Originally Posted by
Östsvensk
I was recently reminded of a radio interview I conducted six years ago with Robert Weale, then the world indoor bowls champion. The Welshman had won the title the previous day and we decided to get him on and big him up. That he did very well himself. The man was magnificently, outrageously, swaggeringly arrogant - he sounded like a Welsh Muhammad Ali. When he started banging on, I was beginning to think indoor bowls might have its first real breakout star. He was terrific copy. "I could have done him any time," he contemptuously bragged. "I was toying with him - just toying with him - I could have done him easy." He said he wanted to go all over the world and take on all-comers. The nation listened in utter amazement and my jaw was clanked on the floor.
Then he expressed a desire for more "sexy groupies" in the game, and reminded the audience exactly what being the world champion meant to him. "I won it for Wales," he said. "What you don't realise is that the English are the most hated race in the world." I was taken aback by the xenophobia but gave him the benefit of the doubt as he was still clearly on cloud nine. I meekly responded: "How refreshing to have a competitor who is so openly hungry, aggressive and confident."
https://www.theguardian.com/football...sport.comment1
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