Quote:
Originally Posted by jofillips
NBC, if you hate Britain and Wimbledon so much then why are you in Sussex and watching tennis there??
of course they're gonnna go on about a local winner just as Canadians would and should if Raonic kicks ass!
If you've been in Britain any amount of time you'd realise tennis is the biggest thing in the world for a few weeks in June/July then it's the least important sport ever!
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I'm not sure how you could have inferred this from my post. But It seems you did. For the record I do not
hate either Britain or Wimbledon, merely the BBC and the relatively recent jingoistic hype surrounding Andy Murray and his quest for Wimbledon glory.
I've been here long enough to remember what it was like pre-Andy Murray. There was no great British hope and the attitudes were tempered and expectations were muted. However, since Murray's rapid rise to the top (near) of the men's game, the hyperbole and fervour has increased 100 fold. The BBC's entire coverage of the Championships revolves totally around Andy Murray and his "chances this year." I'll give you an example, after each set in the final, the BBC had a short montage of the set highlights, winners, aces, key points, etc, all in slow-motion. Each point they showed was a Murray point and the only time they showed his opponent is when he slipped at the net on an attempted volley on a point which Murray won. It is this that I find ridiculous.
I generally find that sports commentary here in the UK is fairly non-partisan, with a few glaring exceptions - Olympics, tennis and boxing. Most other sports are pretty good. I didn't hear much gloating and exhorting during the last 10 minutes of the 3rd Lions test. The British commentators were excited but weren't handing the trophy to anyone before the end of the match. I though that was right to do. Tennis on the other hand - and not just Wimbledon. They'll do the exact same thing at the US and Australian.
So essentially the problem, like most things, is with the media and the BBC to be specific. To turn the last part of the comment around, If you had spent any amount of time in the UK watching sports you'd know how jingoistic the BBC and the wider media are during certain sporting events.
Barnet Flame's response is exactly how lots of people, including my British better half, feel about this. The media here goes overboard time and time again - all to the detriment of decent people who just want a bit of news.