Are the British Gods of Sport? Discuss.

Alain Quay

I thought Britain was more like this

and this


than this


What went right?

markhewitt1978

We got tired of decades of under achievement and decided to do something about it?

JackPozzi

Well only 3 out of those 4 were actually born British...

daviesee

People are finally coming to the conclusion that football is over hyped cr@p and focussing on other sports.

Oh, and it's the close season. Back page normality will resume in August.

simonhead

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

smidsy

They say that Andy Murray is the best thing to come out of Dunblane in years.

Surely the best thing to come out of Dunblane will always be the B8033 :-)

estampida

its a generational thing

25 years ago every kid wanted to be a footballer, but look at the sport now full of no hopers, that can't keep their hands to themselves on a pitch, never mind a nightclub or hotel room........ never mind passing a drugs test on a monday morning....
the prime example would be John Terry, what a team playing sportsman.......

almost every other sport shows adult human thought and emotions and it can be a social event (football is never that social, look at all the middle aged wankers causing trouble on a home darby)

genetically we have the same chances as northern europe, us / canada and oz, and we also have a habit of letting foreigners play our sports for us which can skew the stats but all this sport coverage and cheap sports equipment from china has given people a step forward

still nowhere near germany in sporting power but 25 years from now........

and any country that starts using self arse licking words like gods of sport deserve to fail, it's the humility that the Uk is very good at

and:

simonhead wrote:

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class
sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

who you talking about, Sir Chris Hoy ?...........

VTech

Murray lives and did his rounds in the USA.

Don't British cyclists train in Spain ?

Problem with the UK is that they spend poorly IMO.
I the sporting fuss were a company, those in charge would be sacked in most cases.
Spend wisely and reap the rewards in the future.

Mindermast

Ok, you've got Sky, London 2012 (twice even), in the world, UK is famous for football and hooligans. Germans praise the British sportive spirit (don't ask me, why and what it means). You also got kricket, which nobody else understands and exported polo to the rest of the world. Apart from that, you have toast, baked beans, tea, and fish and chips, you (co-)invented the financial weapons of mass destruction and had one of the most powerful women in the world (Merkel should be glad to be much later than Thatcher). And you have even had a "Grand Départ du Tour de France" in Yorkshire. So, what is the problem?

finchy

Mindermast wrote:

Ok, you've got Sky, London 2012 (twice even), in the world, UK is famous for football and hooligans. Germans praise the British sportive spirit (don't ask me, why and what it means). You also got kricket, which nobody else understands and exported polo to the rest of the world. Apart from that, you have toast, baked beans, tea, and fish and chips, you (co-)invented the financial weapons of mass destruction and had one of the most powerful women in the world (Merkel should be glad to be much later than Thatcher). And you have even had a "Grand Départ du Tour de France" in Yorkshire. So, what is the problem?

This post is very :?: :? :?: :? :?: :?

Frank the tank

In reply to the OP, no we're not.

We are enjoying a bit of a "purple patch" at the moment but it will not last. Success requires investment and across the board (of all sports) there is not enough,and some towns/cities are actually losing facilities.

Enjoy the sporting success we have, wherever/whatever it comes from.

seanoconn

JackPozzi wrote:

Well only 3 out of those 4 were actually born British...

That's so unfair, we have loads of British born stars...

Bradley Wiggins
Mo Farah
Laura Robson
Beth Tweddle
Kevin Pietersen

To name but a few

VTech

seanoconn wrote:

JackPozzi wrote:

Well only 3 out of those 4 were actually born British...

That's so unfair, we have loads of British born stars...

Bradley Wiggins
Mo Farah
Laura Robson
Beth Tweddle
Kevin Pietersen

To name but a few

Awesome
When your not in the running on your own soil, pop over to the UK and hit the highs

seanoconn

VTech wrote:

seanoconn wrote:

JackPozzi wrote:

Well only 3 out of those 4 were actually born British...

That's so unfair, we have loads of British born stars...

Bradley Wiggins
Mo Farah
Laura Robson
Beth Tweddle
Kevin Pietersen

To name but a few

Awesome
When your not in the running on your own soil, pop over to the UK and hit the highs

Where do you go if you're not in the running in the Uk? Because wherever it is, I'm there!

marylogic

simonhead wrote:

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

This is nonsense. The Scots have always been good at producing sportsmen. As long as those sports don't involve too much physical effort - snooker and golf spring to mind

seanoconn

marylogic wrote:

simonhead wrote:

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

This is nonsense. The Scots have always been good at producing sportsmen. As long as those sports don't involve too much physical effort - snooker and golf spring to mind

Great at bowls too

ballysmate

seanoconn wrote:

marylogic wrote:

simonhead wrote:

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

This is nonsense. The Scots have always been good at producing sportsmen. As long as those sports don't involve too much physical effort - snooker and golf spring to mind

Great at bowls too

Sh1t at Shove Ha'penny though. They got the 'Yips' and couldn't let go of the coin.

pliptrot

The whole world was shaped by Britain and the British - the first representative democracy, the first proper legal system, the first well organized Government...You could go on and on. The only time I ever agreed with Tony Blair was when he stated that the British were the finest nation on earth. So no surprises that we produce exceptional sportsmen, when we produce exceptional people in every walk of life, have invented pretty much everything that matters, etc. etc. etc.

marylogic

Ballysmate wrote:

seanoconn wrote:

marylogic wrote:

simonhead wrote:

As a nation we are getting a bit good but bear the Scots can only produce 1 world class sportsman at a time (and even then he prefers to live in Surrey).

This is nonsense. The Scots have always been good at producing sportsmen. As long as those sports don't involve too much physical effort - snooker and golf spring to mind

Great at bowls too

Sh1t at Shove Ha'penny though. They got the 'Yips' and couldn't let go of the coin.

Can't argue with that.

The problem is a lack of commitment to Shove Ha'penny by the Scottish Government. If we are ever to raise our game we need to increase funding at the grassroots level. Otherwise we will always be sh1t

simonhead

http://www.scotzine.com/2011/08/scotland-are-world-champions-after-beating-mexico/

They did win this in 2011

chris_bass

VTech wrote:

Murray lives and did his rounds in the USA.

Don't British cyclists train in Spain ?

Problem with the UK is that they spend poorly IMO.
I the sporting fuss were a company, those in charge would be sacked in most cases.
Spend wisely and reap the rewards in the future.

no he doesnt, he lives in surrey! he travels a lot and trains abroad in the winter i'll give you that but he likes wimbledon because he gets to live at home for the tournament!

as for scotland only producing one sportsperson at a time? chris hoy only recently retired and murray and him definitely overlapped! and anyone who says ally mccoist is anything short of a fine athelete is clearly mistaken!!

daviesee

Chris Bass wrote:

VTech wrote:

Murray lives and did his rounds in the USA.

Don't British cyclists train in Spain ?

Problem with the UK is that they spend poorly IMO.
I the sporting fuss were a company, those in charge would be sacked in most cases.
Spend wisely and reap the rewards in the future.

no he doesnt, he lives in surrey! he travels a lot and trains abroad in the winter i'll give you that but he likes wimbledon because he gets to live at home for the tournament!

as for scotland only producing one sportsperson at a time? chris hoy only recently retired and murray and him definitely overlapped! and anyone who says ally mccoist is anything short of a fine athelete is clearly mistaken!!

Judy decided when Andy was a youth that he would be better off out of the UK system and went to Spain to develop his talents. It may have been partially funded by the system (I don't know) but she has been proven to have made the right decision.

adamfo

Mindermast wrote:

Ok, you've got Sky, London 2012 (twice even), in the world, UK is famous for football and hooligans. Germans praise the British sportive spirit (don't ask me, why and what it means). You also got kricket, which nobody else understands and exported polo to the rest of the world. Apart from that, you have toast, baked beans, tea, and fish and chips, you (co-)invented the financial weapons of mass destruction and had one of the most powerful women in the world (Merkel should be glad to be much later than Thatcher). And you have even had a "Grand Départ du Tour de France" in Yorkshire. So, what is the problem?

Er... Most sports with codified rules come from the UK. What sports played internationally originate from Germany ?

As for soccer England have beaten Germany 12 times, drawn 5, lost 11 !

VTech

Wasn't simon fuller the backer of Murray in the early days ?
I was under the impression that he lived out in Miami and only had a hour law in Surrey as well as the castle (which he plans to turn Into a 5 star resort) in Scotland.

daviesee

VTech wrote:

Wasn't simon fuller the backer of Murray in the early days ?
I was under the impression that he lived out in Miami and only had a hour law in Surrey as well as the castle (which he plans to turn Into a 5 star resort) in Scotland.

Define early days.
I was talking about when he was a teenager. Your info pertains to more recent history.

VTech

Ive no true knowledge of it at all, its just what I read somewhere. Also heard a conversation on the TV when Fuller was sitting with Murrays mother about him being a financial backer to his training costs, not sure when.

simonhead

Dunno about Murrays early days but he has a house in Oxshott that he is at a fair bit. The local shop delivers his papers and he isnt the best of tippers at Christmas in that area.

ballysmate

simonhead wrote:

Dunno about Murrays early days but he has a house in Oxshott that he is at a fair bit. The local shop delivers his papers and he isnt the best of tippers at Christmas in that area.

A Sweaty not tipping? Surely not! Especially someone as happy go lucky as 'Our Andy'

markhewitt1978

It seems we are finally realising that there are sports other than football. And that can only be a healthy thing.

daviesee

markhewitt1978 wrote:

It seems we are finally realising that there are sports other than football. And that can only be a healthy thing.

See my post on page 1. It is only temporary until the season resumes.

markhewitt1978

daviesee wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

It seems we are finally realising that there are sports other than football. And that can only be a healthy thing.

See my post on page 1. It is only temporary until the season resumes.

Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. But one can only hope that football is put in it's proper place as a sport that's played over the winter because it's too cold for proper sports.