I think we all secretly love Shane Warne.
He is our highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, the greatest leg spinner cricket has ever seen, and according to statistics thrown around during the first day of the third Ashes Test in Edgbaston, one of our best all-round players – in rare company with ownership of over 300 Test wickets and 3000 Test runs.
We loved him when he bowled Mike Gatting out with ‘that’ ball. We loved it when he sprayed the champagne and did the hula dance with a stump at Lord’s after beating the English in the Ashes.
Warnie is however a polarising figure, one that only Australians could conjure up.
He has had some success, made some money, loves his kids, made bad mistakes and regretted them, and has had problems in his personal life that many families go through.
He probably isn’t the guy you would be setting up with your daughter or paying to be the face of your quit smoking campaign.
But what is Warnie really about?
The essence of Warne’s character is confidence and understanding who he is. Warnie knows his influence on events, he understands his place in the sporting pantheon. Much like Switzerland’s Roger Federer, Warne epitomises the nature and attitude of the country he represented. We are fun loving, beer swilling, loud and tough (especially when it comes to sport), just as Switzerland are law-abiding straight shooters who rarely look for confrontation.
Warnie has copped a bit of flack for his commentary gaffs in recent times. Of particular note was his ‘thirsty’ questioning of the Australian players, who had just triumphed over New Zealand in what is arguably cricket’s biggest stage, the one day World Cup. Warne was sharing in the revelry of that day, he knew what it felt like and he was sharing that with his audience in the only way he knew – through a bit of banter with his mates.
Yes, alcohol is bad in excess, and we know that, but was he out there with a yard glass, feeding players and encouraging the commercial interests of alcohol companies?
In the recent Ashes coverage he has once again come under scrutiny for his commentary. He kept running at the humorous connection with the choice of ‘head or tails’, exclaiming, “Nothing like a good head. Nothing like a good head. Get that head up there, mate. It’s really important.”
He then went on to say he was indeed a great “tosser”.
Warnie knows he can be a bit of goose, but he is proud of it. Very few of us wouldn’t want to be out there espousing our views on a sport we love, while engaging in a personal style of humour that most keep among friends and family.
Warnie is everything every sport loving person wants to be: successful, relevant and historic. Conversely, he is everything modern Australia’s powerful moral compass hates: outrageous, politically incorrect, and exalted alone above the populace (a tall poppy). There is obviously a line that is difficult to identify here and everyone will respectfully have a different take on where that is exactly. General condemnation and shock however of his commentary conundrums is indicative of the power of social media, which Warne uses himself to great personal and commercial success.
It also shows the overarching conservatism that now pervades our media consumption with the growing link between traditional media forms and social media platforms. Outrage is probably the only thing that really trends on Twitter these days down under. #HeadsorTails…
We smash Warnie and forget about his philanthropic endeavours, including his personal foundation. We should all take a look at the pages of Warnie’s life book to see how an average bloke did all that stuff and kept coming back every time he had a set back.
More importantly we should heed his message of fun and freedom. Lighten up a bit Australia, please!
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