Originally Posted by 5hane:
“....please don't get cocky or the public will turn on you!
"I've already won"”
I think it's been apparent from the start that he means that in the happy shiny "I've won because I'm here" way, not in a "I can't lose this contest" way. I mean he's been saying it for weeks.
We've gone on in this forum about American attitudes vs. British ones, and most of the differences are bulls**** generalizing which don't apply to the entire populations of either country, or even majorities.
That said, this is one area where AS A GENERAL TENDENCY, there's some difference. Not universally, but on average. In American culture it's not uncommon to say things like this. It's claptrap, and most people realize it, but it's kind of a shortcut to saying that you're happy to be there, or the likes. Again, I refer people to the Stephen Fry video where he talks (well, generalizes--but it's more true than most generalizing) about American comedy vs. British. He doesn't hit this exact point, but comes close with the stuff about Americans loving self-help books. Well this "happy to be be here/I've already won" type attitude is part of the same psychology. It's also related to the reasons more Americans will come up to strangers and offer to shake hands, vs. waiting for an introduction (again, not that that's universal, just a tendency). -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2AbqTBxao