An extract from Justine McCarthy’s column in The Irish Times yesterday.
The old joke goes that soccer is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans, rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen and Gaelic is a hooligan’s game played by hooligans. Add to that: golf is a rich sport with poor principles.
Cycling?
Maybe we are being saturated by sport, good or not-so-good?
2 comments:
The Olympic Games remind us that organised sport has been part of human civilisation for nearly three thousand years. The ancient Greeks understood that physical excellence and mental excellence belonged together. Plato saw physical training as an essential part of education, while Aristotle recognised that exercise contributed to a healthy and flourishing life.
Sport, at its best, is undoubtedly a good thing. It provides discipline, friendship, purpose and belonging. For many young people, particularly those from disadvantaged communities, a sports club can become a positive tribe that offers identity, encouragement and opportunity.
The capitalist model of modern sport is something else entirely. Billion-euro industries, relentless broadcasting, sponsorships and commercial interests can sometimes overshadow the simple joy of the game. That is a criticism of the business of sport, not necessarily of sport itself.
Watching the World Cup this year, I have been just as fascinated by the supporters as by the football. The Dutch fans moving together in synchronised chants, the Norwegian supporters mimicking a rowing crew, the colours, songs and humour, it’s all wonderfully human. Then there are the tears of defeat, the ecstasy of victory, and the heartbreak that follows a missed chance.
Perhaps what sport ultimately reveals is not simply our competitiveness but our deep need to belong. Beneath the jerseys, flags and rivalries, we are still tribal creatures, searching for meaning, identity and community. Maybe that is why sport has endured from ancient Olympia to today’s global tournaments.
DD
While the others are just games, cycling is fundamentally a method of transport. Hard to say anything bad about a sport that actually gets you where you need to go.
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