SF Examiner: In Britain, every contest overflows with emotion

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

LONDON — Maybe they have the right idea here. Sports are not merely fun and games, items to be covered dispassionately — Giants, win; Raiders sign tackle — but reflections of history.

In Britain, even the smallest of competitions invariably are “us against them.”

“Them” can be a sporting club in the next town. Or Tiger Woods. Or at the moment, with The Ashes at stake in a cricket competition which extends back to 1877, Australia — a nation which started as an English penal colony.

One of England’s stars, Kevin Pietersen, made the most banal of comments, alluding to the Aussies down a couple of stars from past teams which, of course, whupped the English. “Pietersen Expects Australia to Come Out Fighting,” said the headline in the Telegraph.

All sports news is reported subjectively and patriotically, reminding one of that line about the World War II general, Bernard Montgomery, of whom Winston Churchill said, “In defeat unbeatable; in victory unbearable.”

Nobody simply is beaten here, say as Randy Johnson when he was injured on Sunday. Losers are “brave” or “hopeless” or “worthless.” Or worse, were “cheated.” Somebody always is “accusing” an opponent of an impropriety.

We have our issues, certainly, the Tuck Play (it was a fumble), but not like the Brits. When South Africa beat the British Lions in rugby a few days ago it was because one of the South African players gouged the eye of a Brit.

“Question,” asked The Sun, “When can you gouge? Answer, when you turn out for South Africa.” The Sun went on to point out, “South Africa’s ruling body covered up Schalk Burger’s eye-gouging shame.” Burger was listed as “a thug.”

So, with a variation on that theme, we describe the Warriors as pathetic, the 49ers as clueless, the A’s as disgraceful, the Raiders as mortifying. We say the Giants warn the Dodgers about using Manny. That might get some attention.

And we take sides, as they do when Andy Murray, the tennis star, is at Wimbledon. “Hopes of a nation are with you, Andy.” Sure, “Hopes of a region are with you, Cal.” (Excepting those people at Stanford.)

The reverse was when on a single weekend a few years ago, England flops in World Cup soccer, cricket, track and who knows what else, “We’re Rubbish,” proclaimed the Daily Mail.

Imagine the English tabloid headlines on our flawed franchises. “Sell them Chris, if you know what’s good for you.” “Please don’t let the Sharks near the playoffs again.” “Why can’t Sabean find a slugger?”

Newspapers are in trouble in Britain, as the United States, but like the Aussie cricketers, they come out fighting, battling for readers the way the English did at Bunker Hill, or was it Henman Hill at Wimbledon?

Every contest is a matter of pride. Of good and evil. Of overflowing emotion. When Ana Ivanovic quit against Venus Williams at Wimbledon because of an injury, the Sun headline was “Venus sad for hurt Ana.” And about Andy Roddick’s upcoming quarter-final against Lleyton Hewitt, “Rod warns: Lleyt is great.”

But not as great as the people who write sports in England. Be warned, they are not rubbish.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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