The Counterproductive British Need For Tennis Success - Page 2

It seems to be a peculiarly British trait to need to affirm one’s own personal worth through the sporting achievements of others. In particular, I have never really understood how the England football team’s triumph over Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup could possibly still be something to shout about in the 21st Century. But in general, I fail to see why the achievement of someone to whom I have absolutely no personal connection should make me feel differently about myself, anyone I know or the country of which I happen to be a citizen.

However, if I were a fan, and my self esteem were affected by an athlete’s performance, I hope I would not do anything to increase the already significant pressure under which these people must find themselves. We can safely assume that they push themselves to be the best, and in many cases there is likely to be a significant element of parental exhortation. Then there’s the competition from their peers, who probably do everything they can to psych each other out and up. Do they really need an entire nation adding to this, simply because they have found themselves - for the most part, at least - incapable of realising their own ambitions?

There has been a lot of talk about ‘Britishness’ in recent years, wrapped up as it is with the immigration debate that continues - albeit in a very British way - to rage, fuelled by tabloid newspapers and the machinations of realpolitik. For my own part, I am very clear about what being British means, even though it is indefinable due to its constant evolution (as is every ‘nationality’). I am British and Britishness is me, plus 62 million other individuals, aggregated but not averaged. I am British because I was born in Britain, but that is just one small element of the glorious cacophony that is my persona. Unlike those who believe it is great simply to be British, I do not fear that my identity or that of the nation will not survive another sporting defeat, a change in the name and design of our currency, or the efficiency of Polish builders.

Article Author: cogitata

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw

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