BBC news is reporting on a new study based on major sporting events as major medical risk factors. Put simply, Euros and Poms have a 25% increased risk of myocardial infarction, aka heart attack, around major sporting events such as the World Cup, the Ashes and so on. The study also took into account the last AFL Grand Final (which was a gripper even for someone who understands little of the sport), and the socceroos qualifier against Uraguay as measures of Aussie risk, and I'm pleased to note there was no spike in hospital admission figures over here.
The article notes that this may well be down to the stereotype of the laid-back Aussie, which I think has some validity - there just isn't the life-and-death importance attached to sporting events here - I can't imagine an Aussie rioting beause their footy team lost. Well, actually, there's always the bulldogs but I digress. It could also be that Aussie blokes are tough larrikin bush-ranger types who, if they felt a heart attack coming on would just shrug it off, grab a steak off the barbie and open another VB.
So how do I fit in here? Well, I'm not a big team sports fan, so I'm highly unlikely to cark it in front of Channel 9's Wide World Of Sports, but I am an expat pommie living in Australia. And I did fall down the stairs during the first Ashes test this year, twisting my ankle around into quite an unnatural shape and relegating myself to several weeks of limping and complaining. Are the two connected? Could it be that, as a whingin' pommie bastard, I'm doomed to death and severe injury every time there's a ball being bashed around on the telly?
Shit, I hope not.