Messing with our health
2009-11-23 10:44
International sport has a massive impact on national pride these days. Winning puts a spring in the step of a nation and makes the ordinary Joe in the street a lot more tolerant and neighbourly.
But losing, especially losing against an inferior and technically much weaker team, messes with the mind of a nation to the point where people want to go out and just be bloody minded and nasty in a desperate effort to feel better about things.
Which is why sports administrators and coaches need to think before they do stupid things like experiment in the international arena.
Yes, I am talking about rugby coach Pieter de Villiers and his insane policy of playing a second rate dirt-tracking team against English rugby clubs that under normal circumstances a well-motivated Bok team would thrash into oblivion.
Frankly, when I see a team wearing a jersey with "South Africa" written on it and see them singing our national anthem before the game, I expect that it will be a team made up of the absolutely best possible players. I want to see them win. But I don't mind if the lose against strong opponents. But the very thought of an official Springbok team losing against a club team wants me to go and puke on somebody's jersey.
Forget about using the opportunity to give new players international experience. Playing against club sides is not international experience.
Sport is no longer about sport. It is, of course, primarily about money, but in many ways it is also war. And losing a war against an enemy, especially a weak enemy one should be able to crush with two rifles and a catty, has a massive impact on national pride. I would go so far as to say that losing badly at international sport or rather being soundly embarrassed by losing to far weaker sides, not only has a negative impact on national pride but also on things like productivity in the workplace and mental health.
Recent history is full of incidences of suicides as a direct result of losing at international sport.
If you are a cricket fan, remember how you felt when Klusener and Donald cocked up that last ball of the world cup decider against Australia in England not so long ago? That was a real stab to the heart of the nation.
Just imagine the way the Irish nation feels right now, never having played in a football world cup and coming so close against France only to be cheated out of their big chance by a blatant handball that match officials completely ignored. And even now, with Thierry Henry having openly admitted to using his hands, nothing seems to be happening. France is through to the world cup and FIFA is rubbing its hands in glee because with France instead of Ireland there it will make for a better world cup and more profit.
It is sickening to see that blatant cheating is an acceptable way of winning at sport.
Perhaps the way to prevent sport from having such a massive impact on the well-being, mental health and productivity of a nation, is to formally declare all Olympic sports businesses.
And to force each sporting code to publish its business plan and balance sheet so that everyone can see exactly where its profit is coming from. So we can see whether it makes financial sense for a South African rugby team to throw a few games against a couple of English clubs in order to build up some youngsters for a shot at the world cup because winning a world cup means more money for the coach, the team and especially the SA rugby administrators.
Maybe we should be allowed to buy shares in these businesses so that when we throw games in the interests of winning big bucks down the line at least we can drown our sorrows in dividends.
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