Do you think it's bad sportsmanship to publicly cry if you lose in the final?
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harple (
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July 9th, 2012
At Wimbledon yesterday, the first Brit to make it to a final for 73 years lost. In the interviews afterwards, still on court, Brit player Andy Murray became very emotional and took some time to thank the crowd etc.
Today on the radio there was much discussion about whether it was self-indulgent and unsportsman-like.
What’s your opinion? Should he have swallowed his emotion, and allowed the focus to be entirely on the winner, Roger Federer, or given the circumstances was he justified in expressing his emotion in front of a home crowd? Should the BBC have indulged it?
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23 Answers
It is not unsportsmanlike. It is, however, mildly pathetic.
No, athletes are are very sensitive, especially in the emotional heat of competition.
Some people will always be on Murray’s case, moaning bastards I like to call them.
The guy put his heart & soul into that match & I was proud of both the way he played & the emotion he displayed in the post match interview.
Show’s how much he cares, Federer is no stranger to tears on court & he too acknowledged Murray’s passion.
Keep at it Andy, you’ll win a slam sometime soon or maybe even olympic gold, good luck to him say I.
@bkcunningham Thanks for the share! I wasn’t sure one I could find would show in the US :-)
Another valid point worth making is these players go through hell in pursuit of glory & immediately have a microphone thrust in their face & are then expected to act like emotionless robots…..not going to happen.
I admire them both. Great players. You are welcome, @harple. I’m glad you didn’t mine that I posted the video. It is a must see.
If it is honest emotion, I approve of it. If it is feigned for the public’s consumption, then it is pathetic.
In Murray’s case I believe it was honest and he will be respected for it.
Seeing a sportsman with actual genuine passion for his own country and his own fans is a fucking good show, compared to the majority of money grabbing tossers these days…
No it’s not un-sporstman like, it’s human. This guy and every other elite athlete has spent most of his or her life making sacrifices and trying to do the best they can at their sport. It can be a horrible disappointment if you don’t make the grade, and might make them feel like they’ve wasted their lives at that very moment. Which is really very sad, because they’ve come so much further than any of the rest of us non-athletes, or weekend warriors ever will be.
In figure skating, they actually call the area where the skaters go to receive their marks, along with their coaches The Kiss and Cry Booth.
Sometimes emotions simply can’t be controlled. Andy Murray just hated his public expression of emotion as he is quite a private person but he just couldn’t help it. It was genuine emotion and genuine tears bursting through. What would sport be without emotions? If there was no anguish, hope, despair and joy what would it be?
I don’t think it is bad sportsmanship, just raw emotions. His whole country was behind him and he probably felt he let them down.
Hell, I was watching this and I almost shed a tear witnessing his thank word.
For what it’s worth, he grew more sympathetic to me after that performance (the match and the speech).
Him and Federer, are my favourite players; seemingly genuine guys.
You mean, ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ and all that? I believe that men are now allowed to show their emotions as well as women. In my opinion, showing that you care is better than hiding it. Let it all out! It’s healthier.
Not at all. It takes putting ever ounce of ones emotions and hopes into playing at the level to reach the finals in a Grand Slam tour tournament. Add to that Wimbledon is the oldest tournament on the tour and a Brit hasn’t won since 1936. Andy Murray had all that riding on the match. He’d have to be a frigging robot not to have any feelings after the loss. I greatly admire the sportsmanship both he and Federer showed.
Absolutely not. I don’t think he expected to cry, just was overcome. It is completely fine in my opinion. If there was suddenly a trend of everyone who loses shedding a tear then it would seem out of hand, but sometimes we just get emotional to the point of crying, I don’t think anyone needs to hold it back in most circumstances, winner, loser, male, or female. I felt for him. Must be tremendous pressure, and of course dissappointing, dissappointment for himself and responsibility he felt to not dissapoint those who wanted him to win. I can’t understand why anyone would see it as unsportsmenlike. I don’t think he was trying to steal the spotlight.
Society says it is manly to cry about sports, wins and losses. But not about anything else, that is sissy.
Given the level of emotion that a lot of athletes invest in their sports, I don’t think it’s bad sportsmanship to cry after a loss, especially when one is overwhelmed by the support of their compatriots in such a cathartic moment.
BTW, the last Brit to win a grand slam singles event was Virginia Wade, when she won Wimbledon in 1977. I would love to see a replay of her title match. I think I was too involved in a brief romantic distraction back then to pay that much attention to sports, so I don’t think I ever got to see any of her Wimbledon matches that year.
IIRC, Lady Wade (a title that I have unofficially bestowed on her) had a 120 MPH serve.
I’d love it if she reached out to Andy in a gesture of support.
@Brian1946 I can’t see that happening anytime soon, she accused Murray of being a drama queen who exaggerates injuries on court. Like I say, too many whingers on the guy’s case.
For what it’s worth, I have totally faith in him winning slams & have always felt the US Open will be his first, roll on Flushing Meadows in September then.
@ucme – I don’t think he can beat the joker on hard courts. Wimbledon is his best shot, next year maybe!
(and he was a whinger as a youngster, he is okay now and I thought his speech after he lost to Federer was very good and showed maturity even if he did bawl)
@rooeytoo Oh he’s still a whinger, Lendl helping him overcome his on court body language being one of the reasons he’s improved over the last year.
You see, there are those in Britain who love to build up our sports stars only to knock them at every oppurtunity once they taste success, any excuse to dig some dirt or whatever.
Murray went to the same school in Dunblane where a lone nutcase shot & killed a load of kids while they were at their lessons in 1996, he’s made of strong stuff & I think he copes admirably with all the shit flung his way.
The US Open will see him win his first major, if not this year, then definitely next, mark my words.
No. He was emotional and probably exhausted. He reacted accordingly. He wasn’t disrespectful to Federer. Stoicism can be overrated.
No, I think sport can cause emotions to run high especially when you train so much for one goal. You push your body and mind to the limits and when you try your hardest but it’s not quite good enough I have no doubt that it would be gutting. Stomping your feet and throwing a temper tantrum would be unsportsmanlike but feeling emotional enough that you can’t help but cry a bit is a sign that this person, despite everything, is still only human.
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