By Bill Doyle

I have to say, that people have an infinite capacity to surprise.

Just when I think I have seen it all, someone does something to make me wonder if, far from having seen it all, I have seen almost nothing at all.

Now I have to say that since a certain former President has left the White House, I am having these sensations of stunned astonishment less than previously.

However, I was certainly, stunned, astonished and perhaps a bit amazed by the behaviour of certain folk quite recently.

This amazement occurred during of all things, two recent sporting broadcasts.

The first was a distinctly unpleasant feeling of “I can’t believe that happened.”

While the second was much, much more positive.

Now you are probably thinking that I am referring to the behaviour of certain football folk and an infamous party that led to highly paid stars hiding under beds or running five kilometres home.

But no.

While entertaining, you and I both know that such behaviour from Rugby League stars is hardly unexpected, much less astonishing.

No, dear reader, these were much more intercontinental events.

The first was the response of (I hope) a tiny percentage of the English community to their defeat in the finals of the European soccer (football?) championships.

The English, who have not won a major trophy since before the Beatles released Sgt Pepper and Scott Morrison was even born, were in a final that they lost in a penalty shootout.

Now I think a penalty shootout is a ridiculous way to decide a soccer match, but that’s not the point.

The point is that some of the players who missed their shots possess more melanin in their skin than many of their teammates.

What difference would this make? You would think none.

But these people were criticised, not just for a poor penalty shot, but for having the temerity to also have dark skin!

Not only have these young men failed on the most public stage possible, but then are subject to racial abuse from people with none of their talent, or character.

I could not believe that this would happen.

To me, perhaps naively, this was so much more unexpected than rugby league players failing to have a secret party.

The other astonishment was far more edifying.

I love watching Wimbledon.

Of course, I loved even more watching Ash Barty win her games and even more enjoyed the always classy way she does this.

Somehow, this young lady makes me even prouder of my country.

But this, while supremely enjoyable, was not unexpected.

What was unexpected was that I actually enjoyed the contributions of Mr Nick Kyrgios!

Perhaps like you, I have found his behaviour to be often annoying, self-centred and embarrassing.

I have actively avoided watching him, or anything to do with him.

So you can imagine my astonishment when he not only played well at Wimbledon, but he also engaged with a lady in the crowd to get ‘advice’ for match point and then went over to thank her when the advice clearly worked!

A wonderfully unscripted moment that is one of the reasons why many of us love watching sport.

Then, a day or so later, he teamed up with, of all people, Venus Williams.

Venus has been an ornament to the game for almost as long as Kyrgios has been alive.

Yet she teamed up with the Australian in the mixed doubles and they clearly were playing largely for simple joy of playing the game.

A wonderfully refreshing thing in this day of hyper-professionalism.

And certainly an equal, but far more pleasant astonishment, than the disgusting response of some of the English soccer fans to their own players.

I could not have been more surprised.

Just when I thought I had Nick worked out, and put in a category that is not flattering, he does this.

If Ash Barty had not won, it would have been the highlight of the tournament.

But she did win … and wasn’t that awesome!

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