It's crap being English

[Paris]

Yeah sure, I'd rather be English than Scottish, Irish or Welsh when it comes to sport, but we ought to be better than that anyway.

We no longer have any heritage or national identity, our sports teams continuously fail to deliver at the crunch and it's twice as expensive as anywhere else.

What do we have - apart from the Premier League (which I'd argue is by far our most popular export, but even that's starting to turn crap now)

 

[Toffee in Jandals]

Your lot did just win the Cricket World Cup against us (albeit on a technicality!) a few months ago mate.

That said, the difference in winning mentality between the English and other countries was starkly illustrated by the South Africans last night. The English get crushed by the pressure heaped on them by their public, fuelled by the media. Arguably the winning mentality and confidence (perceived as arrogance) by other countries just doesn’t seem to be instilled in many English sports teams. Just my observations from a non-Brit.

 

[Prevenger17]

Aye mate, I'd hate to be you

 

[The binman chronicles]

One of the those posts that you have done too soon while the emotions are still raw.

To get to the final of the rugby world cup is decent, you just have to put your hands up when the other team was just that bit better than you on the day. Got to the semi of the football WC which given it was one of England's weaker teams in recent years is not bad at all. No one really expected it and ok maybe all said and done you should have beaten Croatia but France would have probably been way too hot to handle. As Jandels pointed out England won the cricket WC, so 3 world championships and 2 Finals and a semi is better than most countries.

One Englishman (I know not widely supported on here) should win his 6th world title later on today to become statistically the 2nd greatest in his sport. Several Tour de France wins this decade and a whole host of other sports where people from these shores are doing well, boxing champions etc.

I'd say that is punching above the weight given the size of the country.

I take it you were too young to remember the eighties and nineties where you would have had something to cry about bar from a smattering of exclusions during that period?

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Hate being English. We’re the koppites of Europe

 

[Nymzee]

Err cricket won a World Cup, rugby got to a World Cup final, football got to a World Cup semi-final, youth football won plenty of finals, Lewis Hamilton top F1 driver.

We could be a lot worse for a tiny island.

 

[Yarrgh]

Hate being English. We’re the koppites of Europe

Pretty much. Nobody likes us, we cause mayhem and destruction and we think we're the most charming yet superior people in the world.

We've even dragged Scotland and Northern Ireland out of Europe with our actions.

Grade A koppites at a nation level. We haven't even won a war in decades.

Having said that, other nations suck too.

 

[chrismpw]

I blame the Normans. For nearly 1000 years their repressive land owning feudal style has broken a people. The nation believes it's own hype about how good it is when really it's just been a nation of slaves to deference cow towing to the whims of the land owning overlords - the descendants of the Normans. Those whims were about continuing personal acquisition- the west indies, India, africa, Australia- anywhere where indigenous races could be invaded and subjugated by an army of obedient, broken deferential serfs.

We english have no backbone of our own - we just do as we're told. Deference is on the decline it seems, yet there are still enough in relative poverty who still vote the way the millionaires who own the media tell them to.

We are a right mess of a nation.

 

[Paris]

Err cricket won a World Cup, rugby got to a World Cup final, football got to a World Cup semi-final, youth football won plenty of finals, Lewis Hamilton top F1 driver.

We could be a lot worse for a tiny island.

Our island may be tiny but our population isn't - we're 20th, ahead of France, Italy and Spain who have won far more than we have.

I'm trying to think of a proper contribution we've made to the world during the last decade.

 

[Prevenger17]

I'm trying to think of a proper contribution we've made to the world during the last decade

You consistently provide the worst eurovision entries every year, which is impressive for many reasons tbh

 

[Prevenger17]

Line of Duty is pretty good

 

[Nymzee]

Our island may be tiny but our population isn't - we're 20th, ahead of France, Italy and Spain who have won far more than we have.

I'm trying to think of a proper contribution we've made to the world during the last decade.

Your opening post is about sport, what contribution is a sporting achievement to the world anyway?

 

[cronullasharks]

You've got the best tv comedy shows in the world i must admit

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

All I'm saying is it was mostly England that voted for Brexit. What a miserable narrow minded crew we are. Oh, and we can't be glorious at sport either...

 

[Tipp blue]

How can you say such an idiotic thing, rather be English when it comes to sport then state 3 countries that are a tiny fraction of the size of England, why would you point that out? The 3 countries you mentioned have a population less than greater London, damn right you should be better at sports, not something to boast about or have a go at the other countries for. It's similar to me saying we'll Ireland do better at the Olympics than England and boasting about it.