Oh, I'm not claiming the past record of English fans is anything other than it is. However I would say they've worked hard to rid themselves of the hooligan element and their history of throwing plastic chairs round city squares seems to be behind them, fingers crossed. English football grounds are now safe places to be. But you can't honestly tell me there's any match in England that is as mired in simple prejudice and hatred as an Auld Firm derby, at least not with a straight face. Plus remember I'm a resident of Manchester and I saw the state of the place after a wonderful group of Scottish fans visited us for the UEFA cup final a few years back.
The Scots have an excellent record internationally (I believe they've won a FIFA award in fact) but in more general terms they have their own problems and, frankly, no grounds to be smug.
Yeah, the sport in question is definitely a differentiator, to be fair. I was trying to illustrate though that I don't think simple nationalism is the key issue. There are a small minority of Welsh people who have a problem with the English - I lived there for three years and I'd say I met two people who gave me a hard time because of my accent - but I've met more Scots who do, in much less time. Whereas the English don't actually give much of a monkey's about either really but are far too quick to reciprocate things, IMO.
Jon
