Thursday, June 30, 2005
The Lion's Share?
I was surprised and disappointed to hear courtesy of Slugger O'Toole about Nelson McCausland's call that the word 'Irish' should be dropped from the Lion's title.
Nelson McCausland said he had written to the rugby authorities to express his unease at what he described as "political correctness run amok".
He said the team had for decades been known as the British Lions, but the name appeared to have changed in recent years to include the word 'Irish'.
He said the team was drawn from the British Isles and should be known only as the British Lions, despite the fact that 11 of this year's squad are Irishmen.
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It's discouraging to hear wallies like McCausland making remarks like this. Some UI readers may be surprised to learn that I actually like the idea of a 'British and Irish' team and that I have actually found myself rooting for the team when I've caught the matches on TV!
I like the idea of rooting for not only my compatriots, but English, Scots and Welsh as well without politics being brought into the equation. Sadly, clowns like McCausland undo all that by making such silly comments.
The 'British and Irish' name isn't to do with political correctness but to acknowledge the contribution of the Irish to the team. There are players playing for the team who are Irish-born, and not British-born.
Furthermore, the 'British Isles' argument is garbage since there is no nation based on the location. As well as that, some of us resent the archaic term 'British Isles' and much prefer IONA - Islands Of the North Atlantic. It's like the USA and Canada having a combined team and calling it 'America' and justifying that name based on Canada being part of 'North America'. I don't think many people would accept that over there, and we shouldn't accept 'British Lions' over here.
Let's not let muppets like McCausland spoil a good thing.
Nelson McCausland said he had written to the rugby authorities to express his unease at what he described as "political correctness run amok".
He said the team had for decades been known as the British Lions, but the name appeared to have changed in recent years to include the word 'Irish'.
He said the team was drawn from the British Isles and should be known only as the British Lions, despite the fact that 11 of this year's squad are Irishmen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's discouraging to hear wallies like McCausland making remarks like this. Some UI readers may be surprised to learn that I actually like the idea of a 'British and Irish' team and that I have actually found myself rooting for the team when I've caught the matches on TV!
I like the idea of rooting for not only my compatriots, but English, Scots and Welsh as well without politics being brought into the equation. Sadly, clowns like McCausland undo all that by making such silly comments.
The 'British and Irish' name isn't to do with political correctness but to acknowledge the contribution of the Irish to the team. There are players playing for the team who are Irish-born, and not British-born.
Furthermore, the 'British Isles' argument is garbage since there is no nation based on the location. As well as that, some of us resent the archaic term 'British Isles' and much prefer IONA - Islands Of the North Atlantic. It's like the USA and Canada having a combined team and calling it 'America' and justifying that name based on Canada being part of 'North America'. I don't think many people would accept that over there, and we shouldn't accept 'British Lions' over here.
Let's not let muppets like McCausland spoil a good thing.
# posted by United Irelander @ 2:26 AM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
