The mood around most England games, on foreign soil, is now not one of full-fledged hooliganism. So, perhaps, it is something to do with England: not the country, but the soccer team. But there are many more who will have seen the videos and watched the footage and inferred that this is what it is to be an England fan, that this is how you earn your stripes and support your country, and have become, in effect, cosplay hooligans. England is a chance to claim space and go a little wild; that is their role, their patriotic duty. That is what it is to be England.

Source: New York Times July 16, 2021 16:52 UTC