If Monty Python were in the FA Cup final


With the FA Cup final just around the corner (Wembley Stadium, London, on 15 May), I thought it only appropriate to revisit what many consider to be the second greatest moment in English football history.

The Guardian reports in this article by Julian Baggini, editor of Philosophers’ Magazine, that, on 9 May, Python, philosophy and football will come together once again to not only debate the existential importance of the original Python sketch, but more importantly, to promote the teaching of philosophy in schools as the “fourth R” – and that would be reasoning. A mixture of academics and celebrities will take the field as Greeks and Germans, hopefully, with the hopes that scoring will not wait until the 89th minute this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfduUFF_i1A&feature=player_embedded

In case you missed Michael Palin’s brilliant call of the winning goal, here it is.

Socrates has scored! The Greeks are going mad! Socrates scores, got a beautiful cross from Archimedes. The Germans are disputing it. Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant, via the categorical imperative, is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx is claiming it was offside.


In: Comedy,Locations,Odds & Sods

  • I think of Monty Python’s Flying Circus whenever I hear a mentioning of the “FA Cup”. The philosophy football segment is one of the funniest ever, although wasn’t the FA Cup reference from another sketch, “World Forum”? (Q: Coventry City last won the FA Cup in what year? A: It was in fact a trick question. Coventry City have never won the FA Cup.)

    Thanks for the great post and for the memories!