( CNN ) -- Are Australian sports fans the toughest in the world ? They would certainly give the English football press a run for their money . They do n't like you if you 're too good . But they ca n't abide if you 're rubbish either . Admittedly I have only been in the country for five days . And with an office full of Australian cameraman , I 'm more than aware that I 'm putting myself in line for some thoroughly unflattering camera angles in the days to come . But this is what I have learned . Take `` Tall Poppy Syndrome '' for starters . It 's a new phrase I 've discovered . The urban dictionary says it 's Australian slang to criticize highly successful people and cut them down to size . I was taught it by virtually the only fan supporting Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open women 's final at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night . It was her explanation for the icy reception the Belorussian received . Yes , Vika had upset a few people with her medical time out in her semi . But she 'd fronted up to all the questions she was asked , and admitted she 'd made a mistake . And Sloane Stephens said it had n't bothered her two hoots . Here she was fighting her heart out to stay as the world No . 1 and defend her grand slam title -- at just 23 years of age . If the crowd had stopped booing for long enough , they might have seen she played some frankly brilliant tennis . What happened to marveling at excellence ? Homegrown talent does n't fare much better , though . He 's still some way from a grand slam title , but 20-year-old Bernard Tomic got further than any other Australian player at the opening grand slam of the year . He beat eventual winner and world No . 1 Novak Djokovic just a couple of weeks ago as well . But my taxi driver on Thursday told me he was rubbish . Cast your mind back too , to the early days of Ian Thorpe 's swimming career , and the pressures he faced at just 15 , after becoming the youngest male world champion . But if you ca n't win by winning , you 'd think they back the underdog . But no , that does n't always seem to be the case either . Australian rugby fan Andrew Marmont on sports website Roar gives us a list of things he 'd rather do instead of watching the Wallabies get beaten by the All Blacks -- again . It includes vacuuming , and washing the car . I 'm a woman , and I 'll take the sport every time . Why not throw a party , sing your heart out and marvel in plucky failure once again . The Brits have been doing it for years . Take Eddie `` The Eagle '' Edwards -- the first British ski-jumper at the Winter Olympics . In 1988 he became a national hero -- as a loser . It 's not just Australia though . Spain and Italy have some of the most passionate , positive football supporters in the world . Until their teams lose two or three games . Then watch the tide turn . But I suppose at least they care . I found a trip to the basketball in Miami to be one of the strangest sporting experiences of my life . It was the Heat against the Clippers in early 2007 . Quite a big game at the time . But you would n't have known it inside the American Airlines Arena . Fans turned up as and when they liked , or popped their heads in for a quarter , and then headed back to the popcorn stand . Very odd . They 've definitely got passion here . I saw that up close and personal as a few hundred Sydney FC fans arrived in Melbourne to see their team take on Melbourne Victory . You could hear their songs from half a mile away as they approached the ground . And I have to say , Alessandro Del Piero told me he 's loving the fans here . He joked that he 's being asked for about a thousand autographs a day since his move from Serie A to the A-League . But he does n't mind because he 's being asked nicely . I 'll give them that . The thing about Australia is that on the whole , it loves sport . The people know sport . They have a lot of it here . Not just the Australian Open tennis , but cricket , F1 's Australian Grand Prix , horse racing 's Melbourne Cup , Aussie Rules Football , rugby league , and soccer 's A-League . What I do n't understand is that there 's so much to celebrate . But maybe when you have a horse like Black Caviar , human endeavor is just never going to be good enough . PS . This is no reflection of the welcome I 've had during my time in Australia ! I 've had a truly wonderful visit -- and very much look forward to coming back soon !
Australia is world renowned as a country which is passionate about sport . Women 's champions Victoria Azarenka criticized for taking a medical break in semifinal . Tennis star Bernard Tomic is Australia 's top male tennis player . But the 20-year - old is not universally rated by the world 's sport media .