LONDON, ENGLAND – There are certain questions for which we all seek answers, and for us a desire for said answers all came to head watching the Wimbledon Knighting of Andy “What Am I?” Murray. Because the English could muck up a rock fight, we had plenty of time to ponder, stew and then boil as rain delays (despite a state-of-the-art retractable roof) and time curfews became the focus rather than a simple game of back and forth in a quiet, old stadium. But the 2016 Olympics Rugby, Andy Murray & British Hypocrisy have been the source of our befuddlement for quite some time and here are our questions:
1) When is Andy Murray British and when is he Scottish?
2) Why in blazes isn’t Rugby in the 2012 Olympics as an Exhibition Sport?Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
3) Why the hell do England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (?) get to put an All-Star team in the 2016 Olympics in Rio 2016?
4) If we’ve evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
5) Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
After much due diligence and researching via pints of ale, lager and stout, we were able to come up with the f0llowing common denominator for questions 1-3… British Hypocrisy. How else does one explain the readily known fact that Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish when he loses. The late, great thespian Richard Harris – and fanatic rugby fan – once said on the The Tonight Show – with Johnny Carson – that when he won an award he was “The great British actor” but when he lost he was “Irish.” Here’s a clip that suggest this hypocrisy:
https://youtu.be/NVk1xEyZO-s
Scottish Andy aside, we can’t for the life of us understand the hypocrisy of allowing the best 7s players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (if they even have 7s players) to band together. This is rugby we’re talking about. These are the nations that go to war against each other on the pitch in the HSBC Sevens Series, Six Nations, and Rugby World Cup. Does that meant the Americas can team up? Canada, Argentina and the USA could come up with a formidable side… Or would they??? See, there’s where this hypocrisy will likely backfire. Do the British & Irish Lions ever beat a Tier 1 Nation’s first-side? Rarely. Granted, you can make the point that in recent years the Lions aren’t what they used to be but just check their history – we only remember the upsets. And what of the star players that don’t get to play? How about the stories that won’t get told of players that worked tirelessly and sacrificed to represent their nation in rugby at The Olympics? Remember, only SEVEN players take the pitch.
As for the London Olympics… Can anyone tell us why Rugby isn’t an Exhibition Sport in these games?! They are in London, for *Ben Gollings‘ sake! Could you imagine the crowds at Twickenham for Olympic Rugby?! Good golly. More hypocrisy – this one of Olympic proportions.
With that, we’ll leave you with Sir Richard Harris and Sir Peter O’Toole at the 200o Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham. Suffice to say, they would have been at the Exhibition Matches, British Hypocrisy be damned!
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