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Nigel Lopez-McBean writes: Australian sports fans are quick to proclaim that they are one of the great sporting nations, if not the greatest on earth.
For a western nation with a solidly outdoors, sport-obsessed culture with excellent weather and facilities, it’s possible to argue that they aren’t quite as good as they think. Why? Soccer, Boxing and Athletics, that’s why.
I’m not suggesting that Australia isn’t a successful sporting nation. It is. It’s just that this success has underlying themes.
Australia tends to excels at the following:
1. Minority sport – Rugby, Swimming, Women’s Netball, Cricket (yes, it’s still a minority sport), Tennis, Surfing, Triathlon and a whole raft of other sports that many major competitive countries (Germany, Spain, Russia etc) have little interest in.
2. Middle class and lifestyle sport – See above…
3. Unevolved sport – There is no doubting the athleticism of the AFL but is it a great sport? A highly evolved sport?
150 years of history and it has scarcely made its way out of Victoria and to its detriment is still a sport, played, coached and watched only by Australians. Where are the new ideas? The multinational influence that has driven the likes of soccer?
An example of how basic AFL is as a sport is the Father/Son draft policy. In highly evolved technical sports like soccer the chances of a father and son both being good enough to play the same sport professionally are extremely rare, let alone both become award winning players for the same club.
The idea of this situation being prevalent enough to warrant an administrative policy in AFL is an indicator of the sports possibly average skill level.
4. The great sporting nations have an illustrious history in the king of sports – Boxing.
Australia’s history in Boxing for a nation of men that pride themselves on their machismo (the biggest spectator sports in Australia are both violent contact sports) is confusing. At present Australia is a less successful boxing nation than the likes of Jamaica, Thailand, Indonesia, Ireland, Wales and Cuba. Where are the Australian-born fighters?
5. Any sport without world class IOC standard drug testing – Australia still has professional sports that have a ‘three strikes’ policy. British soccer players have been banned for a year for merely ‘forgetting’ a single drug test. Does any intelligent person really think ‘three strikes’ is a drugs policy? The sports which have the most sophisticated drug testing tend to (worryingly) have the lowest Australian representation.
6. Any sport which you requires years of practice…outdoors.
7. Supporting winning teams. Is the obsession with finals series in Australian sport, anything other than a way to prevent fans losing interest half way through the season when their team has no chance of winning the league?
It’s easy to suggest that the Finals Series whilst being lucrative and exciting, reward mediocrity, which is contrary to Australia’s ultra-competitive image.
Is Australia’s sporting love and prowess overstated?
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