Reflections on the Ben Cousins documentary
Columnist By Michael Filosi, 28 Aug 2010 Michael Filosi is a Roar Expert
Ben Cousins was my childhood hero. He was a large part of the reason why as a tall and gangly twelve year old, my winter sport of choice switched from basketball to Australian Rules Football. I wore his number 35 on my school footy jumper and tried to emulate his football feats every Saturday morning.
Cousins was young and good looking. He had dash and flair on the field that few possessed. There was something undeniably alluring about both his football prowess and his personality.
Since he burst onto the AFL scene in 1996, I followed his life and career in the national dailies. Initially I could find all I needed to know on the back pages, but over the past few years his life increasingly has became front page news.
And so it was with great interest that I watched the two-part documentary “Such is Life – The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins.”
My biggest disappointment having watched the documentary is that I doubt it will achieve its intended aim. Prior to the start of “Such Is Life,” Cousins outlined his hope that the documentary would help other people who suffer from drug addiction seek help, but I cannot see how it will achieve this end.
I’m aware that there is no such thing as a typical drug addict, but Cousins lived a particularly atypical existence. Cousins had a unique set of life circumstances that viewers – drug addicts or otherwise – would surely have trouble identifying with.
A star athlete with the world at his feet, Cousins was anointed the “Prince of Perth.” How many other drug takers would identify with this story and, having watched the documentary, make a decision to seek help? Not many I suspect. On this point, I hope I am wrong.
While drug addiction and drug taking were never overtly glorified in “Such is Life,” there was undoubtedly a sizeable portion of glamour and opulence in Cousins’ life, and this shone through in the documentary.
Cousins espoused his early philosophy that it was possible to work hard and play hard, and this strategy paid significant dividends for him for close to a decade. Cousins was a high functioning drug addict, and was able to couple the intense physical and mental demands of being a star AFL footballer with his drug taking behaviour. Where is the lesson here for Joe Average?
The most significant issue arising from the documentary is not how Ben Cousins came to take drugs, or why he did so, but why no club officials acted to try and help him.
How could the West Coast Eagles hierarchy sit idly by and watch its star player and captain self-destruct?
With Cousins having admitted to using drugs from the age of seventeen, why didn’t any club officials make an attempt to curb Cousins’ drug taking behaviour earlier in his career?
In a twist on the conventional sporting adage, the Eagles mantra may well have been “What happens off the field, stays off the field.”
The fact that the Eagles were content to turn a blind eye to Cousins’ off-field activities so long as it didn’t affect his on-field performance is a sad indictment on the football club, and the world of professional sport in general. There are obvious parallels here with the career of rugby league legend Andrew Johns.
Cousins should be commended for his honesty and openness in presenting this compelling television for the viewing public.
It was an intriguing insight into his personal battle with drug addiction, and I suspect that making this documentary has was a cathartic experience for Cousins and that this project has helped with his recovery.
But will “Such is Life” transcend mere entertainment and have an impact for society’s greater good? I can’t see how.
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August 28th 2010 @ 7:46am
Joel said | August 28th 2010 @ 7:46am | Report comment
I’ll be glad when Ben Cousins fades into history. Is he really deserving of all this attention?
August 28th 2010 @ 9:15am
Sarah said | August 28th 2010 @ 9:15am | Report comment
I read this article about Cousins with interest. I didn’t see the programme as I didn’t have to. My daughter 8 years said in the car why is that man making a programme and telling us about his sadness? It should be private. No matter how public he is it is still his own private hell and that is one point Joe Public will relate to.
The other point is that he was brave enough to come out when there are a large percentage of celebraties, annointed sons of Sport and the Media, Music, Theatre, Medicine and indeed all other revered professions that are also in the jaws of the beast. Perhaps it might touch some of them.
However, I feel the live hard party hard attitude often views such revelations of vulnerabiliby as weakness and may feel that they are still immune.
Ben Cousins wasn’t trying to change the world, he was merely giving us a look inside.
August 28th 2010 @ 9:30am
darwin stubby said | August 28th 2010 @ 9:30am | Report comment
I actually prefer the analysis in the SMH … I’m no fan of cousins, the club and particularly the coach … the club and coach should have been raked over the coals for this – HTF is Worsfold not only still involved in coaching, but more particularly still at WC – it’s a joke … the sooner cousins is gone the better it is for AFL – but what’s the bet he picks up a gig in the commentary box somewhere
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/sevens-weak-tackle-on-cousins-20100827-13vx3.html?rand=1282916936661
August 28th 2010 @ 9:39am
MVDave said | August 28th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Ben Cousins = ‘Drop Kick’ (excuse the pun).
August 28th 2010 @ 9:43am
Richard said | August 28th 2010 @ 9:43am | Report comment
The Cousins so called documentary wasn’t made to help others. It was Cousins helping himself, feeding his monumental narcissism while making a little money on the side. Phoney baloney.
August 28th 2010 @ 11:16am
Melanie Dinjaski said | August 28th 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
An excellent article Michael.
You’ve sensitively covered the issue of how influential sportspeople are, and how this influence can persist even after their career descends into chaos.
I am surprised by the general response here though because most people are very quick to defend the sportsperson in question, as if their off-field dramas have no importance whatsoever.
August 28th 2010 @ 11:17am
JF said | August 28th 2010 @ 11:17am | Report comment
I don’t know how this story is supposed to turn young people off drugs. Look at cousins now – has his life been destroyed? No, he is just about to play his final game in front of thousands of adoring fans, and will probably pick up some media job just like Johns has. If you want to turn kids away from drugs, show them someone who has lost all their money, their loved ones and eventually their life due to a drug addiction. This whole Cousins doco is a ratings winning joke.
August 28th 2010 @ 12:26pm
Michael Filosi said | August 28th 2010 @ 12:26pm | Report comment
Interesting thoughts JF. I think that Cousins is by no means out of the woods, and there are still plenty of issues for him to resolve.
Like a lot of others, I wonder how he will go in his post-playing career, when he loses the structure of being an AFL player and all that comes with that. When he knows that he won’t have to urinate in a cup three times a week for drug testing, will he relapse?
I also wonder whether there will be a sequel to this documentary in a few years time?
Will there be Such is Life – the next instalment?
August 28th 2010 @ 11:56am
Mick Adams said | August 28th 2010 @ 11:56am | Report comment
Great article Michael, you’ve summed up my thoughts of the last 48 hrs very succinctly.
Interestingly I thought it was a good doco, a good story… but it isn’t going to help other drug addicts nor their families. They now need to show another doco highlighting the real world of drugs – living in the gutter, families irreconcilably ripped apart, crime etc etc & no happy endings.
August 28th 2010 @ 1:48pm
Mister Football said | August 28th 2010 @ 1:48pm | Report comment
A ratings winner, and Cuz may have made some coin on the side – call the police.
August 28th 2010 @ 2:51pm
JD said | August 28th 2010 @ 2:51pm | Report comment
Interesting argument, is drug use any worse than smoking, alcohol, gambling, or obesity? All these kill and destroy families yet we chose not to mention their destruction. Funny enough the football codes continually promote the odds on games during games while beer advertising fills in the gaps, no problem with that!