So there I was thinking "I actually want this British tennis player to win"....

darkman2 · 01-07-2009 3:36am #1

...I thought - wow a brit that is actually deserving to win a big sport title for once. I would gladly back any sports person to win that I reckon actually can win....but then, and I should have expected it, the BBC get going ramping it all up, giving it loads about how it is (and I quote) "a matter of who plays Andy Murray in the final" of Wimbledon. Now many of you probrably don't watch tennis, I very rarely watch it myself, but it is not only tennis. It is in every single sport the British have a team in (except if that team is Scotland whom they automatically assume are ****e, they have to have something to do with England to be world beaters). I mean every world cup that comes along they talk about the "spirit of 66" etc. But Andy Murray is of course Scottish but because he wins he is British - If he loses he is Scottish again.

It is actually interesting watching the tennis cause you can tell the American commentators are fed up having to ramp up Andy Murray in the way he has been (they know what side their bread is buttered on you see)...they dare not put a vowel out of place or talk down (god forbid) the British challengers or risk the wrath of the BBC. Fair enough he is a good player and all but jesus...

It has been rediculous but at every sports event they do the same thing. They talk the rest of the world out of supporting them because, rightly, we all assume that if they ever do win something major like a WC :eek: they will never ever shut up about it. I know you say we would do the same but they are bigger country and I don't know what we are all going to do if they ever do win a world cup....

K-9 · 01-07-2009 3:43am

The fun part is watching the inevitable beating.

Quotes Kevin Keegan "I will love it if we beat them, love it".

Mackman · 01-07-2009 3:46am

Ive noticed this too, i once heard an English commentator talking about the great British soccer player, Roy Keane......:rolleyes:

ynotdu · 01-07-2009 3:52am

Mackman wrote: »

Ive noticed this too, i once heard an English commentator talking about the great British soccer player, Roy Keane......:rolleyes:

lol mackman,like the GREAT british boxers who become Irish if beaten,ah sure leave them to god!

davyjose · 01-07-2009 4:11am

In fairness, given the draw in it (Federer will meet Djokvic in the semi/nadal is injured) it probably will be Murray Vs whoever in the final.....

/just sayin

pd101 · 01-07-2009 4:13am

I must admit it gave me great pleasure watching england lose 4-0 to the germans the other night. After the match they still thought they were the best team in the tournament.

JimmyFloyd · 01-07-2009 4:29am

I once read an interview from Andy Murray, he says that he wasnt able to get proper tennis training in Scotland so he went to the British Lawn Tennis Association (based at Wimbeldon) and asked for a grant and/or some help. They turned him down.

So he went to America where he was trained by (correct me if i'm wrong) Pat Cash.

So when he started to become a contender, they started calling him British, his response was "I wasn't British enough for them to help me, so i was and always will be Scottish"

Nice

JimmyFloyd · 01-07-2009 4:32am

Oh, and i once heard him give this answer when asked who he was going to support at the 2006 World Cup

"Anyone but England"

Love it!

swingking · 01-07-2009 4:48am

It's actually Murray's stupid attitude on court that bugs the sh1t out of me. The fact he is always shouting "come on" after every point and how he always does that stupid fist pump.

Plain and simple, Murray winning Wimbledon is gonna happen when pigs fly

JimmyFloyd · 01-07-2009 4:53am

I think if he was any other nationality i'd want him to win.

But the Brits wont stop going on about it for decades to come if he does!

In All Fairness · 01-07-2009 5:08am

ynotdu wrote: »

lol mackman,like the GREAT british boxers who become Irish if beaten,ah sure leave them to god!

You'd have to check but I think Harry Carpenter actually did this in the middle of the Barry McGuigan fight against Pedroza when he won the title.

IIRC "This great British boxer giving it all he's got Oh the Irishman's down"

Morzadec · 01-07-2009 5:17am

Personally I dislike Murray. Not because he's British, it's just because I find him quite cocky and dislikable. Like when last year he won a point and shouted out 'BIG FOREHAND!!!!'.

As for the Brits pumping him up, its natural. The Irish probably do it worse than the Brits. Just listen to Ryle 'Orgasm' Nugent doing the rugby commentary for any Ireland or Munster game. I think we kind of let ourselves away with stuff like this because we're a small country and the 'underdogs' in most sporting events.

But you can be assured that if there was an Irish tennis player as good as Murray out there you wouldn't hear the end of it in the Irish media, and commentators/pundits would have no qualms about bias and hype.

And also there would probably be no post on here complaining about the bias, the hyperbole and the nationalistic sense of pride in a sporting player that is somehow representing a country's interest. There would instead be posts of support, no matter how cocky he was.

It's the nature of these things, it's certainly not exclusive to Britain.

That said, really hope Ferrero beats Murray tomorrow.

IrishSerf · 01-07-2009 5:34am

I say let him win it. His roaring about it will be better then watching FedXP bawling on the lawn at least. Maybe Murray will tell the Brits to stuff themselves " I'm Scottish! And if truth be known I'm more Irish than Brit coz ive an Irish gr gr gr granny!"

OMG an Irish winner at Wimbledon:eek:. Bandwagon ho!

We all do it---- just ignore them.

mikemac · 01-07-2009 6:05am

swingking wrote: »

It's actually Murray's stupid attitude on court that bugs the sh1t out of me. The fact he is always shouting "come on" after every point and how he always does that stupid fist pump.

And some lady tennis player got ridiculed on BBC for making excessive noise....as some lady tennis players do
They absolutely ripped into her though Henman was a bit more tactful.

Anyway, Darren Clarke gets similar treatment, some weeks he's British and some weeks he's Irish.

I used to be a big fan of Lewis Hamilton. And rembered hearing about him back when he was karting. It was obvious 10 years ago he would be a star.
I didn't hear the British hype him then but once he reached F1, then it starts. It'd turned you off British media, well ITV anyway when they had coverage

AMixedBag · 01-07-2009 8:34am

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

Blazer · 01-07-2009 8:42am

AMixedBag wrote: »

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

A long long time ago ...

Both Willoughby Hamilton (Kildare) and Lena Rice (Tipperary) won their respective categories in 1890 and Joshua Pim from Bray won Wimbledon twice in 1893 and '94. A long time ago and you'd have to wonder what has been happening ever since.

Dudess · 01-07-2009 8:44am

darkman2 wrote: »

...I thought - wow a brit that is actually deserving to win a big sport title for once.

What...? Are you seriously suggesting no other "Brit" has been deserving of winning a big sports title? And yes, because the British media contains elements that do that stupid "(s)he's one of ours" stuff, that makes the entire population of England c*nts.
As Morzadec says, if Ireland won a ****ing table-tennis contest, the Irish media wouldn't shut up about it for years...

s_carnage · 01-07-2009 8:47am

AMixedBag wrote: »

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

No and it doesn't look like happening anytime soon either.

s_carnage · 01-07-2009 8:48am

Mathew Reilly wrote: »

A long long time ago ...

Both Willoughby Hamilton (Kildare) and Lena Rice (Tipperary) won their respective categories in 1890 and Joshua Pim from Bray won Wimbledon twice in 1893 and '94. A long time ago and you'd have to wonder what has been happening ever since.

Wow, did not know that!!!

Dickerty · 01-07-2009 8:50am

swingking wrote: »

Plain and simple, Murray winning Wimbledon is gonna happen when pigs fly

No, he WILL win it at some stage, and maybe even this year. Federer is playing brilliant, but Murray has a bit of a hoodoo on him, has beaten him maybe 5 of the last 6 meetings? Fed has an advantage on grass, but Murray may have the easier run to the final, if he makes it there. And Fed would have very little crowd support.

Dickerty · 01-07-2009 8:53am

Dudess wrote: »

As Morzadec says, if Ireland won a ****ing table-tennis contest, the Irish media wouldn't shut up about it for years...

We won a table tennis contest? Yay us!

See Katie Taylor as an example, most countries don't yet consider women's boxing a real sport...(though it certainly is)

Pop's Diner · 01-07-2009 9:18am

Personally, I don't understand tennis threads that aren't "which current womens player is the hottest?"

Quazzie · 01-07-2009 9:27am

Dudess wrote: »

As Morzadec says, if Ireland won a ****ing table-tennis contest, the Irish media wouldn't shut up about it for years...

Aren't we current elephant polo world champions. yeehaw!!

Poncherello · 01-07-2009 9:33am

Pop's Diner wrote: »

Personally, I don't understand tennis threads that aren't "which current womens player is the hottest?"

Agree !!

The anti-british thing is so boring tho. Get over it ladies.

Our media are much worse allthough they have toned it down a bit since our horses started doping in successive Olympics !

He shouts "come on" after points to get the crowd going. He is a smart player and knows that tennis is a game where momentum is so important and the crowd have a huge part to play in that.

If he gets to the final I hope he wins. That federer lad whats he like coming out on court with a feckin waistcoat on

Pop's Diner · 01-07-2009 9:50am

Poncherello wrote: »

He shouts "come on" after points

Maybe he's just a fan of Arrested Development?

BraziliaNZ · 01-07-2009 10:03am

Dickerty wrote: »

And Fed would have very little crowd support.

If Britain's Andy Murray does make it to the final I really hope the Fed Express steamrolls him. I can't see him having little crowd support, he's loved everywhere, I'd say it would be almost 50/50.

Quazzie · 01-07-2009 10:08am

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

If Britain's Andy Murray does make it to the final I really hope the Fed Express steamrolls him. I can't see him having little crowd support, he's loved everywhere, I'd say it would be almost 50/50.

are you serious. The Brits will be creaming themselves with a fellow brit on the main court at the final of Wimbledon, the cream for the strawberries won't be only thing that'll be in full flow

BraziliaNZ · 01-07-2009 10:14am

Quazzie wrote: »

are you serious. The Brits will be creaming themselves with a fellow brit on the main court at the final of Wimbledon, the cream for the strawberries won't be only thing that'll be in full flow

Yeah i know but probably half the audience will be fordiners anyway, it's london ffs! Well we can only wait and see.

Pop's Diner · 01-07-2009 10:17am

I can two headlines:

1. "British tennis player Murray wins Wimbledon final"

2. "Scottish tennis player Murray loses Wimbledon final"

stevoman · 01-07-2009 10:22am

AMixedBag wrote: »

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

Yes in fact. His name was Pat Cash, he was a traveller from Westmeath i think.

ferrigan101 · 01-07-2009 10:28am

Pop's Diner wrote: »

I can two headlines:

1. "British tennis player Murray wins Wimbledon final"

2. "Scottish tennis player Murray loses Wimbledon final"

It's like that for any sport over there, that was why I admired Murray when he first showed up 'cos he was very adamant that he was Scottish and not British. And the fact he lived down the road. His Ma is a wagon mind.:)
Hope he wins though, he's worked hard to get where he is and I think he could do it this year.

So there I was thinking "I actually want this British tennis player to win"....

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