England Swings

The English Rugby team have won their sport’s World Cup and were feted with a parade through downtown London yesterday. Though football (i.e. soccer) is the more popular sport, the country has gone mad over these sports heroes who snatched the trophy away from the favored Aussies. An estimated three quarter of a million fans showed up for the procession. The main reason for the big fuss, so I’ve heard, is that this is the first World Cup for England in nearly 40 years. The thing that I found really amazing, though, was the theme song that was adopted by the rugby team: “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”. For weeks there have been countless ads and promotions featuring that song. Fans can even download the anthem to play as a ringtone on their mobile phones. And then to hear it (on the telly) chanted by those three quarter of a million fans in the streets of London yesterday…how bizarre!