So it’s been a while has it not. Antipodean hibernation? No excuse lady – sport knows no seasonal limit. But now Australian spring is here and as Gold Coast Blonde would say “Boys’ minds turn to romance and footy finals…”
Well the latter is a certainty at least. Swannies are still in with a shot, Cowboys are disappointed by another shocking refereeing bungle and apparently I should be supporting Souths due to the abundance of British Burgess brothers showing the Aussies how it’s done.
Let’s hope for some classic grand final battles in a couple of weeks, and let’s leave the controversy, be it drugs, reffing or betting, in the past.
So what else has happened while I’ve been away… England won the Ashes, Murray won Wimbledon, Froome won Le Tour and Rose won the US Open.
Uh huh – you guessed it, my recent silence is due to a general dumbfoundeness at current British sporting success. Oh and the feeling I’d probably curse the good run if I said anything…
Girl power? Independent women? Feminism? Call it what you will, but this Saturday I witnessed a very classy lady tear things up in the sporting world.
Black Caviar romped home to take her 25th straight win. The second time I’ve seen her race – the first at Royal Ascot by a whisker, this time no one else was in the picture with 200 to go.
No fear of the lady getting paid less than the boys in this sport… Hats off to you toots.
Lads - I've got this.
Victory lap for the fans.
Nod to Gold Coast Blonde for the photography.
If I were to ask you to name a team sport, Formula 1 probably wouldn’t be one which you would immediately choose, despite the massive importance of the technical team responsible for the cars, the strategists, cohesiveness between the drivers and much more. Recent events in the Red Bull team, however, have indicated that the notion of ‘team’ means more to some in the Formula 1 world than to others! During the Malaysian Grand Prix this year, Sebastian Vettel overtook Mark Webber in the latter stages of the race to take first place, despite specific instructions from the team that they should stay in position until the chequered flag to secure top points for the team and to save the engines for the next race.
Webber’s disdain, anger and disappointment were clear for all to see on the podium (I haven’t listened to the radio communcation but I can imagine the air was somewhat blue as events unfolded), however did we see any real remorse from Herr Vettel? Er, that would be a no.
This article in Syndey Morning Herald today indicates that his feelings are quite the reverse. He will NOT apologise for beating his teammate: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/vettel-not-sorry-for-beating-webber-20130411-2hmpq.html
Although he does acknowledge he is sorry for ‘putting himself above the team’ (or I suggest, sorry for the backlash that has arisen since his actions), he is not apologetic for winning. Perhaps champions shouldn’t be apologetic – it’s dog eat dog out there in this world. Although this jars with my sense of fairplay, do we need to admit that to be a success in certain sports, it takes more than just talent, it takes a hard nosed, victory focussed, unbending view, where you will win at all costs?
Well all I have to say about that is, Mr Armstrong wanted to win at all costs, and we all know what happened there. Plus, maybe you need to choose your event more carefully if you’re not interested in being part of the team. Part of the problem with the England football team appears to be that we have a group of ‘stars’ who have no idea how to work together on the pitch. The result? Continued failure and heartbreak for the fans.
Furthermore, what will we remember about Vettel in future? Yes, that he was an amazing driver with oodles of talent, but also he was just a bit of a brat who didn’t know when to pipe down, listen to his team and keep himself in check? Maybe you should have chosen golf mate – just you and your own mind to mess with you while you’re out on the course (although we wouldn’t want you on our Ryder Cup team thanks very much).
The scene, once again, was The Star casino. The event this time: England v Wales, 6 Nations rugby, with England poised for the grand slam for the first time in a decade.
Problem – time difference. Solution – 24/7 Sports Bar.
3.30am Sunday morning I hauled my English tush out of bed, dressed in red and white, picked up my St George’s cross and headed to what is becoming a bit of a sporting Mecca for me.
Alongside me was Ms Flattie. No clearer dedication to friendship illustrated than when an Aussie of Polish heritage gets up at some ungodly hour at the weekend to support her Pommie housemate’s team with her!
With a breakfast of nachos grande and coke in hand and wrapped up against the chilly air conditioning in my flag, we proceeded to watch England take an almighty beating by the Welsh.
Important sustenance on a Sunday morning.
And of course, just to rub salt in the wound, we English supporters were outnumbered by about 10 to 1 (where have all these Welsh people been hiding in Sydney?!) As I was heckled with gusto by our daffodil loving friends and our hopes of victory and a celebratory English gin were crushed, I only pulled my flag tighter around me and thought as I have so many times watching my country play ‘hard luck lads, next time it’ll be ours…’ Ever the optimist.
Points of note from this event: 1. An Aussie ref can be a thorn in my side despite immaculate facial hair. 2. Ms Flattie loses it whenever anyone speaks with a Welsh accent regardless of whether they are saying anything funny or not. 3. English sport can make my fellow compatriots swear like troopers (c-bombs galore from the guy sitting next to me – bit much at that time on a Sunday). 4. I’m a bit of a crazy patriot, but that just adds to my charm.
Red and white are totally my colour…
It was International Women’s Day last Friday. So many strong sportswomen who throw/run/jump like a girl, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
To all the sportswomen around the world – thanks for the inspiration! You talented lot you.
To all the female sports fans out there – I always maintain, being an excellent spectator is a skill in itself…
To all the ladies who still aren’t convinced, just remember- the way you feel about the footy is vastly similar to how your man feels when you buy ANOTHER pair of shoes. So give him a break when he’s watching the match! Heck, perhaps even have a go at watching it with him, you might just like it. (Watch out if he starts asking to try on your heels though #justsayin)
You know I pitch like a girl…
So after all my whinging about the integrity of sport going up the spout, I read something today via Facey B that gave me the pick me up I needed. Can’t believe I missed this story before Christmas, however for anyone else that also missed it, I’ll share it with you now:
“On December 2, Basque athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai – bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner – the certain winner of the race – mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line.
Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai’s mistake to speed past and claim an unlikely victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross first.”
Here’s the vid of these two champs:
I actually can’t explain how much this has cheered me up today! I’m English, my sense of fairplay runs deep and after all the stories of drug taking, match fixing, girlfriend shooting lately, all I can say is FINALLY! Sportsmanship lives.
Love Fairplay conquers all.
The news has been awash these past couple of weeks with the Pistorius murder case and trial. Rightly so – what a horrendous sequence of events. Whether he had intent to kill his girlfriend or whether he did indeed believe it was an intruder and was acting in self defence, it’s an awful loss of life and another indication of the scary world we live in where gun crime is rife.
Furthermore a lot of very odd things seem to be coming out about this young sportsman, who previously has been an amazing example of what can be achieved regardless of the setbacks life throws at you.
Is his story genuine? Should he have been granted bail? Is he just going to have a clever lawyer help him get away with murder? Questions, questions.
Not wanting to belittle the seriousness of this case with my inane witterings, but I must admit on reading more about this story, my mind did start wandering to that excellent and notable legal film, Legally Blonde. In the film, the case that Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle works on is about a fitness instructor, whom she knew from her university sorority, who is on trial for allegedly shooting her husband.
The one quote that kept niggling at me is when Elle is telling the team of lawyers that she believes the defendant can’t possibly be guilty, her reasoning being “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands… they just don’t.”
Hmm, I ponder this… Perhaps Pistorius was low on endorphins that evening? Potentially a missed training session? I know after my training sessions in the gym, I feel more like dancing to the Jackson 5 than committing manslaughter.
Putting my inappropriate English, black humour aside, another awful, awful moment in sport for 2013. With the blummin’ Aussie swimming team getting into the mix with their banned sleeping pill antics, I’m still waiting for some better news!
And as mentioned before, whether with intent or not, what a vile thing that a man can kill his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day? Doesn’t half make this single lass think that she really might have been better off not receiving any cards or flowers this year – boyfriends can sometimes be rather more trouble than they’re worth it seems!
Just heard that wrestling is going to be scrapped from the 2020 Olympics – I have no idea why. Will have to read more. Seems very odd to scrap such an ancient sport but I suppose everything has to change…
So now it will be interesting to see what new sport, if any, replaces it.
As an aside, just seen that Celtic went down 3-0 to Juventus in their
Champions League last 16 match. Shame.
So Suzanne Venker has published a book telling us that to keep a man we should just be nice, cook and have sex. Well one out of three is a start hey?
I have a new four point strategy however: be fun, eat out, watch the match/game/fight and have sex.
I think perhaps we don’t give men enough credit to think that they would all be happy to settle with the former option. I’m hoping anyway…
A week of doping, match fixing, general disregard for fair play in Australia. So… is this really what sport has come to? We’re only just into February and two of the major sport stories so far this year have been about cheating.
Am I gradually going to have all my faith in sporting achievement crushed? I believe not (I just have to think back to the London Olympics) but this has been a pretty dark week. Win at all costs is the mantra for many a professional sportsman – but at what price to their integrity?
And the majority of sports involved – male dominated. What IS it with men and cheating? Seriously boys, it’s not compulsory – in any area of your life!
In other news England beat Brazil in a friendly. A fix, I hope not; a surprise, most definitely!
allgamesnorules 