The British and Sports
The Olympic flame, for now, burns bright in Britain - International Herald Tribune
Britain, it seems, is desperately short of heroes, and the minute any sporting figure reaches even modest altitude in the foothills of the champions, they are feted beyond all proportion. In 2005, for instance, when England’s cricketers beat Australia to win a coveted cricketing trophy called the Ashes, they were deified with a Bacchanalian victory tour of London in an open-topped double-decker bus followed by the bestowing of august honors at Buckingham Palace.
Then their fortunes fell. Only now, with a new skipper, the South African-born Kevin Pietersen, leading the cricketers to unaccustomed victory have they clambered from the abyss - a mythological mixing of Icarus and the Phoenix.
Across the sporting spectrum, it sometimes seems, post-imperial Britain has never quite gotten used to the idea that its teams and individuals may be less than the best. Every four years, for instance, the England team gears up for the World Cup soccer tournament, and its followers are filled with enthusiasm for the fray and glory. But, hardwired into the national memory is the knowledge that the English have not won the World Cup since 1966.
So true.