much every metric. However, we have family that tie us to this country for the time being, and don’t wish to disrupt our children’s education.

Sorry, didn’t realise that waiting three hours for a train to get to a beach with shit on it isn’t allowed to influence our sense of national pride. I really can’t keep up with the rules.

OK just to be clear on this it’s only the colours that matter, yes? Not the form? So if they’d kept the flag red but made the lines curved instead of straight that would have been OK yeah? Just need to check the rules on what we’re supposed to be offended by.

Sewage in our seas and rivers. Gross wealth inequality and high levels of child poverty. The unaffordability of housing for young people. Grotesque profits for utility companies while bills increase. An outdated democratic system. Unelected Lords influencing our law making and governance selected by whoever the Prime Minister chooses. A third world transport system in the world’s 6th biggest economy. Underfunded and inadequate public services in the world‘s 6th biggest economy. The weather. Just off the top of my head.

If only that’s what I’d said.

You’re determined to tell us all how “wound up” and “triggered” we all are. Yet we’re all calmly and articulately debate the issue, while you’re getting all angry and telling people to “**** off”. Perhaps ponder that for a second.

Nothing to do with “inclusion”. Just an artistic version to align with the design and colour palette on the shirt. Linking it to “inclusion” is just your own projection.

Were you outraged in 2011 @spudski? If not why not? Was it because the press didn’t mention it maybe?

Oh, so it’s only the colour that matters? Not the form? You think the stars aren’t an important part of the American flag? I’m disappointed Starmer has said anything. He shouldn’t have risen to it. Doesn’t mean the root cause isn’t a right wing agenda. And if you can’t see how the right wing press and Tories are driving a culture war, then I pity you. It’s literally all they have left now. I’m bringing politics into it because it’s relevant to the debate and it is the root of where this utterly mindless debate has come from. Why “should” people be proud of a flag? Why can’t they just not care about stuff that makes no material difference to their lives?

Umbro England shirt, 2011. If you weren’t bothered about that then, why are you bothered about this now? It’s because you’ve been told to by a right wing press desperate to stoke a culture war. The whole debate is an absolute embarrassment. It’s pathetic.

Here’s the American Airlines logo. It captures the essence of the American flag, but it’s an artistic variation of it - there are no stars. Brands play with familiar iconography like this all the time. In this instance they’ve just played with the cross to align with the colour scheme of the shirt. So what? A ridiculous fuss over nothing by people who care far too much about things that don’t matter, stoked by the utterly tedious Tory and right wing media-driven culture wars.

Hopefully this just means they will now align with the 2 year cycle moving forwards. I picked up the Euro 2022 shirt after they won it, I really like it!

To get the collective heart rate of the fanbase above its current level of 5 beats per minute.

Adidas have ruined all of their shirts by including an absolutely massive version of their logo.