There was an interesting article today in the Sunday Herald about English people's attitudes towards Andy Murray.
Here's the link, but unfortunately the paper requires you to sign up to read the full article.
Tim Henman, although a formidable player, had even less hope of winning Wimbledon than Murray does today. Yet people up and down the
United Kingdom still managed to cheer him on, myself included. When he lost out in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, there was more sympathy than anger. With Murray, the opposite seems to be true. English people warm to Murray as much as they can, although it's more about hope than it is genuine affection for the Scottish number 1. And when he loses a match at Wimbledon (which, thus far, he has managed each and every year) he's discarded and forgotten about for another 50 weeks.
Sadly, the article os 100% correct, and the comments made on this thread (amongst others) serve only to back it up. And, of course, Andy Murray's performance at Wimbledon is merely a high profile example of what goes on on a day to day basis. It makes me sick to the bottom of my stomach.