Well, yet again Andy Murray failed at the final hurdle, losing the Men’s Final at Wimbledon last night to Roger Federer. Murray seems destined to forever be the bridesmaid, not the bride, but there’s no doubt that he won the hearts of everyone with his emotional speech after the match. If you missed it, here it is:

We place so much emphasis on winning in sport, but sometimes it’s the losers who stay in your mind. As a Blues supporter, it was the brave comeback in the second half that I remember in last week’s one point loss in the State of Origin Rugby League. To get so close, but still lose…and yet, as a fan, to still feel so proud.

Some losers seem to be bigger than the sport itself, like Eddie The Eagle in the Ski Jump at the Winter Olympics. I’ve seen many people win gold in that event, but I can’t remember their names…but I can still remember Eddie The Eagle! And of course, who could forget the Jamaican bobsled team?

But sometimes, losing can be the defining image of even the greatest sportspeople, like Greg Norman who failed to win a US Major, despite being ranked number one in the world for what seemed like forever. It shouldn’t matter, and yet despite all he achieved, that one fact seems to diminish his accomplishments somewhat.

And then there are teams that everyone loves to follow, even though they never win the big games, like South Sydney rugby league team. Once again they seem to be on the verge of finishing in the Top 8, but what if they went all the way? What if they actually won this year? What would everyone do? Wouldn’t it feel weird for South Sydney to be on top again? Almost as weird as when Collingwood finally overcame the collywobbles in 1990 to win the flag.

I kind of feel the same about Andy Murray. Part of me wants him to win, but another part of me wants him to keep losing…because it keeps sport human. Not everyone is going to be a winner. If we only celebrated the winners, we’d all be much poorer for it.

So, who are your greatest losers? Who do you follow even when they are not winning?

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