Jun
12
When did sport transmogrify into pantomime?
Filed Under Sport | 3 Comments
I take my sport seriously. I have a tendency to see sport as a metaphor for the really important things in life and express these emotions through the sport which, I argue, is healthier than to do it for real life. It does, however, have down sides. Like misery for a week when Liverpool lose (god forbid if we lose before an international break). Or misery last night after the Twenty20 defeat to South Africa. Ok, so maybe I take my sport seriously.
But when did sport turn into pantomime? Last night, a predominantly England crowd booed Owais Shah for failing to put bat on ball during the first few deliveries of an over. The next ball he hit for six and he had become a short term hero. When did booing at an English cricket ground become acceptable?
When Liverpool went top of the league earlier this year, after a 0-0 draw at home to West Ham, some Liverpool fans booed. You can amuse yourself with the allegations and retaliation on the Liverpool message boards (was it the dread Out of Towners? (OOTs) was it the day trippers? Was it the young people? Was it the corporates? Are you out of town if you are from Birkenhead? Do you have to have a purple bin? Anyway, I digress.
The pantomime atmosphere is not helped at cricket or football by the daft regalia. I’m not necessarily talking about fancy dress – which has its place. But jester hats? On the Kop? Waving sponsor boards with 4 or 6 on them (and waving them the wrong way round is even worse).
Some of the clubs have helped exacerbate the shift from sport to pantomime. There were dancers on platforms on the boundary ropes between overs last night at the T20 – an ‘innovation’ for which we have the IPL to thank. Far too many football grounds now play songs when a goal is scored – as if the crowd are auxiliaries in a musical number. And don’t get me started on the role of mascots. If it were a recession-inspired policy to contribute to full employment that would be one thing.
The fickleness of fans isn’t anything new but the level of aggression routinely meted out from the stands suggests people who are engaging in role play. The ‘sack the manager’ ‘sack the board’ ‘sack the 16 year old apprentice’ may or may not be new. But turn on a phone-in, the equivalent of the after show party, and it’s hard to imagine football fans of the 1960s having those sorts of conversations down the pub after the game.
Perhaps it’s not right to take sport as seriously as I do. But there is a time and a place for pantomime. And it’s not at the cricket, or the rugby, or the football. And particularly not if you’re sat near me.
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It’s a tricky one. Generally I don’t approve of booing your own team/players whilst the game is one, for no other reason than it’s unlikely to improve their performance and more likely to heap more pressure on them. That said, I think it is acceptable to boo a team or player at the end of the game if their performance has been sub-standard. I was at the England v. Holland game and England fully deserved their barracking because they had put in a woefully poor performance. Being a supporter does not oblige you to clap everything your team does and sometimes they need a kick up the arse.
Completely agree though about the creeping tendency for music/dancing/juggling bears at sporting events, which should be stamped out now. The noise from the crowd should be enough following a goal/try/boundary. Playing some cheesy pop song afterwards just makes you feel as though you’re at a crappy funfair, or even worse, an American sporting event.
I agree that booing after the game is different from booing mid-game which, frankly, should come with the same social stigma as clapping in between movements of a symphony.
all that music and jazzmatazz reminds me of US sports where the crowd absolutely have to be entertained/hypnotised for the duration. I went to see the NY knicks once, and at every time out or break theere was music, or members of the crowd invited to shoot hoops. there was even a full on talent contest at half time. a scarily precocious oriental girl won with a piano recital.
re boing mid T2O, arent we just getting a little fed up of the lack of power some of our chaps have? im come on! and flower needs to get them doing some serious bench pressing. little Owais looks like a gentle breeze would blow him over