When the Lions go on tour you’re supposed to leave your national pride at the door.
It’s supposed to be about cheering on the collective not the individual countries that make it up (Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales).
We’re all part of one team now! Woo!
The thing is Lions tours are only a handful of weeks every four years.
The rest of the time you spend disliking the English players or wishing the Welsh team ill or hoping you dominate the Scots.
So I think fans are slow to forgive and forget for the sake of a dozen games.
That’s why there’s articles floating around entitled:
‘Gatland shows off his Welsh bias’
‘Record low number of Scots in match day squad since the 30’s’
I doubt the team cares.
I’d say they just want to do their best and do the crest proud.
I’d say the players are delighted they’re playing with Owen Farrell rather than against him.
But for the fans they’re in an awkward position.
They’re supposed to forgive and forget which doesn’t happen often in sport.
The fact that it’s only for a temporary basis makes it even harder for them I’d say.
Sports fans are much more used to the giant divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
That’s why fans are likely to go into specific detail to point out the ‘us’.
And with a Lions tour you can do multiple layers of ‘us’ vs them’.
You could do it by country (what a try from an Irishman!), by province (now that’s how a Munster man scores a conversion), by county (he’s from Cork!) by school (that’s a fine Pres boy right there!) and so on and so forth!
That’s my best guess at explaining the behaviour anywho!
Thomas Duggan 