I was wondering if some of our British members could help me with a point of popular culture.
I remember reading somewhere (alas, I can't remember where) that there was a slight difference between American and British attitudes toward losing at football.
That the American attitude was summed up in Vince Lombardi's famous statement, "Winning isn't everything--it's the only thing."
But that the British attitude could be summed up in a somewhat different motto: "Never lose."
In other words: it doesn't matter if games end in a scoreless tie; just don't lose.
Furthermore, the author argued that this attitude had led to some pretty dour football in Britain in the 1970s, including a lot of professional fouls.
Can anyone confirm or deny the existence of this "never lose" motto? I can't for the life of me remember where I read this, and my internet searches have been fruitless.
I remember reading somewhere (alas, I can't remember where) that there was a slight difference between American and British attitudes toward losing at football.
That the American attitude was summed up in Vince Lombardi's famous statement, "Winning isn't everything--it's the only thing."
But that the British attitude could be summed up in a somewhat different motto: "Never lose."
In other words: it doesn't matter if games end in a scoreless tie; just don't lose.
Furthermore, the author argued that this attitude had led to some pretty dour football in Britain in the 1970s, including a lot of professional fouls.
Can anyone confirm or deny the existence of this "never lose" motto? I can't for the life of me remember where I read this, and my internet searches have been fruitless.
