Can I send gold to someone at the other side of the globe? Can I pay my friend a tiny little bit of gold for that money I owe him for those beers he bought me last night? Can I back my gold up multiples times to protect it? That's why bitcoin is far better as a currency.
Bitcoin is more practical that's true. But for some people and in some scenarios it is less safe. For example in 2003 in there was a power outage in Northeastern and Midwestern United States and many people where out of energy for almost two days. In 1999 Southern Brazil also experienced blackout. If you have physical money you still can buy things like food and so on.