The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Sporting failure is not in the national DNA
Typical Scotland.
That’s the first reaction to moments like Saturday afternoon when we had our hopes raised by Leigh Griffiths and then dashed a couple of minutes later by Harry Kane.
It’s as if we all remember our place again and remember that holding on to a lead and beating England isn’t what we do.
Other countries like Australia and America are looked upon as born winners, while we’re considered to be glorious losers.
Once the frustration passes away, though, that just can’t be true.
Scotland didn’t lose that injury-time goal because it was somehow written in the stars that we don’t win games like that.
I’m not a specialist on the technical aspects of football, but we lost it because one player chose the wrong option when he had the ball and another couple of them didn’t react well enough after it.
They didn’t suddenly start thinking ‘we’re Scottish so we can’t win this’ and muck it up!
No doubt mental fatigue was a big factor, but nationality certainly wasn’t.
There can be no correlation between our rugby team, our football team, our golfers or our curlers.
Andy Murray’s career sums it up best.
For years he was portrayed as a ‘typical Scot’. When it came to the big moment he found a new and more painful way to not win.
But what he proved is that you do shape your own destiny and that the sporting history of your country doesn’t make the slightest difference.
He ended up winning Grand Slams and Olympic golds because he kept putting himself in the position to win them.
That’s what the Scottish football team will have to do.
It’s understandable if some people – even the players – would rather the game had finished at 1-1 and we’d all been spared the heartbreak of going ahead only to be denied at the death. But that shouldn’t be the mindset. If you want to get better, having an experience like that will improve you. There is always a next time.
Look at speed-skater Elise Christie. Nobody could have had a more demoralising Olympics than her last time. But she’s bounced back the right way by winning world titles and she’ll be a favourite at the next games in a few months.
For the Scottish football team, when they are in a position to hold on to a lead again, and if they’ve learned their lessons, it will be a different ending next time.
Superfight is easy sell
The hype over the Floyd Mayweather comeback fight against Conor McGregor is huge already.
Mind you, you will struggle to find anyone who is predicting the UFC fighter will win.
The promoters will do their job, though, and by the time fight week comes round all the folk who believe it’s a walkover will stump up their pay per view money.
Tall order for Lions
I’ve been keeping an eye on how the Lions are getting on in New Zealand.
Sport is tough enough at the top level when you’ve had a long time to gel as a team and you’ve been given proper preparation time. The Lions have had neither and they’re going to be playing the best team on the planet.
It really would be a fairytale story if they could beat the All Blacks.
The sporting history of your country doesn’t make the slightest difference.