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Original poster

Why did the England players put medals on and then take them off?

420 replies

Opalfeet · 11/07/2021 23:19

I'm intrigued 🤔

OP posts:
Hathertonhariden · 13/07/2021 12:28

Is the only reason they give out the runner up medals an opportunity for a man in a suit to have a few minutes on tv as he hands them out? Otherwise they may as well not bother with them at all

SugarbabyMilly · 13/07/2021 12:29

To those of you who say only winning the whole thing is good enough.

Do you impart that attitude to your children? If they don't come top of the class in every test they're a loser? If they don't win everything in sports day they're a loser?

There's always someone better. And England never expected to even make the final.

Hdhdjejdj · 13/07/2021 13:29

You wouldn’t say it to a child. These men are adults though.

SugarbabyMilly · 13/07/2021 13:55

Surely you can see my point though that not everyone is going to win all the time (or ever)

And that England did way better than they expected.

Hdhdjejdj · 13/07/2021 14:30

Most teams do it. It’s a way of saying they share the disappointment of the fans. There is a big difference between teaching children that failing is ok and athletes who perform at the highest level. Most silver and bronze medalists will be devastated with their medals but Olympic protocol means they have to wear the medal on the podium.

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 14:35

@Hdhdjejdj

Most teams do it. It’s a way of saying they share the disappointment of the fans. There is a big difference between teaching children that failing is ok and athletes who perform at the highest level. Most silver and bronze medalists will be devastated with their medals but Olympic protocol means they have to wear the medal on the podium.
Yeah, do people really think that world class sportspeople really believe that 'It's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts'? That's fine to encourage school kids who are always going to be Johnny Last, but it's silly to expect high level professional sportspeople to agree.

And Olympic medal winners are different in the sense that they are the top 3 among many. At the start of the race (or whatever) they didn't know they'd get any medal at all, although obviously some will have expected it. By contrast, the England players knew they had already 'won' the runners up medal before even kicking a ball on Sunday. In fact, they knew it since beating Denmark on Wednesday. So as far as they were concerned, it was a loss.

IntermittentParps · 13/07/2021 14:37

Regardless of the England players knowing before Sunday they might not win, they finished in 'the top 2 among many'.

Hdhdjejdj · 13/07/2021 15:03

Some people are never going to get it. It may be better for those people to stick to egg and spoon races.

IntermittentParps · 13/07/2021 15:42

Do you really believe they are the only two possibilities? Grown adults taking their medals off rather than wear them graciously for a few minutes, or do an egg and spoon race?

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 15:44

@Hdhdjejdj

Some people are never going to get it. It may be better for those people to stick to egg and spoon races.
I think most of them never watched a football match until last week.
SmidgenofaPigeon · 13/07/2021 15:48

It’s great to teach kids that the taking part and doing your best is important because a lot of them have no interest or talent in sports but they don’t have much choice about taking part in sports day etc. That’s only really an important event to the select few in the most part. So it’s fine to take one for the team and just get on with it, win or lose.

If it’s your actual profession and passion that you’ve worked your arse off for and what you’ve chosen to go into above all other things, then no it’s not really comparable. Of course you’re not going to be happy to come second best.

Hdhdjejdj · 13/07/2021 16:11

@IntermittentParps It’s been explained to you why they did it. You still don’t accept it though. You are talking about these elite athletes like they are toddlers. Try to understand how things work in other peoples world beyond your own.

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 16:17

@IntermittentParps

Regardless of the England players knowing before Sunday they might not win, they finished in 'the top 2 among many'.
That's not how they will think of it though.

A study was done comparing the mental state of Silver and Bronze winning athletes. Contrary to what you might assume, the Bronze medal winners expressed more satisfaction than the Silver medal winners. The conclusion drawn was that the former were happy to get any medal at all, whereas the latter were disappointed that they didn'g get gold.

So on Sunday night, the England players won't have thought 'Well, at least we didn't go out in the quarter finals!" They'll have thought "We could have won it!" Especially given the nature of the defeat, what they will have felt - and what all of those supporting them will have felt - is crushing disappointment, not pride in their (considerable) achievements.

Maybe in time they will see things differently, but they are perfectly entitled to feel disappointed at losing on Sunday night. It's not as though they refused to shake hands with the Italians or stormed off before the ceremony. They just quietly removed their medals, like almost any footballer would have done. Big deal.

IntermittentParps · 13/07/2021 16:19

Hdhdjejdj, thank you for the patronising response.

In other sports it is different – e.g. tennis, as discussed on here, where those who have not won graciously accept their runner-up award, give an interview and spend time on court having photos taken with it.

These are also elite athletes. Is there an inherent difference between one of them and a football player that means that footballers must not be questioned for not being gracious about their runners-up medal?

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:21

To be the champions, and for that to stand out above all other places, by necessity second place cannot ever be good enough.

That isn't to decry second place, the pinnacle, the absolute pinnacle is to win.

To within 1000ft of the pinnacle of Everest is a hell of an achievement, but it will never satisfy the climber who wants to conquer it. 1000ft short might at well be base camp.

To be a few milliseconds short of a world record is stunning. But to an athlete setting out to break the world record, it may as well be minutes short.

To be nominated for an Oscar is a hell of an accolade. But to an actor, they won't be truly recognised for their greatness until they actual win one.

This is how it is. It's not churlish, it's not unsporting, or ungracious. It's simply failure to them.

IntermittentParps · 13/07/2021 16:21

Maybe in time they will see things differently, but they are perfectly entitled to feel disappointed at losing on Sunday night.
Absolutely. See my post above about tennis players. It's safe to assume that the loser/runner-up at Wimbledon thinks 'I could have won it!' There is feeling disappointed and then there is your behaviour about it.

They just quietly removed their medals, like almost any footballer would have done. 'like almost any footballer would have done.' is very much what we're talking about here –why is this accepted normal practice in football? What does that say about the sport, its participants, its fans and the culture around it?

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 16:23

What does that say about the sport, its participants, its fans and the culture around it?

It says football is a chavvy sport and its players should behave similarly to those in naice middle class sports like tennis.

That's what you really want to say, isn't it?

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:25

In other sports it is different – e.g. tennis, as discussed on here, where those who have not won graciously accept their runner-up award, give an interview and spend time on court having photos taken with it.

There are countless examples of runners up in tennis who are clearly in tears at losing, and if they had much of a choice, they'd rather just leave the court, and let the winner celebrate. I think they are obliged to stay, and be photographed.

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 16:28

@VerticalHorizon

In other sports it is different – e.g. tennis, as discussed on here, where those who have not won graciously accept their runner-up award, give an interview and spend time on court having photos taken with it.

There are countless examples of runners up in tennis who are clearly in tears at losing, and if they had much of a choice, they'd rather just leave the court, and let the winner celebrate. I think they are obliged to stay, and be photographed.

And the England players did stay. They congratulated the Italians and accepted their medals. They just took them off as soon as they could.

If they'd stormed off to the dressing room in a huff I could understand the criticism. But they didn't.

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:29

What does it say about those tennis players who hurl their racket in anger, or shout abuse at the umpire?
What does it say about that sport and those who follow it?
What does it say about a sport when a player with a world-renowned reputation for petulance is celebrated?
I worry for tennis. I feel it could learn a lot from football.

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:31

*And the England players did stay. They congratulated the Italians and accepted their medals. They just took them off as soon as they could.

If they'd stormed off to the dressing room in a huff I could understand the criticism. But they didn't.*

Indeed. They were gracious and sporting, despite their clear anguish.

IcedPurple · 13/07/2021 16:31

@VerticalHorizon

What does it say about those tennis players who hurl their racket in anger, or shout abuse at the umpire? What does it say about that sport and those who follow it? What does it say about a sport when a player with a world-renowned reputation for petulance is celebrated? I worry for tennis. I feel it could learn a lot from football.
Won't someone please think of the children?

Some of them might see Djokovic acting like an arrogant little shit and think that's a good role model.

mommydragonn · 13/07/2021 16:31

I didn't notice them take it off. I was too busy watching the UEFA president trying to grope the medals being handed to him from behind by his assistant. I was waiting for him to drop one. Sad, I know. But the way his hand was trying to find the medals was so panicked 😁

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:31

YOU CANNOT BE SEEEEEEERIOUS!!!!

VerticalHorizon · 13/07/2021 16:34

Tennis - a sport where Mental Health is dismissed as laziness, and those suffering from it face fines, or being expelled from competitions.

Hardly the model of modern civility at all is it?