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

darkman2

...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

The fun part is watching the inevitable beating.

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

Mackman

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

ynotdu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

Blazer

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

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

AMixedBag wrote: »

Did anyone irish actualy ever win Wimbeldon?

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

s_carnage

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

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

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

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

Quazzie

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

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

Poncherello wrote: »

He shouts "come on" after points

Maybe he's just a fan of Arrested Development?

BraziliaNZ

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

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

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

I can two headlines:

1. "British tennis player Murray wins Wimbledon final"

2. "Scottish tennis player Murray loses Wimbledon final"

stevoman

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

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.

Pop's Diner

stevoman wrote: »

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

Cash is very popular in the travelling community.

Quint

What's the big deal about wanting someone British to win? Hundreds of thousands of Irish support British football teams week in week out.

Pop's Diner

Quint wrote: »

What's the big deal about wanting someone British to win? Hundreds of thousands of Irish support British football teams week in week out.

Ah well that's different because of .... well ... nothing really.

Try telling that to the die-hard morons that support said clubs tho. :rolleyes:

speedboatchase

We are FAR worse, we went mad about our performance in the bloody Cricket World Cup and then pretended we actually cared about the sport, we've claimed Daniel-Day Lewis and Van Morrison as Irish, we can't win an Olympic medal above silver without cheating and treat silver as gold anyways and one of our most famous football results was a draw with england! If Murray wins, good for him I say, silly to mock them when Ireland has had zero tennis prospects in the last.. ever?

mercuroman

I used to hate Murray - then I found out that he was hidden under a desk at the Dunblane massacre and I feel sorry for him. Maybe I need to watch more BBC coverage to get my hatred back!

Pop's Diner

speedboatchase wrote: »

We are FAR worse, we went mad about our performance in the bloody Cricket World Cup and then pretended we actually cared about the sport, we've claimed Daniel-Day Lewis and Van Morrison as Irish, we can't win an Olympic medal above silver without cheating and treat silver as gold anyways and one of our most famous football results was a draw with england! If Murray wins, good for him I say, silly to mock them when Ireland has had zero tennis prospects in the last.. ever?

Van Morrison is Irish. Day Lewis holds full Irish citizenship.

Agree with you on the olympic drug scandal tho. Shame on that horsey!

BraziliaNZ

Pop's Diner wrote: »

Van Morrison is Irish. Day Lewis holds full Irish citizenship.

Agree with you on the olympic drug scandal tho. Shame on that horsey!

He's from Belfast, therefore UK-ish.

robinph

Stop watching foreign TV if you don't want to hear about their sports peoples potential prospects in any competition.

Pop's Diner wrote: »

I can two headlines:

1. "British tennis player Murray wins Wimbledon final"

2. "Scottish tennis player Murray loses Wimbledon final"

The BBC are keeping up with their policy of only calling him a British player as you said:

BBC News wrote:

And the interest in the Scot's progress is such that fans began queuing for the 500 tickets Centre Court tickets available over two days in advance.

Oh, hang on ... they didn't.

phasers

I hate tennis

Samba

It seems that Italia '90 has been long forgotten..

Give it a lash jack, give it a lash jack...

Slow motion images of Packie making his glorious save over and over and over again on network 2...

I can't quite remember the overly dramatic music they used to accompany those images.

http://timsrecipes.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/packie.jpg

Now just imagine we had won the WC!

Every nation blows their national trumpet, some just play it louder than others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pazh__1Kuus

Wertz

I say fair play to the guy....I'd like to see him personally win it, but conversely I'd hate to to see him win it because you know the brits won't shut up for a month afterwards...it's not even the triumphalism, it's the bloody smug, stuck u,p We Rule The Waves bullsh*t that comes with anything they win (or more often before anything they lose).

I like the guy's attitude on court; he's a fighter, he gets hot under the collar and shouts a bit or bloodies his fist...he looks like someone that really wants to win and I have toi respect that. Can he win? Possibly, he has more chance than Henman ever had (IMO), and like I said previously for his determination alone I'd ike to see him take it...it just means avoiding watching/listening/reading anything of a UK origin for a month or two...

mike65

There is an Andy Murray thread in "a Ranting and a Raving" did this get split off from it?

Famous45

Agree with Wertz, love Murray's attitude on court. He's a winner and strives to be a better player all round. Doesn't bother me what background, what country he lives or hails from, he's a top player in his sport and he entertains me with his talent and that's what I look for when I watch sport everyday and that's what should be discussed and not how the "British" rant and rave about him or not.

D Audio Tripper

Its hilarious, if England had a top tennis player the 'Wimbledon faithful' would probably be booing Murray!

getz

D Audio Tripper wrote: »

Its hilarious, if England had a top tennis player the 'Wimbledon faithful' would probably be booing Murray!

strange idea,but i may give you some joy, in the near future i honestly believe that ireland will have a world darts champ, and he will in the south of dublin

Handsome Bob

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.

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

So? I don't follow Tennis but I know it's a sport for the "uppercrust" of society in Britain. Is that your problem? That after a long list of drones in the sport that show no emotion, one guy comes along and actually shows a bit of passion for his sport? **** tact.

MrKingsley

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.

Id definitely agree with that. did you hear him last year during a match at wimbledon against gasquet? After chasing down a ball and hitting a good winner he proceeded to shout "Big forehand!". i just thought it was about as queer as you could be on a tennis court, or on tv for that matter.

And that is why i dislike him so much i think. Winning a point or a match isnt enough for him. He has to let everyone know how he did it

big b

"I dislike Murray, he's a brit.
Oh feck, seems he's Scottish & dislikes the English media more than I do.
He motivates himself during matches. Yeah, that'll do. I dislike him for that."

markok84

Tennis, tennis, tennis! what you people see in it I just don't know. A load of men hitting a little furry ball over and back over a net... the things you people think are fun, like going to see films, a load of men sitting around watching films, and shouting, a load of men going around shouting.... and so forth.

buckieburd

JimmyFloyd wrote: »

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!

For **** sake he is SCOTTISH. This really annoys me, we constanly get refered to as Brits, but the majority of us DONT want to be British. You wouldnt call a republican Northey British so why brand Murray who clearly refers to himself as Scottish as a Brit?

/rant over...