The roar from the crowd echoed triumphantly through the stadium. The mood was one of nervous excitement. Thirty minutes in and Germany were yet to break the deadlock; the partisan French crowd fancied their luck against the reigning World Champs.
A large bang precipitates the roar. “Regard! Si jolie!”a few fireworks to lighten the mood, perhaps. Something to spur on the French football team that cold November night.
Only they weren’t fireworks. And we all know what happens next. The news trickles through, on phones, on social media, a police helicopter frantically whirring above. 129 dead.
“Allons enfants de la Patrie.” At first it’s just a murmur, “Arise, children of the Fatherland.” The volume rises. “Le jour de gloire est arrivé!” rings the crowd, defiantly. “The day of glory has arrived.” Soon the stadium is alive.
La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, beautiful at the best of times, so heart-wrenchingly poignant now. The crowd, fearful, confused, stay put, awaiting instructions. So too do the two football teams of highly paid, highly connected, and with every opportunity to leave, footballers. They too remain. Thousands of individuals, acting as one.
The power of sport. Often evoked, rarely meaningful. On occasion, however, the old cliché rings true. On a day, a weekend, that sent panic through the Western world, that world searched for solace. Something to take their minds away from the terrible, unexpected proceedings that night in Paris. Thousands of miles away, two cricket teams were gearing up to provide just that.
“The cricket is not just a vital distraction, Russell, it’s a crucial comfort,” wrote Robert McLiam Wilson, holed up, fearful, in Paris, but following The Guardian‘s live blog of the day’s play between Australia and New Zealand.
“Everyone is afraid,” Wilson continued. “You reach for any solace. I watched Aussie cricket the night after the Charlie Hebdo attack and found it incredibly consoling. It was something about the Australian sunlight, it’s promiscuous optimism. And the sheer, pointless beauty of cricket.”
“The sheer, pointless beauty of cricket.” For what is cricket but a pointless pursuit of leather across a field? But a form of hollow entertainment? A vacuous celebration of the rawer characteristics of human nature. For what is sport?
Sport has a power. A power to take minds away from the harsh reality. Long associated with positive endorphins, sport too has the power to evoke a passion and a fire that can bring hundreds, thousands, of contrasting individuals together for a blissful moment – a few minutes, hours, sometimes a day.
As David Warner stroked, drove and thumped his way past 250, the power of that feat brought the crowd to its feet, as he – and they – basked in this moment of triumph. Arms aloft, with helmet and bat raised towards the heavens, Warner celebrated in a style that he has done for almost a year.
For Warner, it was a personal tribute, to a good friend, lost, freakishly – unexpectedly – in the heat of sporting battle. A tribute to Philip Hughes; sport – a vehicle to channel that grief. For McLiam Wilson and others, it was a moment to take minds off the tragedy unfolding in Paris. Sport has that power – to unite, to remember, or to forget – an individual, a nation, an event. Last Saturday that power worked its magic.
There are times in the field of play when we make ourselves believe that nothing else matters, that what happens on the pitch really is a matter of life and death. Yet sport, unless for a moment of error, or a freak accident, will never be anything more than ‘mock combat’. More ‘mock’ than ‘combat’.
“Play up! Play up! And play the game!” War, though often mimicked, is not sport. In Gallipoli, during the First World War, the battle between the Turks and Anzacs proved fierce and the death toll high. Yet the relationship throughout remained civil. Token gifts, photographs, cigarettes – all exchanged during the heat of battle.
In sport, the same occurs, but the order is reversed – hostilities, sledging, manipulation arise during play. The friendly exchange is at the end, after the heat, after the fight; the beer in the changing rooms. That is the reality of sport. Death is the reality of war.
Sport does, however, have a place in war. As an antidote, a release, a moment of light relief. From the darkest depths often come the strongest shows of unity; nothing better encompasses this than the simplicity of sport. As the English and French football teams lined up against each other on Tuesday, affected emotionally, some personally, by last week’s bombings, a spine-tingling show of unity unfolded. The two teams, backed by a healthy Wembley crowd – predominantly English – roared, sung, and stumbled upon the words once again of that evocative anthem, La Marseillaise. “Aux armes, citoyens!” rang the anthem once more. “To arms, citizens!
On Christmas Day 1914, amid the bloody trenches of Northern France and in a war earlier promised to “be over by Christmas”, soldiers of the opposing British and German armies organised an impromptu kickabout. “The Christmas Truce of 1914” was an opportunity to forget the fighting, the bloodshed, the death toll – to channel it instead into a competitive, yet harmless game of football. For one brief moment, the two sides united in this innocent pursuit.
Think too, of the magic of Sir Don Bradman. Batting his way – and that of his nation – to triumph while around him the world was falling apart, stuck in the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Remember as well the champion race horse, Phar Lap. He caught the public’s imagination in that era, enabling punters, briefly, to forget the travails around them. The Afghanistan cricket team, in an improbable rise documented in the book and film, Out of the Ashes, have united many in a nation troubled for years by the oppressive Taliban regime. The tales of victorious Paralympians, training pointedly and obsessively following mutilation by the London 7/7 bombings – they too capture the power of sport.
Sport, of course, is not all things to all men. Just 20 minutes before the devastating Paris news broke, the International Association of Athletics Federations, IAAF, announced its decision to suspend Russia from all international competitions, following revelations of widespread doping and corruption.
A timely reminder of the dark side of this power – the ugliness, the hubris of sport.
Reminders of Premier League footballers’ salaries evoke similar cries of dismay. So too do ugly encounters of players and referees, expletives flying in between. Sport is entertainment, it is profit and it has the power to exploit. Yet there is also much more; the beauty, the power – channelled correctly – transcend the more materialistic aspects. For sport is about the game – no more, no less.
It’s easy, working in the industry, to forget the role of sport. This is not the work of a doctor, nor an aid worker, nor a public service professional. The cynicism is often there, always within reaching distance.
Sport won’t change the world. It will not directly save a life. But it helps. A release, an endorphin, a vehicle for unity. The power of sport, the old cliché. Don’t ever forget it.
onside
Guest
Fair enough Johnno.Your shout. The discussion needs enhancing over few glasses of 'personality'
Johnno
Guest
Agreed Republican, alot of good points.
Johnno
Guest
onside Good points, I enjoyed reading your points of view on "sport". Agree with some, but some of your points I found a bit to simplistic. Missing a putt at the US Masters to win it, or blowing a match point at wimbledon with a double-fault, is far more serious or emotionally awful, why? Money being the big one, as a winner's cheque vs a losers cheque is quite bigger despite losers cheque being quite big. And also in some of those Olympic sports that are not very popular, the difference between getting Gold and silver in financial terms can be massive, so every millimetre or second counts. Competition at it's finest. Spain at 92 Barcelona Olympics offered all there athletes who got Gold $1 million bucks each. Spain got 13 gold, that's 13 millionares made. So emotionally the big differences are the potential financial rewards, and also the weekend golf hacker he's haveing fun on the weekend as opposed to it being his full-time job, so the failure is not only more financially devesating when it's a pro, but emotional investment as more time is put in, and also the reactions would be far more professional/sophisticated and technical in the sports phsycology terms of it, about how they approach the putt. Basically like a cyborg robot vs a human. The gap between pro sport and amatuer couldn't be wider in the modern professional era. If Dave Warner turned out for a pub team for a season he'd probably have a batting average of 250.
onside
Guest
I think there is an emotional connection Johnno. An understanding of success or failure under pressure when trying to execute something as elementary as a two foot putt to win a C grade country golf club championship. Or converting a penalty from the spot. The weekend golf hacker knows how the professional feels when a simple shot is fluffed. A penalty is missed, a crucial straight forward catch is dropped , trying to close out a tennis match, All that. The language is universal. Sport can be watched with the sound mute. And I think this understanding is part of the reason big time professional sport resonates in all people who have played a game. Look you might be right with the Wayne Rooney (any superstar) anology, but I think part of them relate to the once simple life. That said ,whats the saying "Ive tried being rich', and I've tried being poor, but I like rich better" . And hey Johnno, I catch the local bus, so what do I know.
onside
Guest
Thanks Mango Jack. I'm not a writer as is Isabelle Westbury . I would like to see her write another article outlining WHY, " Sport is not just a vital distraction, it’s a crucial comfort ”, which is what I alluded too. Hey we all know Isabelle is correct, but the why substantiates the observation.
Mango Jack
Guest
Good point, onside, sport is a unifier for most people through the shared experience. I say "most", because I know people who, inexplicably, do not like sport.
Republican
Guest
.......sport has also devolved to be less about escape or the virtues it once espoused and more about the depraved aspects of the human condition. Money and 'professionalism' has been the catalyst for its fall from grace which is born out almost on a daily basis, in the tabloids of this nation that dedicate so much of its content to sport. Despite this, sport it seems is beyond reproach such is our obsessively prosaic dependance on what is the bread and circus parody of our daily lives.
Johnno
Guest
Sports a big industry, there's a big gap between professional sports man e.g. Golf, and the amateur weekend Golf hacker, who plays on saturday after doing a 40-hour week driving a taxi. It's very serious at the professional level, like actors going for a big movie role, as opposed to amateur theatre. It's a totally different sports culture amateur vs professional. And often that's a criticism of the modern professional era in sports, the disconnect from the amateur grassroots level or the disconnect between fan and player, especially when there's big money. How can Wayne Rooney who grew up poor/working class, relate to a taxi driver in Manchester anymore? Sport is like movies, or a holiday for a fan, a pleasurable form of escapsim. But for those working in the industry e.g. players/coaches, it's very serious business with there employment/livelihoods on the line.
Jarijari
Guest
The power of brevity, see Abe Lincoln. How it's done without wasting a word. Brilliant, Isabelle (can you advise Spiro.)
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Great stuff Isabelle. Wowsers!
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Yeah this was the one that got me too Will. What an expression! The sheer pointless beauty of cricket. Lovely memory of your Grandfather there too mate. Stay well
Digby
Roar Guru
Wonderful piece.
onside
Guest
One reason sport can be the lowest common denominator is that most people can play it. Hitting a boundary or taking a wicket on matting in a C grade competition, is identical to the same game at test level, the only difference is the skill level. Same equipment, same rules. Same shared horrendous decisions where you trudge back to the sheds and spend the rest of the day sitting in the car listening to the races. Same camaraderie post match where the analysis of your personal contribution to the game improves with each cold one. Football (every code ) is the same. A winning goal or try in a reserves match in the bush is no different to playing at the highest level possible,save that of sublime professional skill. But the rules are the same, the football is the same shape,the umpire or referee always stuffs up the obvious,and personal emotions relating to success or failure in a knock out final game are identical. Golf,swimming , basketball, netball darts;every sport on the planet is played from the lowest amateur competition starting in schools, right through to millionaire elite. "Sport is not just a vital distraction, it’s a crucial comfort " because everybody can or has played it. People relate to it.They understand it. It unites all ages.Subsequently, the company director and the local garbo are as one, on the same level for that moment in time when they and their families are supporting their favorite team.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
This is a great paragraph: "I watched Aussie cricket the night after the Charlie Hebdo attack and found it incredibly consoling. It was something about the Australian sunlight, it’s promiscuous optimism. And the sheer, pointless beauty of cricket.” I don't know Wilson's work, but I am going to look it up now!
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
This is a great read - thank you. Even on a personal level, sport can help mend wounds. I remember the day my grandfather died St George were playing Souths at the SCG. He was a Souths fan, and had been all his life, and I like to think he passed away that day because it was the only way he was going to get to see the Dragons v Rabbitohs at the SCG! My whole family went to the game, and it helped.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Cracking piece, Isabelle.
Riordan Lee
Editor
Sensational piece Isabelle. Dealing with sport in the context of the attacks is an incredibly difficult thing to do and you absolutely nailed it.
Chris
Guest
Football matches have stopped wars, had fighting countries stop while the football match is played, has fought racism, poverty and starvation. Football worldwide raises money to be distributed to countries and people living in poverty .
Brett McKay
Expert
Fantastic piece, Isabelle. I'm sure I wasn't alone in pausing before offering any cricket tweetery last Saturday, before realising that somewhere, someone might be really needing to think about something less serious than ife and death. Sport does indeed have that wonderful power..