When Andy Murray first burst on to the tennis scene, it didn’t take long for one line to start doing the rounds.
If he won, English fans were proud to hail the Brit as one of their own, but he was back to being Scottish – not British – whenever he suffered a defeat.
Here are a couple of examples from back in 2008, the year that a 21-year-old Murray reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final.
https://twitter.com/markpentleton/status/847165765
The beauty of Andy Murray if he wins he is British if he loses he is Scottish!
— Jack Reynard (@pokerknave) September 8, 2008
is amused by the way Murray is a British tennis player when he wins, and a Scottish tennis player when he has lost.
— Richard Peat (@RTPeat) September 9, 2008
Now, as anyone who is familiar with photos of John Terry celebrating in full kit will tell you, there’s nothing people like more than repeating a joke until it has stopped being funny, and then repeating it some more for good measure.
Hell, we’re still seeing people changing the subtitles on that famous Hitler speech Downfall (released in 2004) for a variety of news items.
But there’s something almost uniquely enduring about the Murray gag. Is it funny now? When did it stop being funny? Was it ever funny? Who knows.
Anyway, with Murray taking on Milos Raonic in the 2016 Wimbledon final, we thought we might track the development of the joke over the years.
Here it is in 2009.
https://twitter.com/chimp80/status/2468728233
How long will it take before Andy Murray changes from being a British Tennis hero to a Scottish Tennis loser?
— Ian Sewell (@sewelli1) July 4, 2009
By that point the backlash had already begun. That’s seven whole years ago, folks.
Somebody should write a joke about Andy Murray being British when he's winning and Scottish when he's losing. That would be HILARIOUS!
— Rob Heeney (@Robheeney) July 13, 2009
Not much had changed in 2010.
So #Wimbledon concludes and Andy Murray remains a Scottish semi finalist, not a British champion
— Andy Von Pip (@VonPip) July 4, 2010
https://twitter.com/sam_needs/status/17637918924
Or 2011.
https://twitter.com/candlishh/status/93469569561268224
Andy Murray – Scottish When Losing – British When Winning
— 1Dbackgrounds (@OneDirectionBG) July 10, 2011
Or 2012.
Jamie Murray is once more Scottish… Andy Murray is still British pending on the outcome of the singles
— James Dixon 🇺🇦 (@thejamesdixon) July 28, 2012
https://twitter.com/MeganD_96/status/222737604620189698
Still, this would surely change in 2013, when he won at Wimbledon for the first time.
Oh.
https://twitter.com/rossifier2015/status/356146518211837955
Love how Andy Murray gets referred to as British when he wins but Scottish when he loses.
— Gale Kasper (@GaleKasper) July 12, 2013
2014 saw the Scottish Independence Referendum, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, giving us a chance to put it to bed once and for all.
But instead we only found ourselves talking about it even more.
Can we wangle that Andy Murray good British/bad Scottish into this opening ceremony?
— CJ (@CJ09822129) July 23, 2014
Andy Murray wins Wimbledon – British Champion.
Andy Murray Doesn't win Wimbledon -Scottish Player. And they wonder why we want independance— RΞD 🏴 🐦 (@SgtRedPhoenix) July 18, 2014
With 2015 came the post-referendum backlash, of course.
https://twitter.com/connorthomson22/status/623447411986460676
lot of people talking about Andy Murray and how British he is , wait till he slip up or lose he will turn Scottish so fast #AndyMurray
— Mohamed || ᛗᛟᚺᚨᛗᛖᛞ (@hunterutd626) July 20, 2015
Could 2016 be the year that the British/Scottish line finally dies a death? What do you think?
Murray wins the first set so he's still British, he usually ends up Scottish in Grandslam finals though #WimbledonFinals #justsaying
— JW (@Kimi_FPL) July 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/FraserTrivett11/status/752138803012374528
Roll on 2017.
