England may be the motherland of football and the most football-crazy country of the world. Indeed, the English were in many ways pioneers of what is now the world's #1 game. But their attitude towards their national team has never been really adequate.

It's more or less one one of two extremes. The Three Lions are 'The best ever to exist in the world' or 'a crappy team not capable of anything'. It seems like for the English supporters there is no golden medium. As soon as they get a team more or less capable of qualifying from group stage, it is a title contender. When they have a team like something of Hodgson-coached 2014 outfit, this is 50 years of hurt and 'still believing' seems to be the ultimate example of fandom.

The team is declared hopeless in terms of chances and becomes an essential tool for exercising wit and puns of all types.

It seems like this inadequacy has a long history. The English ignored first World Cups because they thought they were superior. Chelsea decided not to participate in the first European Champions Cup because for the English it seemed that they were too good for that. Although in fact it took them a lot of years to win both competitions.

Probably the last team treated adequately was EURO'96 squad with magnificent Shearer & Sheringham striking duo. They could have won the European Championship on home soil. Unfortunately, their current head coach Gareth Southgate failed to score a penalty. And the whole nation cried again, but this time they at least had a point for that.

But after that, when the sun shines, they are as happy as they could be, when it's a bad day they are about to declare their football dead.

But probably this hysteria shows one more time: they really do care about football. Probably more than any other nation in the world.