John Harris - Cool Cymru, rugby union and an imagined community

For me this article was very easy to relate to and it summed up a lot of my feelings on this idea of Welsh nationalism. I feel like Wales as a nation has something of a false identity and I think it has a lot to do with the divide spoken about in the reading.

"Wales is often described as a nation where a North/South divide categorises rugby as being the game of the South. Through its close proximity to large English cities such as Liverpool and Manchester many towns of North Wales are places where football is by far the most popular sport." (Harris, 155)

This is very much my experience having lived in North Wales all my life. Not just is football the most popular sport but there is also a large population of people who are from, or have family originating from Liverpool and Manchester. I myself have a parent who was born in Liverpool. To add to this the most commonly spoken language is English with very few people being fluent Welsh speakers.

Wales is seldom given the national pride treatment and I think this has a lot to do with the concept of imagined communities (Anderson, 1983). It isn't just Wales who are guilty but unlike England and Scotland there are far fewer events that revolve around celebrating the nation and it's history, anything that is celebrated as British nationalism in Wales is celebrated as English nationalism in England. Wales truly is in the shadow of England and the only wide spread and commonly shared source of national price comes from sports. With sports you do not need history nor do you need a reason to begrudge the opposing team, it is simply a case of being able to brag that you are superior because of the nation you identify with.

Welsh football is an interesting topic to study when focusing on national identity and imagined communities. Welsh rugby fans are often criticised for only caring about Wales when there is a game on because by winning the people of Wales are given a reason to feel good about themselves. Welsh football on the other hand is different, the Welsh national team have not qualified for a major tournament in nearly 40 years (the 1976 European Championship Finals was their last) and the Welsh Football League is one of the lowest ranked football leagues in Europe and is considered by many to be below the Scottish top division (Premiership) and below the 4th division of English football (League 2). With Welsh football being how it is the national team is comprised almost entirely of players who play in another nations football league. With all that considered in what regard do we hold the people who support Welsh football? Surely those are the true nationalists as they are willing to support their country in a sport no matter how bad things get?

Football has recently seen a Welsh pride movement thanks to the current standings of Swansea City and Cardiff City, two Welsh football teams that won promotion to the English Premier League. Swansea City's League Cup victory was suppose to be viewed as a triumph for Welsh football, not in North Wales, people here support mostly English teams that are competing with Swansea. This upraising of the Welsh football teams and the renaming of the English Premier League to the British Premier League does make one ask, has Wales really gained significance? Have we just continued to accept Britannia and the concept of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland as one united nation? Certainly Welsh football does not compare to the achievements of the Scottish club game where the likes of Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers and Aberdeen have proved themselves capable of being equals to the most highly regarded teams in European football.

Moving on from football rugby has in many ways become an example of Wales taking a stereotype and embracing it and turning it into a positive part of the Welsh culture. For better or for worse rugby is treated as a traditional part of the Welsh lifestyle. Welsh Rugby has a large importance not just on a cultural level but a political level because it is through the likes of Rugby that politicians make a case for Wales having a culture and a sense of national pride.
"Devolution was passed by the narrowest of majorities where just over half of the population even bothered to vote.The national assembly has, arguably, made little difference to Welsh society although its symbolic value as a sign of greater independence may be more significant." (Harris, 158).
With no where else to turn to for support it seems like rugby has become be all and end all for proof of nationalist pride and that is incredibly concerning because it means if Welsh rugby was to decline significantly it would damage the imagined community that has been created through Welsh rugby.

In regards to Wales in media I never felt that the likes of music groups such as The Stereophonics had a distinctively Welsh feel to them, like many things it seems less like a product of Welsh culture and more a case of being something that happened to come from Wales. Many BBC television productions are filmed in Wales but they are not considered Welsh television. This is what I mean when I said Wales has a false identity. Besides the language what is there really that makes it unique to somewhere like England? The people of Wales can make a case for their mines and their rugby and their Welsh lamb all they want but besides the stereotypes what is the culture of Wales?

This reading has got me asking questions about the idea of what it means to identify with a nationality and imagined communities as a concept. Maybe I am being harsh on Wales but I've never felt like there was a significant cultural difference between most Welsh towns/cities and the majority of English towns and cities.

References:
Harris, J. (2007) ‘Cool Cymru, Rugby Union and an Imagined Community’, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, (27)3/4: 151-162.
Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities (London: Verso). Chapter 1.