Here’s an interesting question: outside of our British heritage, which country has contributed most significantly to Australia’s sporting prowess? My immediate thoughts turn to two countries: Lebanon and Croatia. Croatians have made a huge impact in football and are heavily represented at Socceroo level. Lebanese sportspeople are predominant in rugby league. It would be worthwhile exercise to create a list of sportspeople from countries that feature heavily in Australian sport.
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May 27th 2007 @ 11:57am
Darryl said | May 27th 2007 @ 11:57am | Report comment
I think the original Austalians, the Aboriginals, have contributed the most but the Kiwis, Tongans, Samoans and Fijians have also helped out alot in the union/league ranks.
Completely agree about the Croatians and Lebanese though – great atheletes, but in Aussie rules you can’t go past the mighty Greeks, they are fantastic atheletes and dominate the sporting surnames in Victoria especially.
I think I’ve covered everyone?
May 27th 2007 @ 1:00pm
spiro zavos said | May 27th 2007 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
David Sygall suggests a ‘British heritage’ for the colonisation of Australia. it is not nitpicking to suggest that a better word might be ‘Anglo-Celt’ heritage. And in this Anglo-Celt heritage tradition the athletes of Irish background would have to figure very significantly, especially in league and rugby. The point about the Lebanese, Italians, Croatians, New Zealanders (remember Clarrie Grimmet?) and Tongans is that migrants and their children (particularly) tend to have a special imperative to ‘meld in’ with the mainstream, as I well know from my own personal experience. The easiest and most effective way to meld in is through sport. Everyone is equal on the sports field, it is essentially a level playing field. Children of migrants tend to have a hunger to succeed that might not apply in general to children of third or fourth generation Australians.
May 28th 2007 @ 10:02am
jonnyboy71 said | May 28th 2007 @ 10:02am | Report comment
Spiro’s comment is a classic – he’s into historical revisionism now!
Question for Spiro: would you say you have a Greek heritage, or do you still think that all the states of Greece (Athens, Sparta, Rhodes and so on) should be separately represented – so you’re an Athenian-Rhodesian-Australian?
Madness? This… is… SPARTA! Sorry, Paramatta.
Yours anglo-celtically.