Play Up, Play Up and Play the Game – Steven Falk
December 2, 2013
“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play, it is bound up with hatred and jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all the rules and sadistic pleasure in unnecessary violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.”
In these controversial words, George Orwell, writing in 1941 during Europe’s darkest hour expressed an understandably pessimistic and cynical view of sport and sportsmanship in general. Although not a sportsman himself, Orwell may have been pining for a pre-war idyll of willow thumping on leather, of cheering factory workers thronging pitch sides and muddy, moustachioed men chasing the oval ball. Following their exertions, competitors would shake the hands of their erstwhile foes and clap each other off the pitch with three cheers. Then on to the bar for some serious drinking and an exchange of anecdotes of the match just played.
Perhaps this misty-eyed vision never reflected the reality of sport but was simply a yearned for folk-memory of better times when being described as a good sport was something to be proud of and not another way of labelling a loser.
In the years since Orwell wrote his prophetic words professional sport has changed just as society has changed. It is faster, fitter, technically more accomplished, tactically savvy and mentally stronger. It is popular, and with popularity has come the money to fund the best science, the best coaches and the best athletes. Satisfaction in sporting performance has been replaced by a compulsion for success that must be won at all costs. Sledging, diving, rule manipulation and drugs cheats are the inevitable consequence.
The governing bodies set up in good faith to regulate sporting rules and behaviour have themselves succumbed to the ever-strengthening pressure of commercial interests exerted by teams, leagues, tournaments, sponsors, media and host venues desperate to turn a profit. So we have FIFA awarding a football world cup to Qatar for what can only be non-sporting reasons; the ICC sanctioning back-to-back Ashes series simply to drive TV revenues and without a thought for the welfare of the players involved; and UCI world cycling turning a blind eye to serial drugs cheats for over ten years.
There are plenty of good things in sport and many great sportsmen and women. But sometimes the pressure to succeed drives behaviour to extremes. Is it really acceptable for a pre-match press conference to be used to play on the perceived mental infirmity of an opponent? What has a sport come to when the atmosphere between two teams is so hostile that one captain’s perception is “it’s a war out there”?
And what would Orwell make of it all? As a great socialist, perhaps he would engage in a polemic about capitalist society getting the level of fairness and sportsmanship it deserves.
Or maybe he would simply say “I told you so”.
Steven Falk is director of Star Sports Marketing a consultancy providing advice on sponsorship activation, CRM, brand and affinity marketing. He was previously Marketing Director at Manchester United. You can follow him on Twitter @steven_falk
Star Sports Marketing can help you to devise and implement an effective commercial strategy Visit www.starsportsmarketing.com or email steven.falk@starsportsmarketing.co.uk
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