Say something that says anything less than ecstatic about them, and they immediately get their knickers in a twist.
Heaven knows, I have enough experience.
What drives them to do it? The Poms, if they could be bothered, would fight back with witty repartee.
But not the Yanks.
Why do they - being mostly Republicans - have to take themselves so seriously?
It's a real mystery that needs to be sorted.