Rules, Rules and More Rules.

G'day Tragics,

It's a given in society that we need rules.  Without them there would be chaos and things would quickly spiral out of control.  The same applies to sport.  There must be rules to ensure that games function orderly, athletes are protected and fans get to enjoy as big a spectacle as possible.

My concern is that rules in sport are starting to go mad.  Like it or not, these days professional sport is all about the mighty dollar.  Most sports are driven by television deals, therefore rules are now tailored to make sport as watchable as possible on the box.  This doesn't necessarily mean that it's best for the sport as a whole.

My first sporting love, AFL has been butchered over the last 10 years with constant rule changes that have made some aspects of the game laughable.  Don't get me wrong, there have been some positive rules implemented, but the majority of tweaks are needless and merely a way for the rules committee to justify their existence.

There are two types of rules:  black and white and rules open to the officials interpretation.  The later of the two are necessary, but surely must be a simple as possible for the umpires/referees, players and fans to interpret.  Currently there are rules in all major sports that leave people scratching their noggins, swearing and occasionally pegging the remote at the plasma.

The disappointing thing is that the knob shiners who set these rules are former players or officials, who know and love their sports, but are too gutless to do the right thing.  The fact that the AFL experiment with 3 or 4 rules every year in the pre-season competition tells me that the fat cats see our great games as a toys they can play with and manipulate until they resembles shiny money making machines.  This is bullshit!

It's a sporting pastime to give officials a hard time, but lately i have began to realise that these poor buggers are trying their best to interpret the ridiculous rules that have been dealt to them.  Some umpires are definitely shite on given days, but the rules they are force to decipher are shite ever day.  You have to ask yourself sometimes: Is it the ref or is it the rules that piss you off?  I bet I know the answer.

When you begin to follow a new sport, it's a given that it will take some time to pick up the rules and learn to appreciate the true essence of the game.  I have been living in Qld for 10 years now and have grown to love rugby league, however there are still quite a few rules that I am baffled by. 

To add to my confusion, when watching a game on telly, they constantly go to the "video referee" for a ruling.  During the 500 replays, the "expert" commentators explain what has happened and what the outcome will be.  When the video ref eventually makes his decision it quite often turns out to be the exact opposite of what we've been told.  Surely this is no way to attract new fans.

It's not only the football codes that are constantly tampered with.  Cricket, basketball and tiddly winks have all been molested.  I have been so livid this year with some of the rules in the AFL that I've almost...almost been driven to switch off.  Those who know me will know this is big, very big.  I'm sure I'm not the only passionate sports lover that is incensed by rule changes in their favourite game.  Repeated tweaks are putting fans off big time.  I hope and pray administrators will eventually pull their fingers out of their money hungry arses and stop vandalising sport.

In conclusion: I really think we should go back in time to when the rules were at their most basic.  With the increased speed, skill and technology meshed evenly with these grass roots rules, I'm sure we would end up with a spectacularly pure and watchable product that would makes angry fans like me happy once again...Tragic.

It's a Confidence Thing.

G'day Tragics,

Lately I have been playing a fair bit of golf and I must say I have been hitting it pretty well.  You could say my form has been so hot that I've almost burnt the arse out of my golf dacks!

On the weekend myself and a group of lads headed up to the Sunshine Coast for a golf weekend, playing a couple of rip-snorting courses.  These courses were tough and I struggled.  By the fifth hole my smokin' swing had turned to mush and by the back nine was a basket case.  I carried my shattered confidence and a nasty hangover into day 2 and my game was well and truly shagged.

Confidence is a funny human condition.  It can turn the average sportsperson into a giant and a superstar into a chump.  The yips, chokers, slumps and wobbles are all first cousins of confidence that has gone AWOL.  It's an amazing phenomenon and when your confidence is taken in sport it's a very humbling experience and it can feel like being stuck behind a locked door that has no key.(shocking analogy - it's late)

In Aussie rules, goal kicking is the ghost that haunts even the best.  St.Kilda captain, Nick Reiwoldt's goal kicking became so bad, that it almost appeared as if the big Saint didn't want to get the ball inside 50m.  The more trouble an athlete has, the more it becomes a news story.  When everyone knows there's a problem, it becomes amplified and often gets worse before it gets better.

Ian Baker-Finch was a bloody good golfer.  He won the British Open and would be regarded as one of Australia's greats.  Unfortunately IBF will best be remembered for his golf completely falling apart to the point where he quit the tour and took a seat in the commentary box.  Once you lose it, it's not a given you will get it back.  Poor Ian.

Sports psychologists love jittery athletes.  Their insecurities are a sports quack's gold mine.  They make a motza teaching athletes visualization techniques, goal setting and even hypnosis.  There is no obvious cure was missing confidence, if there was it would be hotter than Viagra.

Phillipousis, Norman and even LeBron James in this years finals series would have loved a magical cure for sudden deflated mojo.  Like love, depression or even the runs....confidence is uncontrollable and comes and goes without warning. 

Sports people that have it and harness it are the ones we bet on, buy their merchandise and worship.  Those that lose it, we take the piss of down the pub and they allow us to realise that star athletes are human after all.

Let's hope the Wallabies can rustle up the C word before the World Cup.....Viagra might have to do!....Tragic.

The Good Old Days.

G'day Tragics,

Last week one of the boys at work generously bestowed upon me an old sporting book.  It is called "Great moments in Australian Sport" and contains the legendary feats of hero's such as: Bradman, Lionel Rose, Herb Elliot and Peter Thompson just to name a few. 

It got me thinking about how different these blokes of yesteryear were compared to the sports stars of today.  I wasn't around when these champions were at their peak, but the grainy black and white footage shown on sporting doco's has allowed my imagination to create a portrait of what these guys were possibly like.

I wouldn't imagine that Walter Lindrum, the billiards genius would have sported too many tattoos, or John Landy the distance runner would pop a diamond stud in his ear once his race was run and I certainly don't think that Alex Jesaulenko, the Carlton great would have gave the fans the "handcuffs" gesture after slotting one from the boundary.

Sure it's a different time and a different age.  There's media and there's money.  The two most potent factors that shape today's sporting heroes.  The fame has turned so many hyper skilled athletes into petulant, narcissistic brats that will never secure our respect like the gentleman of the past.

In the black and white days, sports stars were working class, just like everyone else.  Their talent wasn't as refined as today's stock, but it was raw, tough and passionate.  There were no multi-million dollar contracts, no sponsorship deals and no T.V. rights. 

Hairy chests and moustaches were as outrageous as the fashion got and the vintage pros expressed themselves through their craft and not with their mouths.  There was so much to love about sport pre 90's.  Sports people were more humble and money mattered less.  You could tell they loved their sport and any benefits were purely bonus extras.

I miss those days.  Each year there seems to be more strikes by players wanting "their fair share".  Just quietly, doctors earn less than England's best darts player.  You commonly see rookies acting like they own the joint these days, rather than watching and learning from the pros.  The thing that shits me the most is how sports people put more effort into their celebrations, than thanking the team-mates that made them look good.

I really feel that the majority of today's stars know how to play their sport, but know very little about the history or even the heart of the game that pays their bills.  They too often forget about the low income fans that part with their hard earned to watch and cheer for them each week.

I think every sport on the planet should develop a programme in which its professional stars sit down with a legend from the past and hear about how it used to be.  Maybe then some of that old school charm could blend in with the electrifying talent and brashness that forms the fabric of so many modern day sports stars.

Ah the good old days....Tragic.