The constant dilemma faced by historians and sports contestants alike goes something like this: is history doomed to repeat itself, or we must not let what has happened in the past interfere with the present and the next contest.
The catch-22 is that many of our judgments and future actions are, via the back of our mind, based on what happened in the past, even when we try to convince ourselves that we will not be distracted by what went before.
In sports contests, “experience” is probably the foremost attribute shaping performance, but where does “experience” come from? From the past.
So it can be very difficult to put aside the meaning and patterns we get from the past. So difficult in fact that the familiar meandering commentary of the past, just keeps coming back and back!
During the week, Toutai Kefu, former Wallaby and now assistant coach of Tonga, said that the All Blacks were a “fading force… with stars on the wane.”
Wallaby fullback Kurtley Beale then got on the bandwagon with his Wallabies backline could “tear any team apart” comment. Sounds familiar!
The supposedly psychological tactic of using history to predict the future is a double-edged sword. Indeed, Australia jeopardised their World Cup chances in both 2003 and 2007 by selecting past events as precursors of the way their oppositions would play and perform… and then going on to forecast how the Wallaby “youngsters” would not only perform, but go on to “conquer”!
There will always be two-way traffic between the past and the present. The trick is not to let yourself be fooled by a “hoped for” relationship between what has or has not happened, and what may happen.
Not only do sports spruikers as well as players seem so often to fall into this trap, and then they go even further when ‘discovering’ how history will cause the demise of their opposition!
Playing the big ‘mental game’ in the sky is old hat, inconsequential, self-distracting and, has a nasty habit of coming back to bite you in the bum.
Remember the forlorn look on the face of Wallaby captain, Stirling Mortlock, when having to explain Australia’s defeat by England in the 2007 World Cup, said: “Perhaps the occasion got to us.”
All sports contests are about the excitement generated by the uncertainty of the present – for both players and spectators.
Let’s not get bogged down by using recollections of the past in some futile attempt to motivate player and team performances.
Because human beings will always be fallible, always keep in mind the words of that doyen of professional historians, E.H. Carr, who said: “Objective history does not exist.”
But wait… is that not going back in time?
George Shirling is the author of “Exploding Sports Myths”.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says it’s “purely coincidental” that Semipeni Finau has put on a massive, late hit on a fourth fly-half in nine…
He was born 1905, 1904 or 1908 according to various reports, in Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, and is remembered as one of the great Māori players.
I don’t really get the comparisons between Joey Manu and Sonny Bill Williams. I realise they have the Roosters in common, along with a…
All Blacks star Jordie Barrett has announced a sabbatical to play with Irish club Leinster at year's end, while committing his future to New…
There are those who will forever play the man - and not the ball - where TJ Perenara is concerned. The All Blacks and…
I well remember the day a New Zealand Rugby staffer put their hands on me. It seems I’d made them angry.The Wellington Sevens was…
