Are We a Nation of Bottlers?

[Fish]

While there may be 1 point I agree with and that her coach should also take up (the approach at 5-4 and in T/B), I think most of your conclusions are rubbish!

Off to get my popcorn

 

[jimbob.someroo]

Off to get my popcorn

haha nah i'm not biting happy to leave it at that. If people are content with us doing okay-ish in our sports then that's fair enough.

 

[bladeplayer]

A million miles from the original point. Absolutely nothing wrong with losing to a better team / player. However, had your team been 4-0 up with 10 minutes to go, and lost 5-4, I imagine your assessment of their performance would have been different.

Ok fair enough point mate , can we go back to her last match then, saving 3 match points (i think) to come back and win , the other girl bottled it then it wasnt that she played extremely well (your words i believe) and came back ?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And so back to the Brits as bottlers - rethink today perhaps?

Or were Australia, Djokovic, Contador, Evans et all of the TdF peleton poor and if they'd performed anything like they could then things would have been different from where we sit today. I guess we Brits were just lucky this weekend and the miseries will have us still s***, and will continue to tell us that the fantastic triumphs of Brits in the Paralympics and Paralympics were a flash ion the pan - a mirage - an illuision. Ah well - they can wallow in their miseryt and I'll continue to celebrate 'Great' British sporting success all over the place.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And so back to the Brits as bottlers - rethink today perhaps?

Or were Australia, Djokovic, Contador, Evans et all of the TdF peleton poor and if they'd performed anything like they could then things would have been different from where we sit today. I guess we Brits were just lucky this weekend and the miseries will have us still s***, and will continue to tell us that the fantastic triumphs of Brits in the Paralympics and Paralympics were a flash ion the pan - a mirage - an illuision. Ah well - they can wallow in their miseryt and I'll continue to celebrate 'Great' British sporting success all over the place.

...and I forgot - GMac wins the French Open

 

[jimbob.someroo]

And so back to the Brits as bottlers - rethink today perhaps?

Or were Australia, Djokovic, Contador, Evans et all of the TdF peleton poor and if they'd performed anything like they could then things would have been different from where we sit today. I guess we Brits were just lucky this weekend and the miseries will have us still s***, and will continue to tell us that the fantastic triumphs of Brits in the Paralympics and Paralympics were a flash ion the pan - a mirage - an illuision. Ah well - they can wallow in their miseryt and I'll continue to celebrate 'Great' British sporting success all over the place.

Fantastic weekend for British sport and great individual and team performances. Not sure that Team Sky's success in the Tour can entirely be included with more than half their current squad being non-British (17/27), but am more than prepared to claim it as one

Still don't think that this one weekend makes up for some of the disappointments of the past, mentioned earlier in the thread, but hopefully the times are a changin'. Fingers crossed for The Ashes and The Open!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Bottlers..........strange expression. I assume it means a baby crying after it has lost it's bottle.
So in answer to the post ..NO.

We seem to be all over the place with this one, England one moment, Great Britain the next.

England expects..............way too much of it's sports stars.
First woman player to get to round 4 of Wombledon, and she gets ripped to pieces by 'fans' and media when she loses.

Plenty of British golfers with 'bottle'! Cotton, Lawrie, Faldo, Padraigh, and G Mac are good examples.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

England expects..............way too much of it's sports stars.

And we Jocks expect way too little - as I was a fully signed-up members of Ally's Army I know what OTT expectation feels like and also the feelings of consequent failure. So I set myu expectations low and wonderfully find that they are almost always exceeded.

 

[stevie_r]

Bottlers..........strange expression. I assume it means a baby crying after it has lost it's bottle.
So in answer to the post ..NO.

No mate, it means not having the mental strength and courage to see something through to a successful conclusion if things get a bit tough or when the chips are down etc etc.

 

[jimbob.someroo]

No mate, it means not having the mental strength and courage to see something through to a successful conclusion if things get a bit tough or when the chips are down etc etc.

Yup, not as has been misinterpreted throughout this thread as someone just playing rubbish or losing to somebody playing well.

More somebody in a commanding position 'throwing it away' as in Laura Robson in the first set serving at 5-2 up in the tie-break, or the England Cricket team against India needing not all that many runs with plenty of wickets left and crumbling.

Plenty of examples of us showing bottle which have been brought up by others earlier in the thread. But IMHO Chris Froome claiming the yellow jersey isn't one he's simply the best in the field with the best team around him.

Martin Kaymer holing that 5 footer to retain the Ryder Cup or Justin Rose's defeat of Phil Mickelson in the same comp are pretty good examples of 'having bottle'.

It's a bit of a naff word I guess, but thought 'choke' might have been a bit harsh?

 

[Imurg]

I don't think we as a Nation have exclusive rights to bottling by any means.
There's been plenty from "Jonny Foreigner" in recent times....
Mickleson at Merion and Scott at Lytham to name just 2 from Golf
And if you look deeper at the PGA I'm sure you'll find many instances.
Get into other sports and you'll be able to fill your boots

All top athletes are capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Mainly coz we're Human....

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I am aware of what the term means but wonder how it originated.
Lost his bottle.........of what?
Pills, whisky, lemonade, magic spells.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I'm guessing - if you've got bottle you've got the guts to go into a 'bottle' fight at risk of getting bottled.

 

[stevie_r]

I am aware of what the term means but wonder how it originated.
Lost his bottle.........of what?
Pills, whisky, lemonade, magic spells.

I guess you searched the interweb and didn't find a definitive answer then? Neither did I.

ps magic spells do not come in bottles - they are found in books

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I guess you searched the interweb and didn't find a definitive answer then? Neither did I.

ps magic spells do not come in bottles - they are found in books

Aladdin may disagree.

 

[MegaSteve]

Greg Norman was a well known 'bottler' was he not?

 

[bladeplayer]

Plenty of British golfers with 'bottle'! Cotton, Lawrie, Faldo, PADRAIGH, and G Mac are good examples.

eh?