England beating West Germany in the 1966 Football World Cup Final, England beating Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and England's cricketers beating Australia in the 2005 Ashes tournament have been named amongst Britain's greatest sporting moments.
Is this really our most thrilling sport moment?
By Sean Poulter Consumer Affairs Correspondent
19th October 2006
Pinsent strikes gold for Great Britain in the 2004 Olympics: but was it really the most exciting sport event?
When matthew Pinsent, anchorman of Britain's rowing team, broke down on the gold medal podium at the Athens Olympics, the nation wept with him.
Now the thrilling victory - by just eight hundredths of a second, or less than four inches - has claimed a new title.
An equation which calculates thrills, inspiration and perspiration rates the battle on the Olympic lake in 2004 as the most memorable event in Britain's sporting history.
Psychologists claim to have developed a mathematical formula - [(V x P x R) + A] x (VFM) - which allows them to grade the nation's sporting triumphs.
And they have produced a highly contentious "top ten" covering everything from England's World Cup win in 1966 to the Ashes triumph over Australia last year.
The people behind the equation boast that it's "the first ever scientific equation that reveals just how good a game of sport has been to watch".
"No longer will spectators be left arguing over how good a game was, as the formula provides a definitive answer to any armchair or terrace debate."
However, the list will be hard to swallow for many sports fans. For the reality is that so much depends on the eye of the beholder. The Scots and Welsh, in particular, may take a dim view of being overlooked in favour of a series of English greats (but who cares?)
Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Lancaster, led the Tesco-funded project.
He said: "The research allows sporting spectators to compile and rate all the feelings of tension and exhilaration that they may feel during a game. It's the mathematical proof needed in a heated sporting debate."
The equation works like this: V represents visual excitement, P the performance and skill of the individual or team, while R relates to whether the rules were upheld, without refereeing errors, and sportsmanship.
A relates to the atmosphere of the game while VFM stands for value for money in terms of the cost of a ticket and the view, whether live or via the airwaves.
Each of the values is given a score of 1-5 in relation to the event. In this case, psychologists at Robertson Cooper Ltd looked at some 60 events over the last 50 years.
BRITAIN'S SPORTING GLORY - THE TEN BEST GREAT BRITISH VICTORIES
1. Athens Olympics men's coxless four final, 2004 - GB gold (Matthew Pinsent & Ed Coode, James Cracknell & Steve Williams)
2. LA Olympics decathlon, 1984 - Daley Thompson gold
3. Football World Cup Final, 1966 - England beat West Germany (4-2 after extra time)
4. Moscow Olympics 1500m final, 1980 - Coe v Ovett (gold & bronze)
5. League Championship decider, 1988-1989 - Arsenal needed to beat Liverpool by two or more goals to become the champions. They won 2-0 - and it was more exciting as the second goal was scored in the very last seconds
6. Ashes series final test (Oval), 2005 - England cricket team beat Australia 2-1 in series
7. London Marathon, 2003 - won by Paula Radcliffe
8. Rugby World Cup Final, 2003 - England v Australia (England won 20-17 after extra time)
9. Ryder Cup, 2006 - Europe v USA (Europe's golfers destroyed the USA by the joint biggest-ever winning margin))
10. World Snooker Championship final, 1985 (most people outside Britain don't know what snooker is but it's popular here. It's a more intelligent version of pool with each colour worth different points - the 15 reds worth 1 point, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7) - Taylor beat Davis. Only the black ball (which is worth 7 points) remained and the scores were so close that the winner would be whoever potted it. Taylor potted it....eventually.
dailymail.co.uk
Is this really our most thrilling sport moment?
By Sean Poulter Consumer Affairs Correspondent
19th October 2006
Pinsent strikes gold for Great Britain in the 2004 Olympics: but was it really the most exciting sport event?
When matthew Pinsent, anchorman of Britain's rowing team, broke down on the gold medal podium at the Athens Olympics, the nation wept with him.
Now the thrilling victory - by just eight hundredths of a second, or less than four inches - has claimed a new title.
An equation which calculates thrills, inspiration and perspiration rates the battle on the Olympic lake in 2004 as the most memorable event in Britain's sporting history.
Psychologists claim to have developed a mathematical formula - [(V x P x R) + A] x (VFM) - which allows them to grade the nation's sporting triumphs.
And they have produced a highly contentious "top ten" covering everything from England's World Cup win in 1966 to the Ashes triumph over Australia last year.
The people behind the equation boast that it's "the first ever scientific equation that reveals just how good a game of sport has been to watch".
"No longer will spectators be left arguing over how good a game was, as the formula provides a definitive answer to any armchair or terrace debate."
However, the list will be hard to swallow for many sports fans. For the reality is that so much depends on the eye of the beholder. The Scots and Welsh, in particular, may take a dim view of being overlooked in favour of a series of English greats (but who cares?)
Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Lancaster, led the Tesco-funded project.
He said: "The research allows sporting spectators to compile and rate all the feelings of tension and exhilaration that they may feel during a game. It's the mathematical proof needed in a heated sporting debate."
The equation works like this: V represents visual excitement, P the performance and skill of the individual or team, while R relates to whether the rules were upheld, without refereeing errors, and sportsmanship.
A relates to the atmosphere of the game while VFM stands for value for money in terms of the cost of a ticket and the view, whether live or via the airwaves.
Each of the values is given a score of 1-5 in relation to the event. In this case, psychologists at Robertson Cooper Ltd looked at some 60 events over the last 50 years.
BRITAIN'S SPORTING GLORY - THE TEN BEST GREAT BRITISH VICTORIES
2. LA Olympics decathlon, 1984 - Daley Thompson gold
3. Football World Cup Final, 1966 - England beat West Germany (4-2 after extra time)
4. Moscow Olympics 1500m final, 1980 - Coe v Ovett (gold & bronze)
5. League Championship decider, 1988-1989 - Arsenal needed to beat Liverpool by two or more goals to become the champions. They won 2-0 - and it was more exciting as the second goal was scored in the very last seconds
6. Ashes series final test (Oval), 2005 - England cricket team beat Australia 2-1 in series
7. London Marathon, 2003 - won by Paula Radcliffe
8. Rugby World Cup Final, 2003 - England v Australia (England won 20-17 after extra time)
9. Ryder Cup, 2006 - Europe v USA (Europe's golfers destroyed the USA by the joint biggest-ever winning margin))
10. World Snooker Championship final, 1985 (most people outside Britain don't know what snooker is but it's popular here. It's a more intelligent version of pool with each colour worth different points - the 15 reds worth 1 point, yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7) - Taylor beat Davis. Only the black ball (which is worth 7 points) remained and the scores were so close that the winner would be whoever potted it. Taylor potted it....eventually.
dailymail.co.uk
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