Murray Mania At Wimbledon
Strawberries, Pimms, yellow balls, carefully manicured grass courts, annual inquest into why Britain haven't produced a Wimbledon champion since Adolf Hitler was gearing up for the start of World War Two.
Like so many sports, we gave tennis to the world as a gift, a Victorian hobby passed on to the natives, and they took it from us and have taken great pleasure in being better than us at it ever since. For tennis, read football, cricket, boxing, rugby, and baseball (well it's basically rounders isn't it).
If anyone has been watching the excellent BBC Documentary Empire of cricket you will know exactly what I mean. At one stage or another over the last 50 years, a former colony has formed part of a new national identity by humiliating us in the sporting arena. But in tennis, the entire world has.
Britain's biggest contribution to modern tennis? No, it is not 'Come on Tim' Henman, it's not even Andrew Murray, it's Fred Perry clothing, named in honour of the man who last won the Wimbledon title in 1936.
At least we can take some pride in the fact that, at various times over the last 73 years, we have clothed the superstars who have lifted the game's biggest prizes.
Well done guys, great stuff. A good return on the millions of pounds which has been pumped into a sport played almost exclusively by the middle classes in elitist, clique tennis clubs in leafy suburbs up and down the country.
But no, this year, I'm going to throw off my cloak of cynicism and I'm actually going to get excited about Wimbledon for a change. Well, excited might be pushing it a little bit, but I'm going to take some genuine interest for a change and most of that is down to Murray.
What do I like about Murray? He deliberately opted out of the Lawn Tennis Association (so pompous, why is it not just be called the British Tennis Association?!) programme as a youngster and has been ploughing his own furrow ever since.
He is Scottish, he is a little bit posh, but not too much and he isn't polite and nice, he's aggressive and he's passionate. In other words, he isn't Tim Henman.
It probably isn't Tim's fault. He was ranked in the top ten for the majority of his career which is a major achievement in any discipline, but he just got on my nerves.
Or rather Henmania and Henman hill annoyed the pee out of me. Oh and Tim never did win that Grand Slam did he, he just kept up the habit of glorious sporting failures we Brits do so well.
Somehow I just believe Murray - who is sponsored by Fred Perry as it happens - will be different, that he might just lift a Grand Slam and that Britain will have a Wimbledon champions again so I'm jumping on the bandwagon like everyone else!
Come on Andy...... sorry what was that about first round upset?!
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Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Are you after some free Fred Perry gear or something?
I bloody hate Wimbledon, the whole event epitomises why this country can't play tennis. Its all limp wristed toffs, or wanna be toffs with nothing to fight for and that plucky loser spirit! I hate it i hate it I hate it! Its the Daily Mail of sporting events.
I agree with your point on Murray. The fact he doesn't like anyone and gets a bit angry endears him to me a bit more.
Oh and as a History expert, i'm sure you've heard of the Tennis Court Oath, one of the defining moments of the french revolution. Way before the victorian era! Although you have the "lawn tennis' defense to play.
Yes I'm not in a good mood today.
I hate Andy Murray. Snivelling, chinless wonder.
I hope he loses spectacularly in the First Round.
OK Luke - fair play your piece isn't bland this week but from my perspective your comments are some way off the mark. Jumping on the Henman, middle class loser, never won anything bandwagon is hugely unfair. Henman has been a great ambassador for this country and never left anything on the court when trying to achieve the improbable win at Wimbledon. Compare him with our fantastic array of footballers who haven't won anything since 1966. They are mostly working class but that didn't seem to make a big difference apart from the fact that so many of were not great ambassadors for their country. Oh and we've pumped significantly more than a few millions into football over the years both directly and indirectly. And why is it we pick on the Henmans of this world - the ones who were the best of their generation - rather then the poorer players who were unable to provide the competition to drive the best players onto better things. We should celebrate the fact that people have made the best of the ability they have rather than criticise them for not all being world champions - or maybe people will start whispering about Luke Edwards who managed to become sports editor at a minor regional paper but was never quite good enough to make the nationals. Here's hoping that Murray can go all the way but no thanks to occasional supporters like you.
I feel a bit guilty after Stuart's comment!
Interesting comment on federer on rqdio five last night. he is been in something like 19 of the last 20 grand slam finals, which is equivalent to Tiger Woods achieving a top two finish in the last 20 majors. that's some achievement.
Stuart, I'm not even the sports editor, just a humble chief sports writer. And, if you read the piece again I actually praise Henman for making the top ten, which I describe as a "major achievement in any discipline". I agree with your point re: football, think how we would fawn over an English footballer if he was among the best ten players in the world!
However, I don't particularly like tennis despite playing it as a youngster and I don't like the fact that, for just two or three weeks of the year, it is the most important thing on the planet, before it's relegated back to a minority sport. And then we wonder why we don't have any world champions. In fact, it's the whole mania thing which irritates me as well as the class divide. Tennis is rarely played in state schools for example, just private clubs which tend to charge a fortune for membership. I'm not saying everyone who plays tennis to a high standard in this country is posh as such, but they do tend to be rather better off than your average Joe. It's not, in my opinion, an inclusive sport for the masses which is why we haven't had much success at it despite the millions pumped in by tax payers and corporate sponsors. Rant two over.
Luke, the mechanics of tenis, i.e. the size of court required for just 2 or 4 people to play mean that it is never going to be as inclusive as a game like football where any bit of grass will do for a knockabout. Add that to the British weather and a need for a good proportion of courts to be indoors just increases that problem. That said I used to play tennis nearly every day in the summer holidays at the local park - it's just unfortunate that I was crap - don't think it was anything to do with my class. I don't see that it's the fault of tennis that our state schools don't play the game any more - and didn't play it much in the past either - you should talk to the government about that one. As far as I'm concerned tennis is as open as it needs to be. Anyone who has a genuine talent and a will to make it to the top can do so - being a champion is as much about overcoming hurdles as it is about raw talent. Your comments about Henman come across as nothing but damning with faint praise. Finally if you do want to make that sports editor position - which I'm sure you deserve - then maybe you should consider being more objective in your writing and less prone to basing your articles on your own preconceptions.
I have no desire to be sports editor, and this is my blog so I can write what I want based on whatever personal opinion I hold at that time. That's the point of it!
lol - fair point - it's your ball - keep it.
And I shall happily bounce it all the way home....
Stuart,
Can you change your name as you're making all Stuart's worldwide look like idiots!
Scumderland Echo not have a blog like?
Having said that do they even know Elvis is dead in Scumberland?
No. And in your case 79 it looks like the impression is perfectly accurate.
No, you don't know Elvis is dead?