Category Archives: Sport

The Promised Part 2

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England just beat Iran 6-2 in the football. One of the big questions is what were the defence doing. England v Iran is a bit like me versus a plate of sandwiches. There is really only going to be one outcome (though I would have said that about Iceland at one time). However, it’s not the biggest question, is it? The biggest question is why, after excusing ourselves for playing in Qatar, with all it’s perceived faults, are we playing Iran. They currently have two women awaiting execution for supporting LGBT people and for attempting to help them escape from Iran. Not for being gay, but merely for supporting people who are. We banned Russia from various sports for state-sponsored doping and for invading Ukraine, but we are happy play a country that kills people for supporting the human rights of others.

But don’t worry, our fearless moral crusaders of the England team are going to show their disapproval of the way LGBT people are treated by having the captain wear a special armband. That’ll show them!

Oh, wait, no, it seems FIFA have issued instructions that the captains will be booked if they wear the armband. So that plan has collapsed.

This wasn’t what I’d planned for Part 2, so I’ll now move on to discuss whether we are right to tell other countries how to live.

The question is, what right do we have to lecture other countries on the way they run things, and does it make any difference? Qatar doesn’t tell me I can’t drink in public in the UK, or anything else. Is it right that I should have views on how they conduct themselves at home? Having walked through the streets of Nottingham a few times at night, I’d be happy to ban drinking in public. We can drink in a pub in the UK at the age of 18. The minimum drinking age in the USA is 21 (with minor exceptions in a few states according to Wikipedia). Will we be lobbying the USA to change the drinking laws for football fans?

Interestingly, according to Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan’s marriage laws protect children better than the equivalent laws in America. And recent changes to abortion laws in USA mean many states operate a policy people in the UK would be unhappy with. Will we be raising these issues with the US before the World Cup? I sincerely doubt it. There’s a tendency in the Western world to let other Western countries run themselves as their citizens want. But if you are outside the club we are liable to tell you how you should behave. Unless you have something we want.

It’s a bit like South Africa’s apartheid system when the Chinese were considered “non-White” but  the Japanese, Taiwanese and citizens of Hong Kong were all considered “honorary white”, as were West Indian cricketers and Maori New Zealanders when on sports tours.

And there we are – back to politics and sport. Do they mix? Should we lecture other countries on how to live their lives? (And don’t feel singled out if you live in the USA, it’s just that you are one of the hosts of the next FIFA World Cup and I know a bit more about you than I do about Canada and Mexico).

Whooper Swans on farmland near Frampton Marsh

More swan photos. Tomorrow I will stop being serious and go back to moaning about trivia.

Sportswashing, Bribery and Beer

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I’ve just been reading about the decision by the Qatari government to ban the sale of alcohol in and around football stadia during the World Cup. I’m not really sure what the fuss is about. If you are going for the sport, you can enjoy football without beer. If you were going with the for the drinking, Qatar probably isn’t the best place for you anyway.

As I understand it from attending rugby matches at football grounds, the sale of alcohol is restricted in the UK, and you aren’t even allowed to have the tops of soft drinks bottles. You have to allow the bar staff to take them off and retain them in case you should throw it at the players. It doesn’t seem a big deal.

Anyway, unless I’m missing the point, their attitude to alcohol isn’t the worst thing about the Qatari government. If you really want to be picky you could make a list of other points that raise concerns, like slavery, migrant workers, women’s rights and LGBT rights.

FIFA, the players and the world in general, has muttered a bit but not really done anything much about anything. In that it follows general sporting practice. After all, several host countries of recent sporting events have questionable records on human rights. Of course, the biggest ethical question hanging over the current World Cup is whether it should ever have gone ahead, as the allegations of self-enrichment (so much nicer as a word than “bribery” isn’t it?) seem to indicate that greed, rather than the good of the game, was the guiding principle in awarding the World Cup.

If you have a few minutes, read this, it’s a statement on human rights and the various pronouncements of sporting bodies, many of whom seem to ignore their own guidelines in awarding their events to the highest bidders. If not, and I wouldn’t blame you for not reading it, take it from me, money talks louder than ethics.

At this point, I suppose I should mention golf, but this article covers it better than I could, so have a look (it’s a quick read). I hadn’t heard the term “sportswashing” before.

That’s about it for the sporting part of the discussion. I will go on to Part 2 tomorrow and discuss a few other issues.

For now, I will leave you with a thought. Andy Murray. Works hard, wins things, does this. Perhaps we should show pictures of him to our football team so they can see what a proper sporting hero looks like.

I don’t have any pictures that relate to sport or ethics, so you’ll have to make do with some swans

Mute Swan

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What Does £32 Million Buy? (Part 1)

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The easy, topical answer, is that it buys a Winter Olympic team, along with 59 athletes, four medals and the material for some great film scripts.

A crowd-funded bobsleigh team, crashing skater and an ice dancer who came back from smashing a kneecap – it’s all there.

I’m not a great sportsman, as you may have guessed from my photos and various comments on size and sloth, but every four years I rotate through Olympics, Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games. The kids make me watch a variety of World Championships, there’s the Rugby World Cup,the Rugby League World Cup and plenty of local news on skaters and kayakers who train in Nottingham. It’s hard not to get involved with all that around on TV.

Now, the question, as raised by National Treasure “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards, is, are we spending too much on Winter sports. We aren’t, it seems, a natural Winter Sport nation.

Unfortunately we aren’t naturally good at Summer Sports, cricket or football either.

So, where do I go from here?

I could go on to discuss sport, politics and the national mood, which always seems to improve when we do well.  It often improves when we lose too, as we all love an underdog and Elise Christie, though devoid of medals, has set an example of determination that’s a great example to the rest of us.

I could talk about sport and money. It’s a massive subject, and it has plenty to offer a cynic, particularly if, like me, you believe that the money would be better spent on developing better drugs programmes. If people want to run as fast as chemicals allow, let’s help them. I’m looking forward to the two minute mile.

However, for those who want to do it the old-fashioned way – hard work and dedication – I’d have a separate set of games. I’d also ban transgressors for life instead of handing them a short rest between games. Yes Justin Gatlin, I’m looking at you.

Finally, as we’ve sort of covered politics, cash and the cowardice of governing bodies, it might be a good time to mention James “Darkie” Peters. I’ll say no more. If you’re interested in the history of sport, apartheid and spineless administrators you will find it interesting.

In Part 2 I will look at what else you can buy with £32 million.

 

 

 

Another day, another defeat

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Nottingham Outlaws played Beverley on Saturday, coming off a run of nine defeats. I got there ten minutes after kick off and they were already ten points down, having been undone twice by cross field kicks.

The trouble is that the lads from Yorkshire, even the weightier ones (and at least two of them were built like competitive eaters rather than athletes), grow up with Rugby League, but many of our team tend to be tactically naive. As you can see from the table, they can score tries, despite this. Unfortunately, we can’t stop the opposition from scoring, and often help them by dropping the ball.

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Despite the run of defeats we are still putting a team out every week. That’s more than you can say for one of the other teams, which has now dropped out.

I’ll leave it to the match report to give details. If you think it’s critical of the referee, I assure you it’s mild compared to the comments made by people from both sides on Saturday.

 

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I don’t normally have a go at refs as they do a tough job and there would be no games without them. Despite having qualified as a ref in both codes I am actually incapable of thinking, seeing, running, deciding and whistling at the same time and admire anyone who can.

However, the referee did not have a great day, failing to play advantage, missing several infringements and penalising several imagined infringements. He also made a mess of the timekeeping.  To be fair though, I have seen far worse.

It was good in parts (we led twice), it only rained part of the time and everyone likes a good moan at the ref. Plus we got a chance to build character, even if we would have preferred to win.

And that’s about it – just another average Saturday for the amateur sportsmen of Britain.

 

 

 

Sharlston Rovers v Nottingham Outlaws

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It was always going to be a stiff test today because Sharlston Rovers are a long-established club. Founded around 1881, they won their first cup in 1895 (The Wakefield and District Cup) and have an impressive record of winning and producing professional players, including three winners of the Lance Todd Trophy.

Outlaws  were founded in 1999. We won a few things, notably the Harry Jepson Trophy in 2008. I say “we”, though my role in the victory was confined to a bit of light spectating and the offering of advice to the match officials, who completely ignored me.

Despite the lack of history and pedigree we didn’t look too bad for most of the time.

It’s hard playing Rugby League in Yorkshire, because they grow up playing it, where most of the Outlaws come to it via Rugby Union. The two games may seem similar, but they are quite different in places and it sometimes shows.

There are other differences, but this might not be the time or place to mention my views on Yorkshire Rugby League.

We arrived about ten minutes late to find that the skies were blue and Outlaws were in the lead. Neither would last.

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First the rain came, then Sharlston equalised. We scored again, but missed the kick, and when Sharlston scored again they nailed the kick to lead by two points.

We exhibited a certain amount of defensive frailty, as they say and fell six more points behind. At that point the crowd started to relax and the whining stopped (there’s nothing as whiney as a Yorkshireman under pressure).

This proved to be the story of the second half too, as our continuing defensive troubles allowed Sharlston in a couple more times. We kept them under pressure and forced several schoolboy errors, like a long pass to the wing that went into touch. Embarrassing.

Having played RL in Yorkshire for several years Number Two son clapped that error in a display of Yorkshire sportsmanship. He knows how to twist the knife.

The best part of the day was seeing one of our players make his First Team debut. He started as an Under 9 and Number One son used to coach him. It was worth the trip just to see that and hear Number One son say “I’m feeling very old now”.

I know that feeling.

It was a trip down memory lane for Number Two son too. During his Yorkshire playing days he’d been carded by today’s ref and been in a fight with one of the Sharlston players (who was then playing for Featherstone Lions).

I am such a proud parent.

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Final score 26 – 10. It was closer than the score suggests for most of the match.

 

 

 

 

 

Rain, Rugby League and the Royal Artillery

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Yes, it’s that time of year again, the opening of the summer Rugby League season. In theory it doesn’t really start for Nottingham Outlaws until 1st April when they play their first game in the Yorkshire Men’s League. It’s going to be quite a test, and interesting to see. We’ve beaten Yorkshire teams before, but this is a step up in class so we will have to see what happens.

Today it was the seventh Heroes Trophy match, an annual fixture against the Royal Artillery. It marked our fourth win in seven years, and was an excellent match despite the wintry conditions. I say “our” though, of course, I confined my part in the match to a spot of gentle supporting from the sidelines.

Obviously I shared some of the team’s discomfort, as it was wet and cold, and I didn’t get a cup of tea for over 80 minutes, though I didn’t have to cope with the hostile intentions of an 18 stone Gunner.

Outlaws Play the Ball
Man of the Match, sporting an excellent line in beards
Nottingham Outlaws in action
Nottingham Outlaws v Royal Artillery RL

As I said to Number 1 son, who was visiting for the weekend, a summer season is all very well, but it does depend on the weather cooperating. It wasn’t a great day for photography: there wasn’t enough light for decent photographs, and water on the lens really didn’t help either.

Roll on summer…