Sweating the Big Stuff

So, with just one weekend between now and the arrival of our little one,  I have started to worry about the really important big issues.  The one that has caused me most concern recently, due to the Lions playing on Saturday, is which country our daughter will support when watching rugby.  It is an issue which could cause a huge rift in our house!
My wife is passionately Welsh.  I am proud to be English.  A recent Wales vs England game led to some serious (but short lived) tension between us.  I am prepared to admit that it was my reaction to the humiliating hammering England received that caused the tension.  My wife behaved perfectly rationally.  But then it is easier to do when your team has just smashed the boys from over the bridge!

I want my daughter to support England.  She would then be able to sit with her daddy and cheer on the boys during the Six Nations and World Cups.  My wife, however, wants to deny me this dream and would like our daughter to support Wales.  She has graciously said that our little one can support England in all the other sports.  This is a little bit of a cop-out if you ask me.  Without meaning to offend any Welsh people who might be reading this, when you take rugby out of the equation, there really aren't many other sports left!

Please don't get me wrong.  I love Welsh people.  The most special person in my life is Welsh.  Her family are wonderful people.  Many other important people in my life are from Wales too.  But I still don't want my daughter to support Wales when we watch the rugby.

I have tried to argue that my wife is only actually half Welsh.  Therefore, I have simple mathematics on my side.  How could our child support Wales when she is only a quarter Welsh?  My argument is more than a bit flimsy, but technically it is true.  My mother-in-law was born in Wales but to English parents.  Surely, this means that she is English and, therefore, my wife is only 50% Welsh.  She doesn't buy this.  Her mother considers herself Welsh and so of course does my wife.

We, therefore, find ourselves at a classic impasse.  I don't think either of us will want to back down over this.  It is going to come down to which of us can be most persuasive.  Or which of us is best at discretely bribing our daughter.  My wife has made it clear that when she is at home with our little one and I am out working, she will use the time to effectively brainwash her in to supporting the land of my wife's fathers.  I am seriously considering giving up work so that I can stop this from happening.