After Eddie the Eagle "soared" in Calgary British funding for Winter Sports was severely cut. When today's British athletes talk about Eddie in Calgary they feel his legacy was a negative step backwards for the image of winter sports in Britain.
They can say that Keith, but as a Brit born, I feel it put us more on the map and made folks aware of the lack of winter athletics in the UK. We're not a snow sport country.
Look where our (GB) medals, or rare golds have typically come from over the years:
Athletics
Swimming
Rowing/Sailing
Shooting
OK Ice Dance (Torvill and Dean) is a winter sport but all you need is an ice rink, skates and the nerve to wear a ridiculous jumpsuit (kidding folks).
Typically we manage to grab a few from the type of activites a small Island Nation should be competetive in.
Funding for sports in the UK is not as great as in other places anyhow, add in the lack of a NCAA type college league (yeah the unis play but the scope is not as big). When you add in the lager lout culture, the general culture of it being about a good effort (jolly good show old chap) rather than winning is everything mentality, you can see why we don't rake up tons of medals, under achieving is a very British way of life in sports. I just don't see the infrastructure and gearing of sports there to drive talent on--unlike here where perhaps it is the other extreme at times.
As I have said before, elite athletes are pretty self centred and it's all about them (in general). That's not a dig, that's how they have to be to stay focused and get to the top. So when some start crying about the image of their sports, I think they need to get over it.
I don't consider myself to be a football hooligan, a monty pythonesque persona, a benny hil characterl, or any other silly British stereotype of folks from my ancestral home--if others want to think we're all like that, then that's ther issue, and we can all be inane about racial stereotypes.. These athletes are scapegoating Eddie for the general malaise of British Olympic Funding (that's an oxymoron) IMHO.
While I agree with your sentiment (was it you?) that the Aussies were a bit wrong to mock the guy, it wasn't the big finale, and 1 or 2 media goons are always on hand to get cheap laughs. If he got a few kids swimming, or even 1 pool built then it is an overall positive.
After Eddie the Eagle "soared" in Calgary British funding for Winter Sports was severely cut. When today's British athletes talk about Eddie in Calgary they feel his legacy was a negative step backwards for the image of winter sports in Britain.
They can say that Keith, but as a Brit born, I feel it put us more on the map and made folks aware of the lack of winter athletics in the UK. We're not a snow sport country.
Look where our (GB) medals, or rare golds have typically come from over the years:
Athletics
Swimming
Rowing/Sailing
Shooting
OK Ice Dance (Torvill and Dean) is a winter sport but all you need is an ice rink, skates and the nerve to wear a ridiculous jumpsuit (kidding folks).
Typically we manage to grab a few from the type of activites a small Island Nation should be competetive in.
Funding for sports in the UK is not as great as in other places anyhow, add in the lack of a NCAA type college league (yeah the unis play but the scope is not as big). When you add in the lager lout culture, the general culture of it being about a good effort (jolly good show old chap) rather than winning is everything mentality, you can see why we don't rake up tons of medals, under achieving is a very British way of life in sports. I just don't see the infrastructure and gearing of sports there to drive talent on--unlike here where perhaps it is the other extreme at times.
As I have said before, elite athletes are pretty self centred and it's all about them (in general). That's not a dig, that's how they have to be to stay focused and get to the top. So when some start crying about the image of their sports, I think they need to get over it.
I don't consider myself to be a football hooligan, a monty pythonesque persona, a benny hil characterl, or any other silly British stereotype of folks from my ancestral home--if others want to think we're all like that, then that's ther issue, and we can all be inane about racial stereotypes.. These athletes are scapegoating Eddie for the general malaise of British Olympic Funding (that's an oxymoron) IMHO.
While I agree with your sentiment (was it you?) that the Aussies were a bit wrong to mock the guy, it wasn't the big finale, and 1 or 2 media goons are always on hand to get cheap laughs. If he got a few kids swimming, or even 1 pool built then it is an overall positive.
