There are no doubt a few hangovers across England on Thursday after a night of wild celebrations in the wake of the national soccer team’s …
There are no doubt a few hangovers across England on Thursday after a night of wild celebrations in the wake of the national soccer team’s victory over Denmark in the European Championship semifinals. There will likely be many, many more on Monday morning if England manages to beat Italy in the final, its first in a major tournament since winning the 1966 World Cup. The worry is that beyond the headaches and the grouchiness, the outpouring of joy will worsen rising coronavirus infection rates, particularly among younger men, many of whom have yet to receive a vaccine against COVID-19. « Whilst association does not necessarily mean causation it is difficult to escape the conclusion that celebrations around the Euros have been an important factor in driving up the epidemic in the U.K., » said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia. It’s clearly difficult to rein in the enthusiasm associated with England’s march to Sunday’s final. There’s a lot of pent-up frustration out there that has been further fueled by the rigors endured during coronavirus restrictions — and a fair bit of booze. The British Beer & Pub Association predicted that fans across the country would consume 6.8 million pints during the match alone. The scenes inside Wembley Stadium were particularly raucous — more than 60,000 fans were allowed to attend the match. Long-suffering England supporters outnumbered their Danish counterparts by around six to one. Two England fan favorites — Neil Diamond’s « Sweet Caroline » and the Lightning Seeds’ « Three Lions, » with lyrics by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner — were sung with delirium, even by the England team and staff who joined in the singalong after the final whistle blew.
