SPORTS PERSONALITY; OVERBLOWN NONSENSE.

Last night saw the BBC's annual review of the sporting year, broadcast as 'The Sports Personality of the Year 2012.' There was a time when I would have watched this annual event, glued to the television and desperate to hear of the exploits of 'my heroes'; not any more. In keeping with the modern mania for exaggerating everything to do with so-called celebrity, this programme has become an overblown, and very long, opportunity for the BBC to put on a ludicrous extravaganza at the expense of licence payers. Was all the noise and flashing lights really necessary, or was this a way simply to make the event seem far more important than it really was, in the same way that pop-stars are over-promoted ?

 

The viewing audience were confronted by 3 presenters none of whom has any great talent for presentation and all of whom have become increasingly innured in the horrible, smarmy world of sucking up to the 'stars'. There was a time when Sue Barker was a delight as the presenter of 'A Question of Sport', but no longer; now her sycophantic giggles at the stupid antics of the teams simply make me turn off. There was a time when Gary Lineker was a breath of fresh air as an expert on football and that's where he should have stayed. There was even a time when Claire Balding talked sense when it came to horse racing, but what on earth caused the BBC to believe she could front shows involving other sports or something so prestigious as 'Sports Personality' used to be ? 

 

Everyone was wonderful; everyone came through SUCH difficult times; everyone was so grateful to their coach, their physio, their medical team, their granny, their cat and so on. It was egregious and one longed for a Danny Blanchflower to walk on and tell them so. Instead, we had the nauseating sight of Sebastian Coe being given a lifetime award and trotting out his own stream of worthless platitudes and inanities. David Beckham, a man far more famous for being famous these days than for any sporting contribution, was called upon to string a few words together for no obvious reason other than who he was. We had the lunacy of the 'Team of the Year' award going to a team that didn't actually exist, the GB Olympic team; this was not a team, it was a bunch of individuals who happened to be at the same event. What madness !

 

When I read the sports' pages of my Saturday newspaper, I saw that Ladbroke's, the bookmakers' had Bradley Wiggins as odds-on favourite to win the individual award with Jessica Ennis and Andy Murray tipped to fill the minor places. That this was the exact result had me wondering what inside information Ladbroke's had; they are, after all, not so good when it comes to picking horses. 

 

I only watched bits of this over-long nonsense and listened to even less, but I don't think I'll be bothering at all next year. I don't need the BBC to tell me who were the stars of the year and I certainly don't need to listen to the oily and sycophantic tones of those whom they choose to force upon us, whether as presenters, stars or celebrities. All of this glitz and glamour is horribly overdone and our sporting performers ludicrously overvalued and overpaid; perhaps when we come to realise that sport is really of very little importance in the real world, we will start to grow again as a nation.

 

FOOTBALL : RITUALISED WARFARE.

Yesterday I read the news that the use of netting may be introduced at football grounds. This has nothing to do with the goals, but would be intended to protect players from the unwanted attentions of unruly spectators.

 

At a time when we have regular complaints of racism towards players, and high profile police investigations as a result, it's now been suggested that netting should be introduced in order to protect players from objetcs thrown towards the pitch. What this all says to me is that football is becoming far too significant in our society, a sure sign of overall decline.

 

The animalistic behaviour of many players has increased exponentially as the money to be made from this game has risen. Players foul and cheat as part of the normal game and shout abuse at each other and the officials as a matter of course. That this behaviour has fueled an increasingly sectarian response on the terraces is hardly surprising; spectators use whatever 'tools' they can find in order to encourage their own team while abusing and discouraging their opponents.

 

Spectators are now routinely filmed in order to catch those who misbehave and may soon be confronted by netting in order to prevent thenm throwing objects on to the pitch; next, it will undoubtedly be metal railings. How can this be considered civilized ? How can football be considered any longer to be a sport ? It is ritualised savagery, warfare between opposing factions and yet millions are now wedded to it.

 

There was a time when sport was just that, a pastime for the masses which gave them relief from the weekly drudgery of their working lives. More recently, a range of sports has been accorded an entirely different status and position in our society and some, like football, are wholly out of control. In ancient Rome, 'The Games' and similar spectacles became greater and greater as that mighty empire raced headlong towards barbarism and eventual collapse.

 

We should all beware lest we are headed down the same road.

LANCASTER'S ENGLAND TROUNCE ALL-BLACKS !

Earlier today, New Zealand were apparently quoted as '12-1 on' favourites to win their encounter with England at Twickenham. Unbelievably, anyone who took the odds not only lost their money but must now be feeling horribly embarrassed at having dismissed the home side's chances so easily.

 

England played with tremendous spirit from first to last. With New Zealand's great kicker, Dan Carter, missing a couple, England built up a half-time lead of 12-0 which was extended to 15-0 within a few minutes of the restart through an immaculate display from Owen Farrell.

 

The All Blacks then came back with 2 brilliant tries, both converted by Carter and suddenly the gap was down to just 1 point. Just as it looked as though England might be overwhelmed, they hit back with a try from Brad Barritt, quickly followed by another from Chris Ashton; Farrell hit the bar with his first conversion effort and slid by the post with his second, but England still led by 11 points. A third try, this time after a brilliant interception from Manu Tuilagi, and converted by Farrell, followed by two more penalties, scored by Farrell's replacement Freddie Burns, and England led by an

unassailable 38-14. 

 

Even a piece of stupidity from Vunipola, that saw him sent to the sin-bin, couldn't change things although the All Blacks did manage one try against the depleted English defence. The match ended with the visitors desperately searching for another try but the English defence held out and the home team recorded their greatest ever margin of victory against the side universally acknowledged as being the best in the world. 38-21 was not just the final score, it was a reflection of the magnificence of England's performance. Roll on the Six Nations !

FLINTOFF SCRAPES BOTTOM OF THE BARREL.

Andrew Flintoff was a good enough cricketer, though not really a superstar. His frequent injuries may well have contributed to his failure to reach the true heights, but I somehow think that his lack of basic intelligence was a bigger factor. Since his retirement from the cricketing stage, Flintoff has attempted to make a second career in the media, without achieving anything very exciting. Now he's taken to the boxing ring which must surely indicate a degree of desperation about where his next meal is coming from.

 

By all accounts, his performance in the ring was pretty average at best and he suffered a second round knock down; nonetheless, he did eventually win a scrappy contest by the narrowest of points margins after four 2-minute rounds. Whether he will ever fight again may be in the balance but I suspect money and publicity will win out over common sense and he will, indeed, risk what few brains he has by having another go.

 

To my mind, the modern craze for former sportsmen to take up second careers as television presenters, dancers and 'celebrities' in the the jungle demeans their earlier achievements. However, Flintoff's ridiculous reincarnation as a pugilist must just about be at the very bottom of the barrel.