Wiggo..... Arrogant?

I was just having an argument with someone about Bradley Wiggins. I like him. I think he is no nonsense and pretty bloody good at what he does. Its nice to have a British athlete for once who can pretty much knock the spots off anybody on the planet today. We don't often get that.

Anyway matey was saying that he didn't like him because Wiggo come across as arrogant. Firstly I think he has a little bit of an atitude but thats his thing. But so would I if I were one of the best sportsman this country has ever seen. What I didnt get was when he won his gold he didn't seem to even know the where he was. Possibly one of the most famous buildings in the UK Hampton Court. What was that all about?? So perhaps he might just be daft as a brush

When you are good at something do you need that little bit of arrogance to make you better. Does it matter if somebody is arrogant aslong as they are good?

I can't be arrogant as I am not very good at anything other than eating biscuits and sleeping.

Thoughts and answers on a postcard

 

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Comments

  • Wiggins isn't arrogant in any way. Everyone loves him including the French media which is amazing given their hatred of anyone not French that's better than their cyclists. Very down to earth
  • well thats what I thought. good point NW4 we do love our losers and hate our winners. We never like to see people doing well and if they fail miserably it always seems heroic.

    I think what he was getting at was that Wiggo said no other coloured medal would have done. I thought he just meant he had his eyes set on gold and nothing was going to stop him. But chummy thought it was demeaning Martin and Froome

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    Wiggo arrogant??  The worst I can say is that he can sometimes come across a little aloof in interviews, but if anything that's probably more to do with his shy nature, quite the opposite of arrogance.

    He was the clear favourite for the time trial.  If he hadn't won it would have been down to a disappointing performance from himself, or some sort of bad luck by way of a puncture, crash, etc. (or chain breaking on the starting ramp - that poor Spaniard!)  So it was his to lose - saying only gold would do wasn't arrogance but realism.  He was hardly cock-waving like a heavyweight boxer in a press conference.

  • BB ✭✭✭
    Cav used to always have the arrogant tag too - some people just seem to think that if someone is really good at something and says they are good/the best, then that makes them arrogant. It doesn't. Being the best and standing there being coy and modest saying you're not that good really would be ridiculous! It seems to be a British trait that modesty is good and proudly stating that you are good at is bad.
  • Phil thats my first thought about boxers who talk it up then get battered. I suppose cyclists are not like footballers who are always doing interviews and used to it. I expect Wiggo is getting better in front of the cameras but still not used to all the attention. It was like watching Cav last night at the velodrome he looked so nervous and didnt know what to do with himself.

  • BB ✭✭✭
    That's nit to say some people are arrogant, but often they aren't the best anyway!
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    Do we need to 'like' our successful sportsmen and women?

    I'd care if someone I actually knew, and had to deal with, was arrogant, but does it matter what someone I've never met, and probably won't ever meet, is like in person?

    In any case, we only see the 'media' side of them, which is unlikely to give more than a tiny view of their personality.

    (And I think you could stick a lot of people down outside Hampton Court Palace and they wouldn't be able to tell you what it was.)

     

  • Surely if you were cycling there and had an event there you would know where it was. Have you ever entered an event then forgotten where you were? Lol

    But I agree we don't have to like them but we always have this urge to like our sportsmen and women and alway hope they are nice. Chris Hoy seems a really nice bloke and he has a  lot to be arrogant about.

  • BB ✭✭✭
    I'm not sure that anyone can know what they would feel and behave like after such a momentous event in that atmosphere, Probably easy to forgot stuff!
  • Ian MIan M ✭✭✭

    I've no idea where hampton court is either.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    TheVicar wrote (see)

    Surely if you were cycling there and had an event there you would know where it was. Have you ever entered an event then forgotten where you were? Lol

    I think being a competitor in an Olympic event may be a little different from entering a local event.

    No entry form, for a start. 

    He won't have had to get the train there, or wonder if there will be enough parking if he drives, nor had to think about what time he needs to leave home, or where how many portaloos there will be.

    I'd guess WHERE it actually was was the last thing on his mind.

  • But you would have an inkling if you were stood in front of it and knew you had to be there to race? Anyway thats not the point its just something that stuck in my mind and thought was little strange

  • I would say he is very confident in his ability which can come across as arrogant.  He is though very respectful of the support he gets from everybody. I love his cycling ability but he p***es me off because he can also play guitar really well, you surely should only be gifted at one thingimage

  • Like that bloody shooter yesterday. He lives 10 miles from me and went to alot of posh schools round here and he was pretty good at rugby and other things then decides to do a bit of shooting and becomes Olympic gold medalist. Some people are just made to succeed at things no matter what they choose to do

  • image The git he can grow sideburns better than me to. image

    To call wiggo arrogant is frankly ridiculous given the way he's carried himself consistently over since he first came into the public eye. Just looking at how he thanks and saluted the crowds at the end of the tour de France this year sum's up his attitude better than anything we could say and sounds to me like your friend doesn't know what he's talking about and just annoyed that everyone is talking about Bradley. He one of the best cyclist's of his generation and becoming one of the greatest BG Olympians of all time.

  • That's good we have two reasons not to like him now, but he can keep on cycling and winning golds and TdFsimage

  • JeremyGJeremyG ✭✭✭
    I had the impression he was having a bit of a wind up saying he didn't know where he was or what he was in front of. He is from London after all isn't he. Just his sense of humour, eg his joke about raffle tickets at the Tour
  • Funny isn't it. I thought he would be seen as one of the least arrogant sportsman about.

    But its the 'Great?? British public' again, who frankly half of are complete tools, always trying to call someone arrogant..they simply can't wait to lay that one on someone.

    Like with Paula - saying she 'gave up' in Athens. Then in London, they moan when she stops to have a pee in public so she could win! Make your minds up!!

    Sorry - feel strongly about this image

  • Hampton Court? He probably needs a different saddle then...

  • i had no idea that it was hampton court..............how is it  a famous building......yes it has a famous past.,but its not like you see pictures of it on tele or in books..............buckingham palace maybe classed as famous as they are always showing that on tv......

    i like him as he seems down to earth and just pleased that he got the wins that he has worked for

  • I like to think I'm a fair-minded person and I also have a bit of an aversion to people with too much attitude, whether it is good or bad. In my book too much either way comes across as false. In Bradley Wiggins I think we have an absolute gem. He's a bit quirky with some individual style and its obvious the style in which he does things shown by his sideburns and clothing, his extreme fair play, and the respctful way he talks about his competition is very important to him. He won in good style and I cannot for the life of me see arrogance in his behaviour, I like his style.

  • EG Graham wrote (see)

    In Bradley Wiggins I think we have an absolute gem. He's a bit quirky with some individual style and its obvious the style in which he does things shown by his sideburns and clothing, his extreme fair play, and the respctful way he talks about his competition is very important to him. He won in good style and I cannot for the life of me see arrogance in his behaviour, I like his style.

    +1 on that !!

  • his discusiion about only golds counting was nothing to do with the race...................the commentators were trying to tell him he was the best british olympian ever.........and his remark was that although he had more medals than steve redgrave     ........steve had more golds and to him that was the sign of the best olympian............

    not that the other medals didn't count...but if you were looking for the best olympian ever then you should look at gold medals.........

  • I don't really know enough about him prior to the last week to make a comment but judging by what i've seen I wouldn't see him as arrogant, I would say he is very opiniated, I liked his going back out to salute and celebrate the crowd after the event but didn't like the comment about celebrating with the 'real fans' lining the streets as oppose to the 'prawn sandwich-fest' of supporters inside who had tickets, I found that uncomfortable.

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    seren - That's a very good point, I remember the interview now.  So actually, he was trying to be modest by suggesting that Steve Redgrave is still the greatest British Olympian.  I caught Chris Hoy making similarly humble remarks on the telly yesterday evening.

    Vicar - tell your mate he needs to work on his listening comprehension.  image

  • Jwheezy, I thought his 'prawn-sandwich' comment was directed at those in the  grandstands (bigwigs, sponsors et al).   

    Edit: just to clarify that even if you bought a ticket you didn't get access to that area.

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    Jwheezy - yes, you misunderstood that.  Prawn sandwiches are analogous to corporate hospitality, not people who can afford to buy a ticket.

    Poor old Brad, he's probably better off not giving interviews.

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭
    MikeFrog wrote (see)

    Hampton Court? He probably needs a different saddle then...

    Ba doom tish! (Hands MF his coat and opens the door ...)

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