MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Looks like he'll still be British, until the final anyway
Serving for the match
Both, what with Scotland being a part of Britain. 😉
As a Scot, and much as it pains me, I agree with the cap'n.
Andy who?
Both, what with Scotland being a part of Britain.
Not quite what the OP was getting at though...
Good on him - sounds like he played well.
he's still a plucky brit as opposed to a dour scot
I am a bit ambivalent about him though - I have got over all that 'supporting another nation's footie team' bit, but he just doesn't excite me or get me interested.
scotch, always.
I'm really happy for him, don't give to s**ts where he is from he is getting better to watch now as well very powerful, athletic, still got a great drop shot. he will win a slam in the next 2 years. If (when) fed makes the final murray will have to bully him off court as feds still too good, but he has the power to do that. plus serena vs henin will be a great match.
have you thought of asking him?
that's the only way to solve this conundrum and spare us the jingoistic chest beating of sweaty socks.
will probably help avoid mentioning north sea oil, tax revenue, alcoholism and obesity too.
He's neither; he's a right dour little bugger.
Do the majority of Scots actually consider themselves British?
By that i mean that most people see 'British' as a political state of being, completely forgetting that they reside on the island of Britain.
Geographically he's British, whether he likes it or not!
MrSmith may not have realised it, but he has just ignited the blue touchpaper underneath our favourite faux-Scot, TJ.....
You can be both British and Scottish, can you not?
Do the majority of Scots actually consider themselves British?
In my experience, yes. The thing that annoys is when the word English is used as being interchangable with British. When a non UK citizen does it, it doesn't really annoy me but I will probably correct them but if you have been brought up in the UK you really should know the difference.
That annoys me too & i'm English!
I keep hearing from (i suspect Scots Nationalists) that they don't consider themselves to be British which is a strange idea unless Scotland can be physically seperated from the rest of the island.
I have a friend who knows jez green ( one of his fitness coaches) quite well, I think he went to loughborough with him. And by all accounts he's actually very down to earth and very good company socially quite the opposite to the way he often comes across and as the media like to portray him. Sadly it makes much better copy to paint him as your stereotypical dour English hating Scot.
[i]I will probably correct them but if you have been brought up in the UK you really should know the difference. [/i]
Your right, they should know the term English was used for British for years.
Scottish.
He knocked England once live on TV, very much distancing himself from England.
I mountain biked with him a couple of times a good few years ago - wasn't that great on the bike but fiercely competitive...gettign beat up the hills (or down them) and he'd start seriously grunting and then it was brute strength that got him going. Was a quiet kid and seemed fine, just very competitive - but he wasn't bad with it. No idea what he is like now...but good luck to him.
muddydwarf - Member
...I keep hearing from (i suspect Scots Nationalists) that they don't consider themselves to be British which is a strange idea unless Scotland can be physically seperated from the rest of the island.
Don't worry, rising sea levels from global warming will fix that for us
There's a nice application on Google Earth that lets you play around with sea levels. Unfortunately it doesn't mention how much carbon we have to burn to achieve this - curse those environmentally friendly windmills! 🙂
I'm English, he's Scottish, we are both Britsh. I don't care about any anti english comments he has made, I certainly would not rely on the media to interpret them. Good luck to him whether he wins or not, he is achieving a huge amount and it must be a pretty lonely existence being an individual sportman in the media spotlight.
He knocked England once live on TV, very much distancing himself from England.
So, the English dish it out but can't take it, it seems. English people are very frequently to be seen taking the piss out of the Scottish and Welsh.. but cue major upset when a Scot does it...
Can we just let it go and talk about the tennis? That's what he does after all.
I'm actualy more interested in him knocking the smug Swissman off his perch 😉
can somebody find out where he pays tax - then use that.
Win or lose who cares about the boring bloke!
He's British until he loses, then I hope those nasty English brutes remove him and his poor family from his croft as punishment and give the entire nation a reason for the comfort eating of unhealthy food and excessive alchohol abuse to negate their collective suffering.
keep hearing from (i suspect Scots Nationalists) that they don't consider themselves to be British which is a strange idea unless Scotland can be physically seperated from the rest of the island.
And what a sweet,sweet day that would be.
I see you have all forgiven him from the "anybody but Murray" thread a couple of years ago.His remarks about your football team should make it pretty clear where he is from.
I don't have a football team.
Can anyone come up with any links that the 'British when he wins, Scottish when he loses' journalism actually exists?
I can
Same paper, same journo
[url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/motorsport-news/2009/06/08/sixth-gp-victory-takes-jenson-button-a-step-closer-to-f1-world-title-86908-21424007/ ]Plucky Brit wins[/url]
[url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/08/31/jenson-button-remains-focused-despite-crashing-out-of-belgian-gp-in-40-seconds-86908-21637075/ ]Englishman loses[/url]
Oh hang on a minute I don't think that quite fits the accusation 😀
[i] unless Scotland can be physically seperated from the rest of the island.
And what a sweet,sweet day that would be.[/i]
+1,000,000
[i]And what a sweet,sweet day that would be[/i]
Damn right +38,000,000
And what a sweet,sweet day that would be
I like the shape of the UK and Ireland together, not quiet as good as Italy's boot but close, which is as good as reason as any to stay together.
There's absolutely no chance he's English - we're sh1t at tennis.
I don't know but I suspect that he was coached during his formative years in some warm climated foreign land, by a non-british coach
So, as a tennis player I'm not certain he should really be claimed by either
Ipersonally don't care. I'm a Scot who is British.
Somewhere up the thread there is an indication that as we are all in the same land mass we are all and always will be the same nationality. Does that make all teh people who live in China French then?
TW4T
I still dont know how we have a scottish tennis player. I have never, never, seen anybody playing tennis in Scotland. Except in wimbledon week when somebody chalks out a court on the road and use a washing line instead of a net. And swingball.
Never mind, the scotch can still claim Angus Podgorny as their own.
Andy Murray British or Scottish?
He's clearly both (and happy to be both, like the majority of Scots).
I don't know but I suspect that he was coached during his formative years in some warm climated foreign land, by a non-british coach
He was mostly coached in the UK by a Scot/Brit but from age 15 was also coached in Spain. He was already a highly ranked junior player by that point though.
If you lot don't stop fighting over him, we'll find an Irish relative somewhere and have him instead. 😛
I still dont know how we have a scottish tennis player. I have never, never, seen anybody playing tennis in Scotland.
When I was growing up tennis used to be quite popular around the time Wimbledon was on, but not so much the rest of the year.
In posher areas it's more popular though - my kids get tennis at school, and there is a fair sized tennis club not far from where we live now.
I suspect the same is probably true in England - popular as a participation sport with the more affluent, but less so with others.
popular as a participation sport with the more affluent, but less so with others.
Yeah - it's so they can practice beating the oiks.
Yeah - it's so they can practice beating the oiks.
Don't they have people to do that sort of thing for them?
The BBC report refers to him as being British and as 'The Scot'. Which makes sense.
Just disivered that you can hire the multi-use parks I play 5-a-side on for tennis as well. £20 an hour whether for tennis or 5s. So its £2 a head for football and £10 a head for tennis. They also charge £5 for some knuckledragger to come down and put the net up. I can see why its not so popular. And also, its rubbish. IMO
Don't they have people to do that sort of thing for them?
Yes old boy we most certainly do. Pimms anyone?
ime, tennis in England revolves around endless games of doubles, afternoon tea and scones.
quote Pat Cash, "....a very good player but he has that comfortable, middle-class look about him .... The snobby image of the All England Club and Queen's Club is not much help either."
They also charge £5 for some knuckledragger to come down and put the net up
Do you not have to pay £5 for knuckledragger to come and take it down?
no, it's usually been snorted or deep-fried long before anyone gets a chance to take it down.
They also charge £5 for some knuckledragger to come down and put the net up.
That's a highly derogatory statement which is insulting to anyone, probably Scottish in this case, who happens to be in that line of work. The fact that you have never seen anyone play tennis confirms that you must walk about with your head firmly up your @rse.
The weather is the biggest factor preventing tennis being more popular in Scotland. It can't be the cost as golf is probably more expensive and there are no shortage of courses and players.
BTW IMO he's Scottish and British
Just to clarify
Theres 2 sorts of British, The first is being a SUBJECT (please take note) of Great Britain- This is why sensible Scots denounce being British.
The second is being an inhabitant of the British Isles (which includes Ireland)- I dont see a problem with this softer designation.
As for Andy Murray, you'd have to ask him, but I do believe he's a Hibbie[code] ), unlike that self declared British sportsman the jambo Chris Hoy.
Also just to clarify,
ignoring the cultural/genetic aspects, is the only requirement to be a 'constitutional Scot' one of residency ?
What if an english bloke came along and beat Andy Murray, I bet Mr Murray would be just Scottish then!
As far as I'm concerned Hilldodger, If you live in Scotland,and like the place and want to stay here, then aye!.
BTW there are no genetic aspects, not a trace, to being Scottish.
Throw his "anyone but England" comments back at him: "anyone but Murray".
[i]As far as I'm concerned Hilldodger, If you live in Scotland,and like the place and want to stay here, then aye
BTW there are no genetic aspects, not a trace, to being Scottish[/i]
Interesting, so all the 'media hype' about what is it to be Engl/Scott-ish deosn't actually mean much to the average person ?
I certainly wouldn't even be able to define what it is to feel British let alone English 😕
When I was a kid way back in the midst of time tennis was common in Scotland - or certainly in Glasgow where I grew up. Every local park had tennis courts and you could hire them and the kit for pennies. Of course this was one of the casualties of the thatcher recession. There are still a lot of private tennis clubs - it was the summer sport rather than cricket. More of the posh kids sport now as there are few municipal courts left. I used to play with my school friends from Darnley and Arden.
Why does he do this?
I've just watched the interview with the BBC and regardless of how magic his tennis might be, why, oh why does one come away from his interviews thinking he's spent the last few hours with a Demontor from a Harry Potter movie.
He's so unenthusiastic about his play and the prospects ahead. How can we get behind such a colourless cardboard cut out of a human being when he himself seems almost bored by the whole process? I want my head to be buzzing with excitement, but just listen to his syllables in the interviews this afternoon, he's reading it all from some autocue. Just awful.
He is a tennis player not Winston Churchill, he trains to win tennis matches, I imagine he wants to get the media stuff done as quickly as possible so he can talk to his coaches and mum. We expect too much from our sport stars how rounded do you expect someone who is travelling 40 plus weeks a year from hotel to hotel who has spent much of his childhood training. And anyway he is funnier than Michael McIntyre.
[i]casualties of the thatcher recession[/i]
Crikey, I thought someone would have invoked TJ's law an awful lot earlier..
His media interviews on TV are lifeless monologues.
He is, I believe, contractually obliged to do post match interviews.
If he fails to connect with people on a human level such as he is at present, people will not follow his progress and he will fail to win our hearts & devotion as that is what is at the very essence of sport as a viewer - we want to be entertained and like it or not, his TV interviews undo so much of the tennis. Spending time with a media coach would be worth every penny spent imho.
Tim Henman was boring in his interviews as well and no one supported him either.
He fulfils his contractual commitments by turning up, they don't require him to be funny or witty and he does not try. Thank god for that based on what passes for wit on the BBC coverage of Wimbledon.
Ti29r - did you see the interview after the Nadal match - he was actually funny articulate and came over well - even a couple of laughs, Much to my surprise I might add.
Andy - glad my efforts are not wasted. In all truth the courts must have been very heavily subsidised and expensive to run. In a time of much skintness it might actually have been a reasonable economy to stop it.
As for nationality who cares? The "British if he wins Scots if he loses" is much less common than it was - I think the complaints got thru to the media but still happens occasionally. Its all a part of English folk using English and British as synonyms which still is a regular occurance.
Still when few of the folk of these islands can describe the difference between British Isles, UK and Great Britain and often use the terms wrongly it is hardly surprising.
>His media interviews on TV are lifeless monologues.,
Hey if Andy Murrays all you've got to complain about you've been getting off lightly. What about all the lifeless cricket drones we Scots get force fed by the English Meeja - that really is purgatory...
This thread is about Mr M.
I would like to like him, but he seems so utterly joyless in his interviews, which must take some doing.
I think the Dementors analogy is apt and quite disappointing as we could well see him rise to the very top - he's the equivalent of Mr Brown, fulfilling a stereotypical puritanical, frugal, colourless Scot - not what we want at all!
Some of today's tennis was exactly what we need - it was electric at times.
But I can't warm to the guy when his monologues are so utterly bland and without emotion or expression or colour. Listen to his inflections and tonal range when next you hear him being interviewes - today would be a great example. I think the highlight of his day going on today's emotive interview might have been saving electricity by switching off his fridge light.
Ti - but he wasn't like that in the interview I mention above.
TBH I'd rather he was singleminded and focussed on winning tennis tournaments rather than being a media darling, and speaking as a northern English person, I can relate to him more than I could to Henman and all the "Tiger Tim" nicey nicey Pimms and middle aged posh ladies getting overexcited about "Wimbers" each year.
His media interviews on TV are lifeless monologues.
Perhaps Andy is a little reserved due to the fact he suffered having to go through the Dunblane massacre as an 8 year old.
Give the guy a break.
He does seem to have gone a bit transatlantic in his accent these days- maybe he's not worried about anybody relating to him except Lloyd Grossman and Joss Stone?
Personally, I think he should improve his media image by locking himself in a room with tapes of Valentino Rossi interviews and some psycho-suggestive drugs.
Then, after cruising to another world championship victory, we could debate whether 'Andrea' Murray was British or Italian. 🙂
It'd be nice for the sweaties to win something. Maybe they'd feel better about themselves and stop being such lousy neighbours 😉
I think its more that he was set up in the interview where he ended up saying " anyone but England" and thus he is very cautious about what he says now.
Im Scottish but obviously British as well and come to think of it European also Im from the Northern hemisphere and mother Earth.
Good luck to Murray for sunday ,Im sure the whole of Dunblane , scotland and the UK will be cheering him on. He's a tennis player at the end of the day not a talk show host so why does he get a poor rep for being boring. FFS Tim Henman wasn't exactly a laugh a minute , Oh and he was shit at tennis.
+1 for WestKipper as our Murray Media Mogul.
He needs you WK, as sure as eggs is eggs. Can you start tomorrow?
(I think the whole "Perhaps Andy is a little reserved due to the fact he suffered having to go through the Dunblane massacre as an 8 year old" is a bit below the belt as there's never an answer to that)
Sorry, I'm not sure the drugs idea is too good.
Unlike us cyclists, tennis players never take drugs. 😉
If Henman was so "shit" at tennis how come he won so much in prize money, wasn't he also second in the world rankings for a while?
I wish I was as good as him at at anything.
Did come across as a bit boring but then again Sampras wasn't excactly a bundle of laughs.
Maybe (as someone mentioned) being a world class athlete takes a different mindset to all us MTB experts on here?
I think he says he is Scottish so let’s just leave it as that.
Always come over well on telly, I think. He seems intelligent and thoughtful, which is decent enough. On my list of sportspeople I'd like to meet.
I'd be crap at interviews if I was an elite sportsman. Big if like! The questions are so inane with all the usual cliches being trotted out. He must just go on to auto pilot. Also, getting interviewed at the end of a hard match must be pretty tough - some matches last over 4 hours. After a 4 hour bike ride I don't usually feel like talking 😀
BTW for the benefit of thos who didn't see it, BBC Scotland regional news referred to him repeatedly as British. More times than they called him Scottish anyway.