Gracious Winner

Being an Australian, I want to see us win wherever possible.  I generally support an Australian team or individual.
The Australian cricketers made it really hard for me when they were winning all the time.  My problem was, they did not seem to be gracious in victory.  It seems being gracious in defeat is easier in that, “hey you lost.”  Being a gracious winner seems to be a harder skill set.
I think I understand sledging, particularly in test matches.  Tests are played over five days, which is a really long time.  Potentially, a team is in the field for close on two days straight.  I think sledging is designed to get into a batsmens’ head, and put them off their game. This gives the fielding side the advantage over the batsman. Apparently Australians are really good at it. Some individuals are really good at sledging, while others never do it.  Captains only rein in their players when they overstep some mark.
Burned into my brain, is how gracious the English were when they defeated Australia in a test series.  It seems the English, New Zealanders and South Africans know how to be gracious winners.  I wish we could be.
What I have a real problem with, and don’t want to do myself, is denigrate the opposition when I win. It is what I saw the Aussies doing, and it made me support the other team.  That is something I do not want to do. To me, it is right and proper to be happy with a win, but telling the opposition they are inferior as people is not needed.  Winning, does not mean a person is a better person than those they beat.  It may just mean that, on the day, they were better than the other.  A person may also always be better at a particular endeavour than the other person, but there is a good chance the other person is better at something else than the victor. 
What I have incredible admiration for, is someone out there giving it a go because they enjoy it and want to be better. As long as a match is close it is absorbing – no matter what the level.  In table tennis, I watched two of the worst players in the club play, and it was really close.  I hung on every point.
We saw an Oceania competition in table tennis on tv.  Fair dinkum one of the players was terrible, but how many people can say they represented their country.  This person could.  My impression is Eddie the Eagle was a bit like that too.  He was never going to be the best, but he represented his country.  The team in Cool Runnings did the same.
The results should speak for themselves, and, win or lose, graciousness should prevail.  Besides, it seems a lot of stuff is seasonal only, and later someone else is on top.  I have seen that with the Aussie test cricket team, the Roar, the Broncos and the Lions.
To me, good play is good play.  Certainly, I prefer to see it from our team, but if someone else does it, it is still good play.
Now, I would just like the opportunity to practice being a gracious winner….