12th May 2019

Yesterday, nerves jangling, I watched my football team - Aston Villa - play rivals Albion for a chance to be promoted to the Premier League. Before the match, in typical  pessimistic fashion, I kept repeating my team had no chance.  Is this a British cultural thing, building an armadillo-like outer skin to protect against life’s potential hardships and unfairness?  In France we lived near a rugby stadium, the French being notoriously famous for their depression.  In complete contrast, however, go to an American football game. No depression there. Rah rah atmosphere everywhere. And yet, after the Villa game, star player Jack Grealish explained that during every game he repeats the mantra: we’re gonna win, we’re gonna win. So, for Tuesday night’s crunch second-leg, should I cancel the Valium? There’s more about cultural differences in sport in my latest book. Click right to pre-order.