For anyone who likes Pink Floyd, there’s nothing better than popping on The Dark Side Of The Moon to escape the world for 43-minutes. Some people just don’t get their music though and are mystified how anyone can listen to one song, let alone a full album.
But if you take the time to listen to each song over and over, the music starts to become addictive.
Sport is the same.
It’s like one of those 3D magic eye pictures that you have to concentrate on for a long time. Once you see the picture it all makes sense. You start by understanding the rules, then you begin to see more and more than you ever realised was there.
Perhaps people who hate sport simply don’t want to see the picture, knowing what sport addiction can do to a person.
When I read ‘The Man Who Owns the News’, I was surprised to find that Rupert Murdoch doesn’t even like sport, but he does understand and appreciates its power. After all, if it wasn’t for his acquisition of pay-television sport, particularly English football, he may never have recovered all of his debts in the early 90s (according to the book it was $7 billion at one stage).
If Murdoch doesn’t like it, how many people are out there in the same boat?
If you’ve ever lived with someone who doesn’t appreciate the joys of watching elite sport these comments may sound familiar:
* ‘Can’t you just tape it if it’s on at 2am?’
No, no and no! Watching live sport is a phenomenon like no other. You are watching un-scripted action. Anything can happen and it often does, which is why Bill Lawry says ‘It’s all happening.’
You remember where you were when Stephen Larkham kicked THAT field goal or Tim Cahill scored THAT goal. It’s just not the same when you’re watching sport delayed the next day. It takes so much effort just to avoid hearing the result and then you find out you didn’t set the timer properly or the tape runs out at a crucial moment, or worse, you tape over treasured family memories. Not good. Basically only bad things can happen when you don’t watch sport live.
* ‘Who’s winning the cricket?’
Is this the most clichéd non-sports-fan question of all-time? You know the person that asks this doesn’t really care, but they ask anyway. You then try and explain that it’s hard to tell who’s winning since it’s only the first innings of the Test.
Unfortunately this opens up more questions so in future you just say Australia.
* ‘There’s a really good movie I want to watch. Don’t worry, we can flick it over in the ads so you can check the score.’
This usually happens on a Friday night during the winter football season when competing television networks put chick flicks on.
* ‘You don’t need to hear the commentators, so I’m going to put some music on.’
True, we don’t need to hear the commentators, but the sound of the crowd helps. I like to feel like I’m there and it’s pretty hard to do that when ABBA is blaring in the background. ‘Dancing Queen’ and rugby league aren’t exactly the best of combinations.
* ‘Why are you watching this? Australia/your team isn’t even playing’
A favourite comment by non-sport lovers during any World Cup. It’s assumed that because Australia isn’t playing, you are not meant to watch, like you’re some sort of traitor supporting the enemy in a war.
Television network executives who don’t understand the power of sport have made this mistake before by assuming what the audience wants to watch.
Channel Nine were most upset (putting it mildly) when Australia didn’t qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup because they bought a small selection of marquee matches and the finals that they were forced to show live in prime-time.
Worse, they would have to drop the Footy Show in place of this joke of a World Cup. No Australia meant poor ratings. Or so they thought.
How wrong they were.
The Argentina v England match outrated State of Origin, and a Big Brother double eviction on in the same week. Then the World Cup final outrated the AFL Grand Final, NRL Grand Final, and Melbourne Cup. All of a sudden the executives were pissed off because Channel Nine didn’t buy more matches.
The question then became why aren’t you watching the World Cup? Everyone else is.
Sports journalists may be unfairly referred to as the ‘toy department’ in many newsrooms – for not covering serious news – but at least they know that if the mainstream media stopped covering sport, newspapers would crumble, pay-television would be non-profitable and advertisers would disappear faster than Usain Bolt running 100-metres.
So even if you don’t like sport, there’s no escaping it. Just ask Rupert Murdoch. The easiest thing to do is learn to love it.
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Darryl said | January 15th 2009 @ 6:43am | Report comment
Excellent article Benjamin, very entertaining.
I’d also like to add that recording sport while watching it live DOES actually make sense, as the post match video analysis is just as important as the drama and uncertainly of watching sport live.
Spiro Zavos said | January 15th 2009 @ 7:42am | Report comment
Terrific insights Benjamin. On my wedding night I watched a rugby Test in South Africa with a group of mates. I’ve been trying to make up for this terrible gaffe ever since. But first things first.
My mother, who was an Athenian, invariably used to ask me on the first day of a two-day cricket match the same question as the one that drives Benjamin mad: Who is winning?’ As Benjamin says, there is no real answer to this question, especially if you’ve done poorly with the bat or the ball. It like asking: ‘How long is a bit of string.’ You only know when you’ve cut, or in the case of cricket when you’ve come to the end of the game.
Many excellent judges of journalism tell me that the best reporting and writing in Australian newspapers is in the sports section. Sports has everything: a story line, strong personalities, room for making predictions and seeing them coming out or unravel, humour (as in Benjamin’s article), tragedy and glory. Great writers like Peter Roebuck, Mike Coward, Roy Masters and Peter Fitzsimons can and do make a lot with this material.
As for watching sport live, I wonder if Roarers have the same feeling that I do that watching live gives you and the nation supporting a national team to exercise their collective will to change the outcome of play, if this is necessary. Watching replays by definition, does not allow for this attempt to impose your will on the outcome of a match.
Dogs Of War said | September 24th 2009 @ 8:31pm | Report comment
My cousin decided to get married on the same date as the Rugby World Cup 2003. Silly decision as nearly all of us spent most of the time around the TV watching the match. Felt wrong, but not as wrong as scheduling your wedding on such a big sports night!
Kazama said | January 15th 2009 @ 8:09am | Report comment
Spiro, my mother used to drive me mad asking who was winning during the cricket as well!
The worst thing I have heard is a friend of mine was “encouraged” by his partner to tape a game instead of watching it; after the match finished his mate, who thought he was watching, phoned him up and gave away the result.
Spiro Zavos: “I wonder if Roarers have the same feeling that I do that watching live gives you and the nation supporting a national team to exercise their collective will to change the outcome of play, if this is necessary. Watching replays by definition, does not allow for this attempt to impose your will on the outcome of a match.”
I do. It is silly or perhaps arrogant to think that you can influence a match simply by willing it. It is the same when you think you’ve cursed your team by tipping them so you start tipping against them. I know it is stupid and I’m old enough to know better but I still sit there screaming at the TV as if the players can hear what I am saying.
The suspense always kills me so I never watch a recorded game unless I know the score already. I have tried to watch a taped match without knowing the score and I couldn’t help but fast forward to see what happens, especially if my team is losing. I guess I should enjoy being able to stay up to all hours of the night watching the EPL while I still can.
Roger said | January 15th 2009 @ 8:20am | Report comment
When my wife asks me ” Who is winning the cricket”, I launch into a detailed explanation of the ebb and flow of the Test match, discussing the wonderful factors of pitch, weather, curator, injury, reverse swing, new ball, over-rate and form…she doesnt ask it as much anymore.
Amateur Hour said | January 15th 2009 @ 8:47am | Report comment
The other evening, I was forced to flick between the twenty20 and The Sopranos, NCIS and some other mindless trash on Fox. I now have a greater appreciation of the term “justifiable homicide.”
Homer said | January 15th 2009 @ 8:52am | Report comment
When my wife asks why i want to watch the Bulls v Sharks replay ‘they are South African teams why do you care?’, I just point to her collection of 20 year old Columbo, Magnum and Murder She Wrote DVD’s and she backs quietly out of the room.
Watching sport live is incomparable to other televised events. I saw Campo and Lynagh steal victory from the Irish in 91 World Cup, Australia 2 cross the line to take the America’s Cup and saw the socceroo’s get robbed by poor refereeing and poor sportsmanship in the World Cup. All of thos memories will stick with me forever and all were at odd hours. The crowd roar, the exhilaration on the competitors face means more when you know it is live, actually happening and you can feel the emotion. Despite what George Gregan says passion has a massive place in sport and for those that can’t compete, riding your team home live is the next best thing.
Papa Romeo said | January 15th 2009 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Some quality observations in there!
” I wonder if Roarers have the same feeling that I do that watching live gives you and the nation supporting a national team to exercise their collective will to change the outcome of play….”
Oh yes, yes and yes! I try not to think too hard about what this says about my mental state, but u never know, all those tiny bits of willing a team on just might make up for a minutely influential collective conscience! There is NO substitute for watching a game live. And in that vein, a thousand lashes to the commercial stations that not infrequently have a loose definition of ‘live’.
And Spiro, you mention a gaffe…sorry, don’t quite get it, what was the problem?
The flip side to the problem this article portrays is the sport-loving girlfriend I have miraculously jagged:
Us, the Monday just passed: “Lets go to the beach after work tomorrow night.” “Great idea!”
Her, Tues morn: “Babe, we can’t go to the beach tonight”
Me: “W-w-why?”
Her: “There’s a 20-20 on. Wanna come round to my place and watch it?”
There IS a God.
sheek said | January 15th 2009 @ 10:48am | Report comment
I also get the cricket question from my wife. I had to go through the whole evolution the other night explaining the difference between T20, one dayers & tests.
My wife couldn’t care less about pport. Sometimes, that’s good or bad, depending on circumstances. But she’s also an events co-ordinator, so who’s the first person she asks when she wants to know if a particular date will clash with a sporting event…..me!
S14 season is particularly tough. If I ‘mnot required to fulfil a family or friends weekend social function, then I have an almighty battle with either wife &/or teenage daughter for pay-TV time.
Forgetmenot said | January 15th 2009 @ 11:46am | Report comment
Great article.
If i dont understand or like a sport, i force myself to watch a few games until i either decide i like the sport or it isn’t for me.
While i grew up with cricket, basketball, tennis, soccer and football + more, i had to make myself watch sports like gridiron, league and union to gain an appreciation of them. I have recently gained an apprectiation of baseball, and on the list to watch is gaelic football (ive seen highlights and seems really good), ice hockey + a couple of others.
I totally agree that living with people without an appreciation for sport is just plain boring. If living with several people who dont like sport, it is very annoying looking forward to watching your team play and then getting to the TV and finding ‘Friends’ or the NEWS is being watched by people clearly bored with nothing to do.
I cannot stand watching a sport event where i know the final score. I have yet to watch a replay of my beloved Cats yet!
Brett McKay said | January 15th 2009 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
Another great piece Ben, and I have a feeling you’ll be hard pressed to find any Roarers out here disagreeing!!
As for Spiro’s question, my personal highlight and lowlight in the excercising “collective will to change the outcome of play” came within seven days of each other during the 2003 RWC. I was sure it was because I was telling him to do it that Stirling Mortlock took that intercept in the semi v NZ. Similarly, I couldn’t have yelled any louder that “WILKINSON’S STANDING BACK FOR THE FIELD GOAL!!” during the Final – of course, he still got the kick away…
My greatest triumph in the sport watching stakes came just over twleve months ago, when the spare room was converted into The Sport Lounge, which included the renaming of an old couch as the Brett McKay Stand. Complete with a PVR and various sporting memorabilia, it was heaven. Until of course the death of the plasma just before Christmas, which forced the temporary relocation of the old telly back into the lounge room….
RIP Plasma….