The road to European glory

I don't know if anyone else is following the Euro 2008 football championship going on now in Austria and Switzerland. That's soccer to us Yanks. It's sort of the World Cup minus Brazil and Argentina. It's a great spectacle and at it's best produces some compelling drama. It's sport plus faux-nationalism set to a techno soundtrack, featuring fans in silly outfits and pampered athletes with one-word pop star names (Portugal who was sent packing by the Germans yesterday feature a couple of midfielders named Deco and Nani). What more could one want? England is still in mourning because their team didn't qualify for this year's championship. But Frank Skinner of The Times has been trying to put a smile back on his countrymen's face with his hilarious dispatches from the Alps on the Euro madness.

Read his blog here.