Murray: from Scottish outlaw, to British hero

June 2012, Andy Murray wasn’t held in the highest regards by the British public, he was just ‘that Scottish git’ who played tennis but alway seemed to choke at the final hurdle. Fast forward seven months and it is a completely different story.

So what caused the public opinion of Murray to change?

Murray’s tears at Wimbledon after his defeat in the final to Roger Federer, his joy at winning gold and silver for his country at London 2012 and his triumph in the US Open, have earned him a place in public hearts.

After losing out to Federer in the Wimbledon final, the British public saw, many for the first time, that Murray really was passionate. The tears that rolled down his face as he took the microphone from Sue Barker and spoke to everyone watching in Centre Court and at home, showed his desperation to win a major tournament. He wanted to win a Grand Slam, he wanted to win Wimbledon, he felt like he had let the British public down.

British cycling; a multi-coloured future?

In the last two years British cycling has hit the road running. Even in the wet, grim and recently snowy British winter, cyclists clad in brightly coloured waterproofs and their new christmas ‘bootsies’ are still putting in the kilometres. It was a joy to see more than the usual ‘Sunday cyclist’ out on the roads this summer, with pain trains, leisurely group rides and the lone sufferer taking on Box Hill in Surrey.

Cycling has always been popular in Europe; Denmark has over 10,000km of dedicated cycle routes, while 27% of all journeys in the Netherlands are by bike. Whereas, Britain has always seen it as a ‘midlife crisis sport’. Men with a few extra pounds, both in their wallet and on the scales, going all out on expensive equipment and making the odd ride, in the process coining the term ‘middle-aged men in lycra’. Recently however, there seems to be a gradual shift in the British state of mind.