Are the English just bad losers?

Question

On the way to work this morning I heard a radio presenter really taking the mick out of the South Africans and making jokes at their expense because of the cricket. I remember last year how the Portuguese were on the receiving end. Is this justified? Are the English really the best sportsmen and the rest of the world cheaters? Come on.

Answer 1

Well isn't this a popular little question....i can't be bothered reading the 140 odd answers before I put my penny's worth in. All I can say is that all teams win and lose the same way. England are no different to any other losing team (except that their coach is still alive....just, and their captain hasn't resigned....yet!). If England were winning, they would be of the same arrogance as the Australians. They're all the same....they're human emotions. We've all got arrogance and pride in us and the ability to sulk and spit the dummy and blame everyone else when things don't go our way. Don't just brand the England team bad losers....we ALL are at times.

Answer 2

There is a saying in English which was commonly used and heard in my childhood and youth - "play up and play the game" and "it's not the winning, it's the playing that matters."

In recent years [decades] the English have lost their sporting character and have become like Continental louts - whistling and booing is something the English never did in the past. Polite hand clapping was the order of the day and rather louder clapping if your side hit a six etc.

As a Welshman, I now have very little respect for English supporters and commentators. It's fine to be partisan if a person is a support, but not for a commentator. The job of commentator is to 'comment' on the game in view and not make snide remarks about the players or the winning side or about their country.

I would just like to add that as a Celt and a Welshman, I expect myself and my fellow countrymen to behave in the most barbaric and uncivilised manner one can possibly imagine on each and every occasion. Be it a game, a sport or war. I do not expect the civilized English to behave as barbarians. I at least have an excuse, I am a Celt after all, what do you expect?

Answer 3

The thing is that there is so much hype around every sporting event the English teams go into that the public eventually believe that not only the team or individual will win the competition but that they are put on earth to do it. And then finally when they lose the general public and media blame any one but the team or individual because they feel that they are so good they should have won so must have been cheated out of it by someone else so then they go on a mission to blame someone which then leads to players being dropped and managers sacked etc.

Answer 4

I think that the problem is that England win something and thats it all over for years to come. Football, win the world Cup and are no where close for more than 40 years. Rugby win the world cup and dont win a single game for more than 3 years. Cricket, win the ashes and play rubbish ever since.....Theres a pattern forming here maybe

My advice is the English teams should just aim for second place and that way they may achieve some level of respectability and not appear like excuse making incompetents.

P.S. I'm Irish so im well used to not winning..... except for a certain record breaking game of rugby a little while ago. I'm still celebrating that one !!!

Answer 5

The thing is that there is so much hype around every sporting event the English teams go into that the public eventually believe that not only the team or individual will win the competition but that they are put on earth to do it. And then finally when they lose the general public and media blame any one but the team or individual because they feel that they are so good they should have won so must have been cheated out of it by someone else so then they go on a mission to blame someone which then leads to players being dropped and managers sacked etc.

We can never accept that they were beaten by the better player or team.

Answer 6

Some of the English fans seemed very disappointed yesterday that South Africa won. SOME of the fans ; not the English team. All the teams , as I see it, even after heavy loses remain good sports towards each other, any bad feelings disappear after, the match. I even saw a few years ago, some Australian cricketers, praying and paying homage at Sir Frank Worrell's grave. Sir Frank Worrell was a great West Indian cricketer, and one of the greatest in the world, he must have worried opponents, but even his opponents knew that he was a great man from the opposing side. The sport teams are not generally bad looses, but a FEW fans need to keep their cool.

Answer 7

The English are bad losers - It's about time we took a leaf out of Americas book and played sports no other county plays and held a World Series where only English teams are eligible to compete. On the other hand why do the Welsh, Scottish and Irish always support whatever team plays against England? I personally always support France or Italy if they play any of the above as I am probably a decendent of Roman and Norman ancestry anyway!

Answer 8

Nope, We're great losers. Won the Ashes, lost em again. Won the rugby world cup, will lose it again. Won the football world cup in 66 and haven't won it since.

Pinned hopes on Tim Henman to wimbledon , not a chance in h*ll.

We don't encourage kids to take up sport at an early age. We underfund all sports (yes even football), sell off school sports fields to developers and then complain when we get consistently hammered at them around the world.

The ones we do win golds for at the olympics are things like sailing, rowing and shooting. All of which were pretty much funded by the competitors themselves and not by central governmant.

We can't even build the stadia to house sport in properly. Wembley has only just opened for business about two years late. Yet the French created the wonder of the Millau bridge (so high, canary wharf will fit UNDER it) on time on budget and more or less had to make up the physics to hold it up as they went. My hat is off to them.

So to answer your question, not bad sportsmen, just bad at sports

Answer 9

I wouldn't say we are bad losers just whining pricks when we are beaten. We tend to look more in depth at the referee's decisions and criticise them to the point where it becomes their fault for us losing. We always look for excuses! Take the 86 world cup when the famous "hand of god" incident took place, Maradona apart from Pele was THE most gifted footballer of all time whether you love or hate him and was and still is frowned upon for that incident where he hand balled the ball into the net. Yes he was a cheating phuck BUT if Gary Linaker had sneakily done exactly the same thing we would have condemned him for it but also have said "well the ref gave it so that's ok Hoorah we're in the final !! " We hate the fact that we get beaten in most sports that the BRITISH invented !

Crickets' a stupid phucking game anyway what other sporting game can last 4 frikin days !! HATE IT !!

.

Answer 10

Hey There,
The problem with England is Incompetent batting, openers have not been striking, Superb bowling but England cannot play shorts...England is more experienced on domestic level...They still believe in the text book cricket. Cricket has changed over time, if you look at Granghm smith, the way he stands, the way he hits the ball, look at Pakistanis, Indians,they change the game according to the wicket but england play with text book...It doesn't work like that anymore...If england don't change the way they look at cricket they will go like Bangladesh or some other third nation...

One day cricket is all about playing short strikes from ball # one...you cant just keep on saying.."this is the English
tradition, we love to play like this" no way, no chance, you have to innovate..the times have changed, you've seen Australia, a totally different approach, aggressive,
positive, thats the word in one day cricket...

In one day cricket, the best thing is to ATTACK otherwise you might get into problems..if they start doing things according to the book, they'll struggle..