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The whole point of the Union is getting together and stuffing the Aussies, Germans and the French -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7570978.stm
A bit of a desperate whinge to go on about it being Great Britain and not the English.
Out of 26 gold medal winners for GB 3 are Welsh (which must make Wales one of the top gold medal per head of population nations), 0 are from Northern Ireland and 1 from Scotland (local too busy eating fried food, shooting up and drinking Buckfast to do any exercise).Leave a comment:
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Not odd just did not paste it correctly the first time round. Not fast enough for some people round here!Originally posted by The Lone Gunman View PostLeave a comment:
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Oh to live with so little worries that this gets you worked up
NOT so fast, Sassenachs.
As it turns out, English sporting superiority over we antipodean colonials in Beijing - as if there could ever be such a thing - has been greatly exaggerated.
The Pommy gloating that has gone on for the past week over this supposed Olympic supremacy is based on nothing more than a sleight of hand.
It relies entirely on the old parlour trick of throwing Scots and Welsh and Northern Irish - as they have done whenever they have needed cannon fodder in wars - onto the Olympic podiums and having them sing God Save The Queen.
Australians who have been thrown into a bout of deep depression over having their colours lowered on the fields of play by the hapless Brits rest assured: yet again, we have won!
The English, population 60 million, have won nine gold medals at these Games.
Australia, with a third of the population - and in great part due to courageous young women from Queensland - has 11 golds.
The other seven claimed by the Poms were in fact won under the nonsensical banner of Great Britain with the help of the Scots and Welsh and a cyclist who was born in Belgium to an Australian father whose genes were obviously passed on.
Let us not even bother to discuss the contributions, especially in cycling where the British team claimed an astonishing eight medals, of Australian coaches who have fattened their bank accounts with British pounds.
Yet even with the billion dollars of lottery money at their disposal, we've beaten the Poms again. It serves to remind, as I often encourage Australians to do, of the inspired banner raised in London five years ago when the Socceroos beat Beckham's England, "If We Win This, You Suck at EVERYTHING".
The English born-and-bred gold medallists have been Christine Ohuruogu in the 400m, cyclists Victoria Pendleton (women's sprint) and Rebecca Romero (individual pursuit), double scull in rowing, all three sailing champions and, of course, swimmer Rebecca Adlington, whose success in the 400m and 800m freestyle prompted AOC chief John Coates to utter one of the immortal lines of these Olympics, "not bad for a country that has no swimming pools and very little soap".
The phenomenal success of cyclist Chris Hoy, the Flying Scotsman, was characterised by the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond as a "Braveheart" moment, evoking quite clearly the memory of the legendary freedom fighter, William Wallace. And whose army was Wallace heroically battling?
Salmond even complained that the Chinese refused to allow Hoy to wrap himself in the Scottish Saltire.
The other cycling golds relied on a Welsh woman, Nicole Cooke (road race) and in the teams pursuit, another Welshman, Geraint Thomas, as well as Bradley Wiggins, who was born in Ghent to a Tasmanian father, Gary, who was a well-regarded cyclist. So cross those off the list, too.
In the men's four, one of the rowers, Tom James, is Welsh, while another, Pete Reed, was born in Seattle, so they're out, too.
There will be much squirming from the Poms over this revelation, but once you hear them objecting, ask in return: If there's a united Great Britain Olympic team, where is the British football team?
Now this cuts to the heart of using Britain when it's convenient and abandoning the whole notion when it's not.
Why isn't Great Britain represented in football? Because the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish have their own teams and would shudder at the thought of playing alongside the Poms.
So, if you can't field a British team in the most popular sport on earth, then why does one belong at the Olympics?
Nice try with your faux medal count, old chaps, and with another victory safely secured, we look forward to seeing you next July for the first Ashes Test at Sofia Gardens, which is, ironically, in Wales.
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That link is not working.
[edit]Its OK now. Odd.Last edited by The Lone Gunman; 22 August 2008, 14:26.Leave a comment:
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Grapes of the most sour kind!!!!!
Take that you Antipodean Whinger 
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