When it came to sport it used to be simple. Europe ruled football, America took the plaudits in boxing and Britain floundered around looking to blame everyone else when we did rubbish at everything except darts and snooker.
Now in the Confederation Cup, the USA football team have not only overhauled World Champs Italy in the group stages but have just knocked out Europe's best team in Spain to reach the final.
In heavyweight boxing it is the East Europeans now ruling the roost that America formerly claimed with all 4 of the Heavyweight titles firmly in the clutches of a couple of Ukrainian brothers and a Russian.
With Wimbledon dominating the TV schedules there is a very good chance that if you watch a woman's match, there will be an East European woman involved because suddenly woman's tennis seems to be swamped by them.
In the top 10 World female rankings, 8 hail from Eastern Europe, 5 of them Russian, with the 2 American William sisters making up the number.
A common criticism of the new breed of Champions from that side of the continent is that they are perfunctory, robotic and humourless which is in complete contrast to the razzmatazz and arrogance that Americans especially bought to sport events. It was this that made it especially sweet when they then lost. It seems that when one of the new breed of Eastern Bloc sports personalities win or lose, they keep it all under control which gets kinda boring.
I'd like to see one of the Klitchko's jump over the ropes, cartwheel around the ring and then recite a couple of rhyming couplets along the lines of that old joke about knocking his opponents teeth so far down his throat he will have to stick the toothbrush up his zhopa to clean them.
Can't see it happening though. Hard to find anything to rhyme with zhopa.
3 comments:
I always forget that there is an American soccer team. We could win the world-whatever and 70% of us wouldn't hear about it. A pity. The States don't deserve a good soccer club.
-Nog
Lucy,
Is this really your list of sport: soccer, boxing, tennis???
I see you expanded the definition of Europe to include the Russkies... which suits your purpose. I thought Russia was in Asia...
You forgot other professional sports that consume a huge number of American athletes like football, basketball, baseball, hockey and golf.
If American's only played soccer, boxing, and tennis they would dominate all three!
Q
PS - at least you didn't try to offer up cricket as a major sport...
PSS - In US sport the "controlled" approach began to deteriorate about the same time that Blacks began to dominate US sport. Talking about "arrogance" and how sport was changing was seen as racism. Now "arrogance" and "smack talk" are part of sport here. Oh well, time changes things for those that are able to adapt to other cultures and cultural beliefs...
I thought Russia was in Asia. I know you are joking so i wont bite.
Boxing because America dominated the heavyweight division for as long as i can remember. Now all the titles are owned by East Europeans.
Football because America has just reached the final of the Confederation Cup, knocking out Europes best team.
Tennis because it has always been a general mix of all nations, now the E Europeans are taking all the top spots.
Basketball, baseball, hockey and American football are very much American sports and not played worldwide on the scale of the 3 i went with. Same as cricket and rugby here.
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