Friday, September 16, 2005
Vale The Ashes
Well, the Ashes are gone.
The England fans, after a decade and a half of wearing Australian barbs, were determined to get back a little of their own. "You're only good at swimming," they taunted the Australian side as Pietersen, the man of the match, took the series away. (The Age, 14 September 2005.)
Fair point, that. (I think we can assume it was directed at the Australian nation as a whole, not the Australian cricket team who are probably no good at swimming either.) After the euphoric year of 1999 when Australia won World Cups or World Championships in rugby, cricket, netball, and tennis we seem to have hit a bit of a low. This is due to a combination of effects; it’s cyclical, and (particularly in the case of cricket) some of the other teams are starting to take things a bit more seriously. But consider this; Australia has a fairly small population and perhaps by spreading our sporting talent so thinly we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to mediocre performances on all fronts. I say it’s time to put all our eggs into one basket. Let’s get all Australian athletes, young, old, gifted and downright clumsy, playing the ONE SPORT, and then we might be able to be properly competitive on the world stage.
But which sport? Not swimming, because effusive English praise aside, the Americans have got that one sewn up. Australian Rules? No one else plays it, really, same with Rugby League. Curling? Gumboot throwing? Croquet?
Something to consider.
The England fans, after a decade and a half of wearing Australian barbs, were determined to get back a little of their own. "You're only good at swimming," they taunted the Australian side as Pietersen, the man of the match, took the series away. (The Age, 14 September 2005.)
Fair point, that. (I think we can assume it was directed at the Australian nation as a whole, not the Australian cricket team who are probably no good at swimming either.) After the euphoric year of 1999 when Australia won World Cups or World Championships in rugby, cricket, netball, and tennis we seem to have hit a bit of a low. This is due to a combination of effects; it’s cyclical, and (particularly in the case of cricket) some of the other teams are starting to take things a bit more seriously. But consider this; Australia has a fairly small population and perhaps by spreading our sporting talent so thinly we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to mediocre performances on all fronts. I say it’s time to put all our eggs into one basket. Let’s get all Australian athletes, young, old, gifted and downright clumsy, playing the ONE SPORT, and then we might be able to be properly competitive on the world stage.
But which sport? Not swimming, because effusive English praise aside, the Americans have got that one sewn up. Australian Rules? No one else plays it, really, same with Rugby League. Curling? Gumboot throwing? Croquet?
Something to consider.
