The 1991 Ryder Cup is notorious for the continued spat between Paul Azinger and Seve Ballesteros. Azinger insisted that he had not been trying to cheat, and Ballesteros retorted, "Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things." He thought he was being sarcastic, but actually hit the nail very much on the head. For many Americans breaking the rules and getting away with it is not cheating. For these people the proprieties of a sport are for losers, and etiquette, if it is followed at all, is a calculated façade. Azinger and his partner were knowingly breaking the rules, conspiring to do so, and attempting to conceal the infringement. But they were hoping to get away with it. So when Azinger said, "I can tell you we're not trying to cheat", I think he honestly believed it. The culture of unfair competition is so ingrained in some Americans that they don’t even recognize what they are doing for what it is: cheating pure and simple.
I suspect that many Americans don’t really understand what the British mean by ‘fair play’. I guess they know that there are different weight categories in boxing, but I expect they would regard the idea of height categories in basketball as ludicrous. Whereas the British would probably react that it would be fairer, though possibly impractical.
Back to the Ryder Cup, in 1999 the Americans began the final day with a huge four point deficit. The European players were then subjected to deliberate and sustained spectator barracking of the most disgraceful kind, and the event culminated in a good putt by American Justin Leonard followed by a scandalous prolonged wild over-celebration with players, wives and fans running onto the pitch. But Spaniard José María Olazábal still had a putt to square the competition, and the appalling gamesmanship was deliberately calculated to unnerve him. I make no apology for repeating myself. The culture of unfair competition is so ingrained in some Americans that they don’t even recognize what they are doing for what it is: cheating pure and simple.
Of course it isn’t just Americans who behave like this. Some of the bad feeling in that 1991 Ryder Cup stemmed from inappropriate behaviour from Seve Ballesteros himself, and the Australian cricket team are so frightened of losing that they feel it necessary to barrack opposing batsman in the most discreditable way.
Of course not all Americans are guilty. Jack Nicklaus famously conceded an uncertain two-foot putt to Tony Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup to leave the competition tied. His captain was not pleased. Even in tennis some Americans show good sportsmanship. Andre Agassi and Lindsay Davenport come to mind. But there does seem to be a real difference in culture in Britain and America. British football supporters disdain ‘diving’ even by their own side. I suspect the attitude of American sports fans would be very different.