Pax Britannia Deux

By 1922, the British Empire was the largest in the history of the world, holding sway over 1 in 5 people on the planet and controlling almost a quarter of the earth’s land mass. For over 100 years, they had been the dominant force in the world, though Germany and the United States were cutting into their economic and military power. The end of WWII essentially ended that reign as colonies were either granted or demanded their independence. The U.S. became the global power and England slowly faded into “has been” status. Their hegemony in the world of sports, never as daunting, was also fading away and but for the surprising 1966 World Cup, there was little to cheer about except for minor victories here and there. But 13 months ago, things began to change and arguably have resulted in the best year of British sport ever.

It started with a surprise victory for Chelsea in the finals of the Champions League, beating first Barcelona and then Bayern Munich on home turf with a late goal that ultimately sent it to penalties and a Drogba clincher. Then, on the eve of a home Olympics that included a third-best medal haul of 65 gold, silver and bronzes, Bradley Wiggins ended 99 years of futility in the Tour de France by becoming the first Brit to win the greatest endurance test in sports. The Olympics included the victories of a number of stars including Mo Farah’s double in the 5,000 and 10,000, numerous victories on the track and road in bike racing (including gold for Wiggins), Jessica Ennis’ win in the Heptathlon and bronze and silver for gymnast Louis Smith, among many other compelling stories. Maybe most famously, Andy Murray came back from a heartbreaking final loss a set up against Roger Federer to claim the gold medal in tennis. The Olympics were followed by the Paralympics, with more golds and memories for England. And then Murray broke through at the U.S. Open, becoming the first male Brit to win a major championship since Fred Perry 77 years earlier.

Victories in cricket and rugby were also achieved and Rory Mcilroy won the PGA Championship for his second major (though he’s done little since). Things slowed down a little from there, though Chelsea did add a Europa League title this past June. It was at Wimbledon where the heart of England has turned for almost 80 years, waiting for another Champion. And it was Andy Murray who finally gave them their dream victory this year. It was one of the moments of the year, or maybe the new century in sports so far. But less than a month later, with Wiggins unable to defend his Tour title, Chris Froome took the mantle and pulled off a stellar, dominant victory in one of the hardest tours in history – marking a century with God Save the Queen for two years running. And one shouldn’t forget the Ryder Cup miracle comeback on U.S. soil last year. Sure there have been failures along the way including talk of the decline of the EPL in relation to Spain and Germany, the danger of missing the World Cup next summer and failure today at The Open for Lee Westwood, who again failed to maintain a lead in the final round of a major (though The Open had another compelling narrative when Phil Mickelson shot the round of his life to pick up his first British Open and fifth major overall. In fact, Phil just won for the first time in Europe in his career last week, at the Scottish Open).

So what can England do for an encore? It is hard to see another 13 months like they have just experienced, but future glory is certainly available. They will continue to compete at the top of cricket and rugby, Manchester United, Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal will continue to challenge in Europe, they appear to have the best tour bicyclist in the world (and one of the top sprinters), Hamilton could find his way to Formula One glory as he settles into Mercedes, Andy Murray looks set to continue vying for majors and some of the top golfers in the world still hail from that tired old empire of yore. Whatever the future holds, this has certainly been a year to remember – like Chariots of Fire playing in repeat for 13 long months that flew by faster than the Champs-Elysees peloton.