Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
NI IS part of the UK as the UK = Great Britain + NI and people from the UK are British.
However, people from NI also qualify for Irish passports from the island of Ireland - not exactly the same as being from the RoI.
He did represent Ireland at the Olympics - but I don't know if he refers to himself as Irish, Northern Irish or British. Or if he has a British passport and/or an Irish one.
What doesn't help, is Team GB being called 'GB' because it is actually team UK - it is very unfair on any competitors from NI who compete for Britain as it is Team GB +NI or Team UK
I was making a pedantic point, but hey...
People from Northern Ireland can choose UK citizenship if they desire, just as they can choose Irish citizenship.
So, it's only if people from Northern Ireland choose UK citizenship that they can be (loosely) described as British.
It's enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had a territorial claim in its Constitution, so that when people of my vintage were born their Birth Certificates often recorded their nationality as Irish, there's an interesting/slightly bonkers historical footnote around Irish Nationalist political responses to Partition in the 1920s).
It is something that actually gets people's backs up quite a bit.
If you listen to his interview with BBC NI last night, Rory McIlroy clearly views his golfing career in a wider Irish context. He's also far from being alone in being from Northern Ireland and representing Ireland at the Olympics.
He may well also carry a UK passport, but he generally seems mostly to refer to himself as Northern Irish (which was definitely becoming a bigger thing until something that happened almost a decade ago).
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
Born in Britain but considers himself Irish.
Refused to play in Rio Olympics, then subsequently opted to represent Ireland after that
Holywood in Co. Down is not in Britain (the North Channel separates Northern Ireland from Britain).
So, unless his mother had him in a very unusual form of water birth, whilst born in the UK, he was not born in Britain.
He may well hold a UK passport, at a guess I would say it is likely that he probably holds both Irish and UK citizenship, he has tried, inasmuch as it has been a question, to avoid being too clearly aligned with either of the two competing nationalities in Northern Ireland.
The guy is an absolute hero and the fact he has such a vulnerability in that has turned near success into failure on so many occasions just makes him so relatable.
Pretty much every single golf fan was rooting for him last night and I’ve never known a few hours of sport carry so many ups and downs, He’s so good yet being so close and failing in so many majors in recent years, the pressure builds more and more.
The high handicapper wedge into the water on the 13 when it was sown up was just unreal. Not hitting the middle of the green on the 18th just as unpredicted. It was painful watching him implode yet again.
I’m so pleased for him. I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated a non-Charlton / England football moment more than watching that putt finally drop.
The guy is an absolute hero and the fact he has such a vulnerability in that has turned near success into failure on so many occasions just makes him so relatable.
Pretty much every single golf fan was rooting for him last night and I’ve never known a few hours of sport carry so many ups and downs, He’s so good yet being so close and failing in so many majors in recent years, the pressure builds more and more.
The high handicapper wedge into the water on the 13 when it was sown up was just unreal. Not hitting the middle of the green on the 18th just as unpredicted. It was painful watching him implode yet again.
I’m so pleased for him. I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated a non-Charlton / England football moment more than watching that putt finally drop.
I’m perfectly happy for him but wanted Rose to win.
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
NI IS part of the UK as the UK = Great Britain + NI and people from the UK are British.
However, people from NI also qualify for Irish passports from the island of Ireland - not exactly the same as being from the RoI.
He did represent Ireland at the Olympics - but I don't know if he refers to himself as Irish, Northern Irish or British. Or if he has a British passport and/or an Irish one.
What doesn't help, is Team GB being called 'GB' because it is actually team UK - it is very unfair on any competitors from NI who compete for Britain as it is Team GB +NI or Team UK
I was making a pedantic point, but hey...
People from Northern Ireland can choose UK citizenship if they desire, just as they can choose Irish citizenship.
So, it's only if people from Northern Ireland choose UK citizenship that they can be (loosely) described as British.
It's enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had a territorial claim in its Constitution, so that when people of my vintage were born their Birth Certificates often recorded their nationality as Irish, there's an interesting/slightly bonkers historical footnote around Irish Nationalist political responses to Partition in the 1920s).
It is something that actually gets people's backs up quite a bit.
If you listen to his interview with BBC NI last night, Rory McIlroy clearly views his golfing career in a wider Irish context. He's also far from being alone in being from Northern Ireland and representing Ireland at the Olympics.
He may well also carry a UK passport, but he generally seems mostly to refer to himself as Northern Irish (which was definitely becoming a bigger thing until something that happened almost a decade ago).
they aren't loosely described as British - they ARE British. But can chose British Nationality or British. There is no NI passport, same as there is no English, Scottish or Welsh one
Obviously last night meant nowhere near as much - but the closest comparison I can think of for a roller coaster of emotions, even having a playoff instead of penalties - is Wembley '98.
Obviously last night meant nowhere near as much - but the closest comparison I can think of for a roller coaster of emotions, even having a playoff instead of penalties - is Wembley '98.
I've tried describing it to my son who has no real interest in golf. The best I came up with was combining both the Donny play off game AND then the subsequent final all in one. Highs of being ahead, going behind, winning on pens, letting in an early OG, equalizing & then winning it at the death.
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
NI IS part of the UK as the UK = Great Britain + NI and people from the UK are British.
However, people from NI also qualify for Irish passports from the island of Ireland - not exactly the same as being from the RoI.
He did represent Ireland at the Olympics - but I don't know if he refers to himself as Irish, Northern Irish or British. Or if he has a British passport and/or an Irish one.
What doesn't help, is Team GB being called 'GB' because it is actually team UK - it is very unfair on any competitors from NI who compete for Britain as it is Team GB +NI or Team UK
I was making a pedantic point, but hey...
People from Northern Ireland can choose UK citizenship if they desire, just as they can choose Irish citizenship.
So, it's only if people from Northern Ireland choose UK citizenship that they can be (loosely) described as British.
It's enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had a territorial claim in its Constitution, so that when people of my vintage were born their Birth Certificates often recorded their nationality as Irish, there's an interesting/slightly bonkers historical footnote around Irish Nationalist political responses to Partition in the 1920s).
It is something that actually gets people's backs up quite a bit.
If you listen to his interview with BBC NI last night, Rory McIlroy clearly views his golfing career in a wider Irish context. He's also far from being alone in being from Northern Ireland and representing Ireland at the Olympics.
He may well also carry a UK passport, but he generally seems mostly to refer to himself as Northern Irish (which was definitely becoming a bigger thing until something that happened almost a decade ago).
they aren't loosely described as British - they ARE British. But can chose British Nationality or British. There is no NI passport, same as there is no English, Scottish or Welsh one
The statement about being loosely described as British is because the United Kingdom is of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not just Great Britain, which is me going back to my underlying pedantry.
I am, you might find this hard to believe, quite familiar with the political dimension of life in Northern Ireland, and of choices available to people here.
I'm even aware that there is no Northern Ireland passport.
ive always thought he’s handled the northern Irish/Irish thing well which has resulted in him being liked by both north and south. I couldn’t even be certain whether he was Catholic or Protestant without looking it up.
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
NI IS part of the UK as the UK = Great Britain + NI and people from the UK are British.
However, people from NI also qualify for Irish passports from the island of Ireland - not exactly the same as being from the RoI.
He did represent Ireland at the Olympics - but I don't know if he refers to himself as Irish, Northern Irish or British. Or if he has a British passport and/or an Irish one.
What doesn't help, is Team GB being called 'GB' because it is actually team UK - it is very unfair on any competitors from NI who compete for Britain as it is Team GB +NI or Team UK
I was making a pedantic point, but hey...
People from Northern Ireland can choose UK citizenship if they desire, just as they can choose Irish citizenship.
So, it's only if people from Northern Ireland choose UK citizenship that they can be (loosely) described as British.
It's enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had a territorial claim in its Constitution, so that when people of my vintage were born their Birth Certificates often recorded their nationality as Irish, there's an interesting/slightly bonkers historical footnote around Irish Nationalist political responses to Partition in the 1920s).
It is something that actually gets people's backs up quite a bit.
If you listen to his interview with BBC NI last night, Rory McIlroy clearly views his golfing career in a wider Irish context. He's also far from being alone in being from Northern Ireland and representing Ireland at the Olympics.
He may well also carry a UK passport, but he generally seems mostly to refer to himself as Northern Irish (which was definitely becoming a bigger thing until something that happened almost a decade ago).
they aren't loosely described as British - they ARE British. But can chose British Nationality or British. There is no NI passport, same as there is no English, Scottish or Welsh one
The statement about being loosely described as British is because the United Kingdom is of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not just Great Britain, which is me going back to my underlying pedantry.
I am, you might find this hard to believe, quite familiar with the political dimension of life in Northern Ireland, and of choices available to people here.
I'm even aware that there is no Northern Ireland passport.
But thank you for pointing that out, nonetheless.
British, not loosely British. Actually, citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies are British - and none loosely either.
Great Britain is a geographical term not a nationality one.
And I've already stated I know The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and NI. And that Team GB is actually team UK. I knew already but reinforced from being Nationality trained
Rory, a little like Barry McGuigan, has been very careful throughout his career to refer to himself as Northern Irish. He has said himself that he spent a lot of time not wanting to offend anyone and, sadly, he almost certainly would have done if he’d come out and said he was Irish. Or British. In that respect, perhaps Rory was the pedant here 😉
He’s been a great ambassador for Northern Ireland and, once he stopped worrying about offending people, said it was an easy decision to represent Ireland at the Olympics in Tokyo and Paris as he had done (represent Ireland) as a young amateur.
Whatever…he has done his birthplace proud and to become one of just 6 people to complete the Grand Slam he is, quite rightly, a bloody legend 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
What a spectacle that was. My wife, who's not even remotely into golf and never really has watched golf before on TV, was glued to it and loved the final two rounds. You gotta love the Masters.
Has Rory locked down Sports Personality already? Can't see anyone coming close unless we get a Lando WDC.
I think McIlroy will win another this year - probably the next one . Rory has to beat himself, a golf course and 150 other people . Lando has to beat Piastri.
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
Born in Britain but considers himself Irish.
Refused to play in Rio Olympics, then subsequently opted to represent Ireland after that
Holywood in Co. Down is not in Britain (the North Channel separates Northern Ireland from Britain).
So, unless his mother had him in a very unusual form of water birth, whilst born in the UK, he was not born in Britain.
He may well hold a UK passport, at a guess I would say it is likely that he probably holds both Irish and UK citizenship, he has tried, inasmuch as it has been a question, to avoid being too clearly aligned with either of the two competing nationalities in Northern Ireland.
But, that's enough pedantry, even for me...
Not pedantic at all mate, I conflated Britain, United Kingdom and British and muddied the waters of what I was trying to say.
Was making a point that he himself considers him to be Irish rather than British as per his Olympic choices which is fair enough ( still think he used Zika virus as an excuse to not have to declare between the two countries in Rio Olympics though)
Great sport has one or more of triumph, disaster, deep individual and collective emotion, out of your seat shock, abject failure, redemption, and the greatest drama imaginable.
Golf has the ability to do that, mainly because of the thinest of fine lines between winning and losing.
Personally, I never thought anything would beat the Miracle of Medina as a sporting spectacle (Charlton play-off victories excepted!) but last night we had every single one of those elements - up there with the most enjoyable, nerve tingling sporting action I have ever witnessed.
Simply magnificent television and a huge well done to Rory.
P.S. Rosey is an exemplar of what sportsmanship means.
Spot on,Golf is the most nerve racking sport to play and to watch,how those guys retain their composure at times,is beyond me. How wonderful to see two Brits battle it out on USA soil for their number one prize.
Speaking as a pedant, two Brits?
Someone from Northern is from the UK and may hold a UK passport, but one might argue that, Northern Ireland not being in Great Britain...
McIlroy has represented Ireland at the Olympics.
Apart from that, did I miss anything?
Born in Britain but considers himself Irish.
Refused to play in Rio Olympics, then subsequently opted to represent Ireland after that
Holywood in Co. Down is not in Britain (the North Channel separates Northern Ireland from Britain).
So, unless his mother had him in a very unusual form of water birth, whilst born in the UK, he was not born in Britain.
He may well hold a UK passport, at a guess I would say it is likely that he probably holds both Irish and UK citizenship, he has tried, inasmuch as it has been a question, to avoid being too clearly aligned with either of the two competing nationalities in Northern Ireland.
But, that's enough pedantry, even for me...
I wish I hadnt started this,so,it was wonderful to see an Englishman and a Northern Irishman fight it out on American soil for their most coveted prize. Congrats to Rosy for his fantastic performance,and of course to Rory,for the way he kept coming back after the odd blip.I look forward to seeing these two exceptional sportsman grace the golf course for years to come.
Comments
People from Northern Ireland can choose UK citizenship if they desire, just as they can choose Irish citizenship.
So, it's only if people from Northern Ireland choose UK citizenship that they can be (loosely) described as British.
It's enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (before that, Ireland had a territorial claim in its Constitution, so that when people of my vintage were born their Birth Certificates often recorded their nationality as Irish, there's an interesting/slightly bonkers historical footnote around Irish Nationalist political responses to Partition in the 1920s).
It is something that actually gets people's backs up quite a bit.
If you listen to his interview with BBC NI last night, Rory McIlroy clearly views his golfing career in a wider Irish context. He's also far from being alone in being from Northern Ireland and representing Ireland at the Olympics.
He may well also carry a UK passport, but he generally seems mostly to refer to himself as Northern Irish (which was definitely becoming a bigger thing until something that happened almost a decade ago).
So, unless his mother had him in a very unusual form of water birth, whilst born in the UK, he was not born in Britain.
He may well hold a UK passport, at a guess I would say it is likely that he probably holds both Irish and UK citizenship, he has tried, inasmuch as it has been a question, to avoid being too clearly aligned with either of the two competing nationalities in Northern Ireland.
But, that's enough pedantry, even for me...
The high handicapper wedge into the water on the 13 when it was sown up was just unreal. Not hitting the middle of the green on the 18th just as unpredicted. It was painful watching him implode yet again.
I’m so pleased for him. I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated a non-Charlton / England football moment more than watching that putt finally drop.
A rollercoaster 4.5 hours.
I am, you might find this hard to believe, quite familiar with the political dimension of life in Northern Ireland, and of choices available to people here.
I'm even aware that there is no Northern Ireland passport.
But thank you for pointing that out, nonetheless.
Great Britain is a geographical term not a nationality one.
And I've already stated I know The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and NI. And that Team GB is actually team UK. I knew already but reinforced from being Nationality trained
Whatever…he has done his birthplace proud and to become one of just 6 people to complete the Grand Slam he is, quite rightly, a bloody legend 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Congrats to Rosy for his fantastic performance,and of course to Rory,for the way he kept coming back after the odd blip.I look forward to seeing these two exceptional sportsman grace the golf course for years to come.