I am a sports fan. I
am aware that there is a Rugby Union world cup going on and that there was much
grinding of teeth or merriment (depending on your national persuasion) at the
early exit of England. To be honest, I
couldn’t care less as Rugby Union is fundamentally flawed as a spectator sport
if you ask me. Regardless of my view
though, once again a big sporting event raised the hopes of many and built up a
time honoured sense of excitement only for it all to come crashing down days
later.
But why do we keep doing this as a nation? What is it about these events that draws in
people who at any other time of the year would have no interest in sport? Surely, a sense of shared identity has a part
to play. There is very little nowadays
that we can unite behind; especially in a national sense. Regrettably, identifying with most things in
a national sense tends to mark you out as a fundamentalist or covert
racist. Sport is, therefore, a safe
place for us to show pride in a nation’s flag, get irrationally excited and
experience a mass sense of belonging without having to sign up to an
organisation and give away money and our personal details.
I’m okay with this, but as in most forms of entertainment,
surely there has to be a chance of success and winning to keep that enthusiasm
going? Surely, that is where we are
going wrong? With the 2012 Olympics as
the exception, for decades now mass sporting passion has been focussed on major
football and rugby union tournaments involving men. Other than 2003 and Johnny Wilkinson, there
has been absolutely nothing to shout about.
How many times have our national teams been involved in the finals end
of a tournament? How many hours have
been wasted watching bad performances where there was nothing to get excited
about? This is time you will never get
back people.
So is there an alternative option? Yes.
Hand these sports over to the women.
Taking England as a case in point, the women’s football team, rugby
union team and cricket team have all outperformed their male counterparts in
recent years. They’ve been involved in
finals and actually won things.
Broadcasters and media take note.
Get behind this now. It will make
people feel good and will be a lot cheaper to cover than the male
equivalent.
Now the alpha males who view sport as their God given domain
will start to shout at this point about quality and superior athleticism. Fine, if you feel threatened by women playing
your sport and making a better fist of it than you, go look for sports where
home nation males actually excel. With
no research whatsoever, I’m sure there are sports such as squash, triathlon or
cycling where British men are champions of the world.
I expect this entry to cause the usual outrage and
consternation which only sport or animals can seem to stir up in this most
reserved of islands. ‘How dare he reduce
the complexities of sport down to a simple desire to win!’ Ask yourself, however, when did anyone ever
say, ‘We performed poorly, the team lacked cohesion and the quality to create
chances. An early exit is a good thing
and I thoroughly enjoyed the tournament?’
