Fair play and good sportsmanship."

I think, like most people, I was jolly pleased by England thrashing the Australians and finally winning the ashes back. What impressed was the degree of sportsmanship - grace in both victory and defeat - shown by the two teams. Perhaps most impressive was the behavoiur of Australian Shane Warne, who, at 36, is retiring from test and international cricket.
His post-game interview went something like this:

Interviewer: "So, Shane, you must be very pleased with the way you personally played over the series?"
Shane: "Strewth, mate. I played a blinder, but England were the better team. They deserved to win. Good on 'em. Sling another shrimp on the barbie."

It's rare you see that degree of honesty in any endeavor. Just imagine what the world would be like if you did?

Football
The fantasy: "Well, Northern Ireland were just the better team on the night than our overpaid and overhyped stars"
The reality: "Well, the ref made a lot of bad calls, and the linesmen were blind, and it wasn't our fault."

Government
The fantasy: "Och! Jings! I've run up a £38,000,000,000 defecit through my own financial shortsightedness and mismanagement! And then I've changed my own rules so I willnae get caught oot yet! It's my responsibility so I'll resign, the noo!"
The reality: "Despite being in power for the better part of a decade, we still blame the Tories for everything. This is not the £38 billion black hole you're looking for. Oooh! Look over there! Shiney things!"

Work
The fantasy: "I did pretty much suck at my job. I used to sneak off home early to play World of Warcraft and spent all day on Livejournal. So, yeah, maybe I deserved to get canned."
The reality: "I was forced out of my job by a cabal of backstabbing, lying bastards who were just jealous of my talent and ability. And my boss was an overpromoted bitch."

Speaking of work, I have a globe-spanning media conglomerate to create. I'll talk to you lot later.