Kim Sears is behaving just like most of us would

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/29/kim-sears-behaving-like-most-of-us-would

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Is it possible that Kim Sears, who always looks so immaculate and sweet, might have greeted a successful moment in her fiance’s semi-final of the Australian Open with the words: “Fucking have that, you Czech flash fuck?” I’m not a qualified lip-reader, but it certainly looked like that to me.

There will doubtless be plenty of people who are appalled by the sight of a nice girl swearing a blue streak (certainly appalled enough to watch and re-watch the video footage to make sure), but I am unable to criticise. Mainly because I, too, have a tendency to swear like a docker in moments of crisis, so it would be a little hypocritical.

Sears wasn’t being disruptive: she muttered it, she didn’t yell it out across the court. Which makes her more polite than Mirka Federer, who apparently called Stan Wawrinka a cry-baby in London last year loudly enough for him to hear. After today’s match, Murray defended his girlfriend, pointing out that this was “completely normal” in an encounter “where there’s a lot of tension”.

Commentators used to complain about the steely reserve of Tim Henman’s parents, who often appeared to be the only people in Britain maintaining a stiff upper lip while their son played. His wife Lucy was made of similarly stern stuff: every other spectator fell apart long before they showed any weakness. So it seems unreasonable to start moaning now a player’s fiancee is behaving exactly as many of us would.

The reason Judy Murray proved so popular on Strictly Come Dancing before Christmas was not because she was a tremendous dancer, it was because she was enormously good-natured. We have spent years watching her courtside, her jaw clamped shut beneath a slight frown. On Strictly, she was in the unusual position of being less stressed on the dancefloor than where we usually see her: cheering on her sons and (presumably) trying to convey to them that everything is fine if they happen to glance her way. So no wonder people warmed to her when she turned out to be kind of goofy.

Kim Sears is a more expressive spectator (which is why the tabloids love her). But why wouldn’t she be? The world would be full of secure, happy relationships if we could all cheer publicly when our partners succeed. And if that means revelling in someone else’s misfortune, we just need to do it too quietly for them to hear.