Having lived in Australia for over five years and being bombarded with the local media in relation to biased reporting of your sporting teams, I’m beginning to wonder whether Aussies are just bad losers.
In this period of time it would appear no Australian sporting team has actually lost a sporting event legitimately.
Confused? Well all you have to do is tune in to any media coverage after your team has been beaten (that’s if you can actually find any) and sure enough there will be a reason why your team has lost.
These excuses mainly revolve around the opposition cheating to achieve the victory and have no limit to their ridiculousness.
This has been highlighted further by the recent Ashes series being played in England, but is not limited just to cricket.
Recently the British and Irish Lions rugby union side toured Australia, a huge event on the sporting calendar that only happens every 12 years in this country.
The touring Lions eventually won the series 2-1 with a convincing victory in the final Test.
However, as well as the usual excuses regarding ‘not scoring enough tries’, and ‘a boring, goal-kicking team’, was the Lions only won because of being made up of ‘multiple countries’.
Hello! The clue is in the title. It’s the British and Irish Lions. Not England or Wales or Scotland or Ireland touring, but a team made up of representatives from all of these sides, which is the reason it’s so rare and so special.
However, in various conversations with my next door neighbour I realise not everyone is clear which countries constitute Great Britain or the United Kingdom.
In quizzing him further he didn’t really know where Wales was. I’m hoping history and geography is still taught in schools, but to what level, who knows?
Wales is not a town, a city, a county or a state but an actual country. Wales, together with England and Scotland makes up Great Britain. Add Northern Ireland and you get the official title of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Hell, even your most populated state is named after Wales.
However, the main sport to grip the nation lately of greatest excuses has to be cricket and the Ashes.
I guess this started way back with the Bodyline series, where instead of England bowling half volleys to The Don to enable him to score another 300 runs, they decided to adopt a different tact of bowling short pitched deliveries aimed at the body with a strong leg side field.
And so the cheating began!
Since then, we’ve had doctored pitches, South African players, jelly beans and – more recently – DRS, players not walking (just substitute Stuart Broad with Ian Chappell, Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting and see if your opinion changes) and the latest breaking news, silicon tape on the side of the bat.
You just can’t make this stuff up, another scoop from the legendary, unbiased journalism from Channel Nine
Heaven forbid, instead of being bad losers and looking for further ridiculous reasons for your team losing, just maybe respected journalists could write an in-depth article on the demise of Sheffield Shield cricket and the lack of quality players coming through the system?
One final thought, maybe you could acknowledge that sometimes the better team actually wins and that your current team is just, well, pretty rubbish!
Franklin
Guest
Garth you are correct , body line was bowled over arm, the under arm incident was ordered by the Australian captain to be carried out by his brother, which demonstrated that some Australian cricketers represent the worst examples of sportsmanship in the universe
Franklin
Guest
Unfortunately most Australians could not even loose a peeing competition with out a dispute.
me, I like football
Guest
The Prince of Wales?
James
Guest
so your arguments are that englishmen in england are not bad but its when they have been introduced to the australian way of life and 'culture' and australian people that is when they become whingers? there is only one possible conclusion to draw from that and that is that australia make people whingey and as australians are here the most then they must be the most whingey.
Paul
Guest
I think the Bodyline series ushered in the era of modern sport: to win at all costs. It was demeaning, self interested and obviously unsporting (if this word exists anymore).
Andrew
Guest
If you don't like it; go back to the country you came from. Every country is driven by self interest. When I lived in England and NZ, their press was exactly the same.
Garth
Guest
I believe the first two phone calls Greg Chappell recieved when he got bach to the pavillion that day, were from Don Bradman & Ian Chappell, both of whom then proceed to verbally abuse him for the underarm order. Apparently, they considered it to be 'cheating' at worst, bad sportmanship at best.
Garth
Guest
+1.
Garth
Guest
At least the bodyline stuff was bowled OVERARM.
Montero
Guest
Mate, T20 & One Day Cricket are the only things that are keeping Test Cricket breathing sadly. Test cricket has been unsustainable by itself world wide for a very long time now.
Blaze
Guest
Figures...
JimmyB
Guest
Oh snap, you got me.
Blaze
Guest
Doubt it, seems they all reside out your way for now.
JimmyB
Guest
Thanks. Thankfully there's enough of you who aren't complete nobs as well.
Blaze
Guest
I will champ, know exactly where not to go again. Enjoy your move to Aus, and integrating with all us ignorant, patronising so and so's. there's enough of us here for it to be classified as a stereotypical trait.
JimmyB
Guest
Thought the "millions" would get you going. Blaze I stand by what I said, enjoy your travels mate.
Blaze
Guest
Patronising too huh? The term " globally was used as it was in reference to my travels... Yes I have travelled the globe. In no way possible did I mention I canvassed "millions" people... In fact I do believe I sed the people I met... You draw to whichever conclusion you like cause your going to anyway it seems. Why is using stereotypes lazy and inane? Stereotypes were the foundation of my comment to which you obviously took offence to, wonder why.... "You framed it as if it wasn't your opinion but all of the millions of people you canvassed on your travels" are you kidding me? Not only did you invent a number of people I met, you dismiss the common sense approach of basing ones opinions on actually speaking to all walks of life and sifting through many opinions... Not only did they assist in cementing my opinions on stereotyping nationalities, it seems they were spot on with poms such as yourself. If they indeed only gave me the perspective to see you in this light, then you have surely locked it in with your pathetic remarks... Childish even.
JimmyB
Guest
I sincerely hope that you're wrong Montero, I really can't imagine there not being Test cricket, are we allowed to offer up T20 as an offering in order to keep tests?
Montero
Guest
You better enjoy that wonderful thing while it lasts. Give it another generation but things are shifting when it comes to cricket here. 20-20/Big Bash is the future and Test cricket is dying not only here, but in most of the world. Most of the diehards are in denial but it's happening. People love their football codes way more than cricket here, Australia's poor showings in the Ashes for awhile now isn't going to help Test cricket's cause either.
Chris
Guest
Well, like anything you can always find some who will make up every excuse under the sun, but overall, I'd say on that specific series JimmyB is right, we got tonked by South Africa, and that was the end of it. I wouldn't extrapolate more widely from that, so I'm not necessarily disagreeing with your central point, but that series? Nah, stuffed we were.