Is Britain the Greatest sporting nation on Earth?

Is Britain the Greatest sporting nation on Earth?

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johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2015
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DJRC said:
Tim reached no 3 or 4 in the rankings didn't he?

Andy's brother Jim is one of the best doubles players in the world.

And the team is through to the Davis Cup semis against Aus who look beatable. Let me guess, it still won't count even if they win the semi and the final will it?
some people have impossibly high standards

hairy

323 posts

239 months

Tuesday 28th July 2015
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We certainly have the most successful sportsman, George Digweed, now has 26 world titles spanning 4 decades, all for clay shooting. I don't think anyone in the world has equalled that?

Oh and he also has an entry in wisden for a league match in Sussex, 5 overs 5 maidens and 8 wickets!

There is currently a petition running to get him a knighthood

.http://email.change.org/mpss/c/0AA/SCE/t.1p3/TWc0SIbgTXGDjZNhg8tFgQ/h5/W9oZwjoGX5ulRlet7FB-2BvPvkNfGlUVGQTy1leFR8j3KE78ofVumArVl2koKR9W17jJx5-2BCk8NE5nM05tXgRgKkrKOi4THWVAPO5R2qMFBxHKE5w5yiTy4K-2BXw2uEhJEDiGfVEag3UpF943lNyaUPfBnokEW6f-2BMjXEOCToTtOJq8xOHPQitTJm4WXL1V0ENYOlqtuoVte9znpvayPMM7VpJ4uJZdDb4JdD4wU1fMLDQspEcK1q7bkA4-2FK88Nrm3O5Qx4UqbI4MMLr9BS6pdGZQ-3D-3D

Thankyou4calling

Original Poster:

10,595 posts

172 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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England's cricket team are contributing to the claim of Britain being the greatest sporting nation.

Johnny

9,652 posts

283 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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biggrin

Quite.

BJG1

5,966 posts

211 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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MarshPhantom said:
Vocal Minority said:
MarshPhantom said:
It's also strange how no one bats an eyelid at the fact plenty of people who play cricket for England weren't actually born here.


Ditto Chris Froome.
In fairness of the team expected to play in the Ashes today it is only Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes who weren't born in England. Stokes moved here at the age of 12, so his sporting education was predominantly English.
Says a lot that it's OK as there "only" 2 non English players in the team.

Imagine how much better the England football team would be if they just draft in foreign players as and when required.
A little racist, mate. He said not born in England, not that they aren't English. If he's been here since he's 12 and he identifies as English, he's bloody well English.

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

151 months

Thursday 6th August 2015
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Just this - there are a multitude of things that make up nationality- its way more than where you popped out of your ma. Parentage, heritage, cultural influence, where you have lived and how long you have lived there. What you 'feel'.

It all counts.

For example, apparently Craig Keiswetter turned down the chance to play for the Proteas as he wanted to play for England, as he felt English - he was born in Jo-berg. (I read that somewhere, it may be apocryphal)

Thankyou4calling

Original Poster:

10,595 posts

172 months

Friday 12th August 2016
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Well, with GB currently fourth in the medal table I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Friday 12th August 2016
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Thankyou4calling said:
Well, with GB currently fourth in the medal table I thought I'd resurrect this thread.
Just watching our Girls do well today in the Heptathlon just seen our boats win two Gold going to be watching our Cyclists win Gold tonight so not bad for a small Island

AW111

9,455 posts

132 months

Friday 12th August 2016
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Not aimed specifically at the UK :

The Olympics.
Where millions of people sit on the sofa eating crisps and drinking beer, while watching a few hundred professional athletes on the TV and telling each other "we're a great sporting nation".

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

163 months

Friday 12th August 2016
quotequote all
AW111 said:
Not aimed specifically at the UK :

The Olympics.
Where millions of people sit on the sofa eating crisps and drinking beer, while watching a few hundred professional athletes on the TV and telling each other "we're a great sporting nation".
I think that's the point sport in the UK is popular both to watch and to participate in at all ages.

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

116 months

Friday 12th August 2016
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thankyou4calling said:-

"Well, with GB currently fourth in the medal table I thought I'd resurrect this thread".

This is exactly what we need!

What about a 'resurrect an old thread', thread?

Edited by The Mad Monk on Friday 12th August 18:38


Edited by The Mad Monk on Friday 12th August 18:39

williamp

19,213 posts

272 months

Saturday 13th August 2016
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out of date already: we're third in the medal tables (and top of the F1 table for both drivrs and constructors)

lionelf

612 posts

99 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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Its' becoming an interesting question now:

Pound for Pound are we the now the Worlds Greatest Sporting Nation?

The Olympic Medal Table certainly points that way.

BJG1

5,966 posts

211 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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I think it's pretty safe to say we're the greatest sporting nation on earth now, yes.

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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lionelf said:
Its' becoming an interesting question now:

Pound for Pound are we the now the Worlds Greatest Sporting Nation?

The Olympic Medal Table certainly points that way.
Based on GDP, Iran, actually! Those tables always throw up anomalies though as it only takes a very, very poor nation to have one or two exceptional individuals to stick them top of the pile (Weightlifting, in Iran's case).

Take out the two anomalies (Iran and Fiji) and the top 3 based on GDP are still exactly the same as the 'conventional' table (1. USA, 2. GB, 3. China).

Funnily enough, the medal table weighted by population also has the same top 3 in the same order.

https://landing.google.com/altmedaltable/

So, by all the common metrics we're a reasonably comfortable 2nd greatest sporting nation on Earth in terms of Olympic sports.



lionelf

612 posts

99 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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ukaskew said:
lionelf said:
Its' becoming an interesting question now:

Pound for Pound are we the now the Worlds Greatest Sporting Nation?

The Olympic Medal Table certainly points that way.
Based on GDP, Iran, actually! Those tables always throw up anomalies though as it only takes a very, very poor nation to have one or two exceptional individuals to stick them top of the pile (Weightlifting, in Iran's case).

Take out the two anomalies (Iran and Fiji) and the top 3 based on GDP are still exactly the same as the 'conventional' table (1. USA, 2. GB, 3. China).

Funnily enough, the medal table weighted by population also has the same top 3 in the same order.

https://landing.google.com/altmedaltable/

So, by all the common metrics we're a reasonably comfortable 2nd greatest sporting nation on Earth in terms of Olympic sports.
How, weighted by Population, are the USA ahead of the UK???

They have 7 times the population of the UK but only 2 times the medals!

Yet that website shows them above the UK when weighted by population.

https://landing.google.com/altmedaltable/results/

DeltonaS

3,707 posts

137 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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BJG1 said:
I think it's pretty safe to say we're the greatest sporting nation on earth now, yes.
Der Spiegel says no.

http://sportal.spiegel.de/spiegel/olympia-2016/med...

Not measured in total, per head, GDP absolute, GDP per capita or country size.






DeltonaS

3,707 posts

137 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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lionelf said:
Its' becoming an interesting question now:

Pound for Pound are we the now the Worlds Greatest Sporting Nation?

The Olympic Medal Table certainly points that way.
And pound for pound invested certainly not. From what I've heard since Atlanta 1996 (when GB performed very badly) GB has invested a lot in prof sports. Even more so up to the London Olympics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics...

BJG1

5,966 posts

211 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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DeltonaS said:
Der Spiegel says no.

http://sportal.spiegel.de/spiegel/olympia-2016/med...

Not measured in total, per head, GDP absolute, GDP per capita or country size.



Sports is bigger than just the Olympics... You cant really count tiny nations that win one medal either as their per capita measure is hugely skewed. If Using Bolt was from the Vatican they'd have tgr best per capita ratio but obviously wouldn't be the best at sport. Similarly a country that excels at one sport (Iran and Jamaica for example) can't lay claim to being the greatest sporting nation on earth.

As for your second post, I don't understand the relevance of looking at investment. Of course a large part of the reason we are so good is because we invest heavily in sport?

mph1977

12,467 posts

167 months

Monday 15th August 2016
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Amirhussain said:
England are absolutely and utterly st at football. Score goals against piss poor teams in the qualifiers, but flop at the real stage.

How many of goals did England score at 2014 world cup? 2? And even they were cancelled out by the opposition.
because the league game is still suffering the curse of ' route one' ...

if you look atthe step change in performance i nthe olympics and cricket / rugby it;s becasue the systems have seen a big overhaul

Whereas when the FA tried to overhaul youth football to reduce the even bigger reliance the youth game had on route 1 ( 11 and 12 year olds playing on full size pitchs in 11 a side games etc ) all the armchair / touchline experts said it was ruining the sport.