SPORT 1913 - 2013

part one_CHAPTER 2

longed to an age, as it seems in retro- spect, when we still seemed to win. The reverse of our present predicament – losing on the economy, losing on jobs, losing on law and order – even losing to India [at cricket]: unshaven despondent Gooch, in brutal contrast to clean-cut triumphant Moore (Guardian, July 28 th 1993, p. 2).

plishments but also in terms of the emotions they, and thus, we, go through, in terms of a well-played game or thrilling contest. Tie-breaks in tennis, penalty shoot-outs in football and sudden death play-offs in golf evoke a range of emotions, so much so that by the end of the contest we are emotionally drained. And, unlike a well performed play or well-acted film, we know that what we were witnessing in sport is real and that the out- come was not determined beforehand. Some- times, our champions fulfil their own and our dreams but, on other occasions, the tragedy of defeat must be endured. A champion, such as Rafael Nadal, on entering Centre Court at Wimbledon can observe a plaque that displays Rudyard Kipling’s poem If . The poem notes, that when you meet triumph and disaster you have to meet those impostors just the same. Only when sports are associated with matters of deep cultural and personal signifi- cance do they then become important to fans (Nixon and Frey, 1996). Major sporting events are thus mythic spectacles where fans are pro- vided the opportunity for collective participa- tion and identification that serves as a means of celebrating and reinforcing shared cultural meanings. It is precisely because sports are a separate world that suspends the everyday world, that they are able to celebrate shared cultural meanings that are expressed through and embodied by champions. The anthem, the emblem and the flag associated with sporting contests highlights how champions represent the nation (Maguire and Tuck 1999). The Eng-

land World Cup team of 1966 became world champions but also have had a collective hero- ism attached to them. Their success has stood the test of time – it still moves English fans. But it is perhaps the iconic images of Bobby Moore that remain etched in people’s minds. This gives a clue to the fact that the symbol- ism of sport, and the role played by the cham- pion, is even deeper than mere nationalism and patriotism. Bobby Moore symbolised something more than winning (Powell, 2002). The reaction to his death highlighted that his sporting performances evoked something deeper about English culture and identity. Take the following example:

Leading on from such observations it is argu- ably the case that if social life can be conceived of as a game through which identities are es- tablished, tested and developed, then sports can be viewed as idealised forms of social life. Its rules and codes of play (such as in golf eti- quette) allow for a fair contest and a true test of ability. The ‘true’ champion, playing an au- thentic match, with integrity, is the best ex- pression of this. In this context it is thus pos- sible to establish an identity with greater consensual and authentic certainty than in social life itself. We insist on the authenticity and integrity of the contest – on the strict for- mal rules and their fair enforcement – because we want any differences of worth between us to be based on merit (see Morgan and Meier, 1988). In real life our class, race, gender or re- ligion interfere and rig the game of social life and its outcomes. As such, its victors and los- ers are profane deceptive illusions. But, on the field of play, sport outcomes are sacred, they are real and authentic. That is also why cham- pions seek to beat fellow champions: that is the true test. Honour and respect are not

The grief – stricken tributes of the past two days to the former England football captain Bobby Moore represent some- thing more than a general mourning for a great sporting hero... detectable with- in them is another kind of mourning: for a world as it seems looking back, when things sometimes used to go right... Our streets are less safe than they were 30 years ago, our world reputation less glowing, our monarchy less revered, our sportsmen less sporting... The word of an English gentleman [sic] is no longer his bond in the way it was when Eng- land conquered the world. What this evidence really describes is a nation ill at ease with itself... That made the pictures of Moore yester- day... especially poignant. They be-

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