Chapter
3: A SPORTING LIFE
He
changed shirts, caps, shorts, shoes and rackets - it didn't help. He even
swore at the umpire - it worked - Patrick went on to clinch the third set
...
- Newspaper
report on tennis player Patrick Rafter (1997).
There was
no TV and we didn't have motor cars. It was nothing to do a hundred miles from
Sydney-bus to school, walk to training and walk home from training. But doing
without helped build character. The discipline made me a better person. I think
we all need discipline and I think that helped to form my character for later
years.
- Olympic
runner Majorie Nelson.
After an
epic swim in training, you're lying on the side of the pool, with all the muscles
quivering like a jelly and not an ounce of strength left and gasping for breath
and the coach walks over with his stop watch and says, “That was pretty good
but the next one's going to be better.” You've got to have a sense of humour
to live with remarks like that.
- Mike Wenden
won two golds and a bronze in swimming in Mexico (1968). Wenden also said, “Every
time you compete you are putting your ego and your reputation on the line.”
I don't
think I am obsessive about the sport. I'm committed and competitive, and it's
part of my character to accept challenges, but obsessive implies that it's at
the cost of other things and I think I have a fairly balanced outlook on sport,
life and behaviour in general.
- Basketball
coach Lindsay Gaze quoted in Boys and Balls (1994).
It was
tennis morning, noon and night. You slept it, you ate it but that was never
forced on me. I would get up at 6 o'clock in the morning to ride my bike, eight
or nine miles sometimes to get to the club matches. We'd play all day and people
would say, “Weren't you tired after cycling all that way?” Well, that wasn't
even thought of. It was just the opportunity to play.
-
Tennis player Rod Laver.
I'm not a natural extrovert.
And when I was young, I was probably even a bit introverted, I suspect. I
was never introverted on the field. I always felt comfortable there – I felt
like the football brought out a part of my character, both good and bad.
- Leigh
Matthews, AFL legend as a player and a coach (2003). His former Hawthorn teammate
and old coach, David Parkin, said of Matthews: "When he played, he was
quite introverted and even self-centred. On the field, he was a silent assassin
[and] off the field, he was his own man who spent little time with his teammates."
In retrospect
my training wasn't to improve my physical strength or stamina; those came along
as a secondary result, but the primary purpose of every training session was
to toughen up mentally. A training session was totally useless until it started
to hurt. That was the point when it started to be worthwhile.
-
Olympic athlete Herb Elliott. Elliott was at one time to suggest that: "The
greatest stimulator of my running career was fear."
He
opened a cake tin and inside there were thousands of unmarked US dollars.
-
Australian cricketer Dean Jones in reference to a bribe offered to him by
an Indian 'match-fixer' in Sri Lanka in 1993. He refused the offer but it
highlights the situation in the Indian sub-continent where gambling on the
results of matches is very big business.
Although
I have mixed with boxers, rowers, swimmers and athletes generally for
years, I never make use of bad language in any form, not even the mild
“D-A-M-N”. I have heard plenty of bad language, but have never acquired
the habit of using it.
- Reg
'Snowy' Baker has been considered to have been Australia's best all-round
sportsman. This comment from the 1910s shows that swearing has long been
associated with sport and its use is very much a personal choice.
Mark
don't be a wimp – go out there and give it everything you've got.
- Nick Phillippoussis
and the advice he gave his injured son during a break in the fifth set on
a crucial Davis Cup finals match against Juan Carlos of Spain. Mark had torn
a pectoral muscle and was in pain but prevailed to win the last set 6-0 to
clinch the Davis Cup for Australia. The win restored hims as a national sports
hero. 'Poo' later said, "There was no way I was going to pull out ...
I mean, this is the Davis Cup and you leave your heart out there."
If all
footballers interviewed on The Footy Show or elsewhere were fined
$1000 every time they used the word ‘mate' and $50 each time they said ‘you
know' and, subsequently all the dollars were handed over to charity, then, no
child would be living in poverty by the end of the football season.
- ‘Letter
to the Editor' of The Australian newspaper by Frank Bellet (2001).
The
way Satts played that second half you could not believe a man could go through
so much pain. It's the bravest thing I have ever seen in all my years of football.
When I walked out to greet the players after our win, tears came to my eyes.
Just to see and know what this man had been through ... you just can't measure
that sort of courage: Satts's face was covered with blood, but he didn't complain
once.
- South Sydney
rugby league Clive Churchill. In the Sydney grand final in September, between
old rivals South Sydney and Manly, South Sydney captain John Sattler was king
hit by a Manly rival in the opening minutes. Sattler's teeth were smashed and
his jaw broken in the incident. But he played the full match in agony and led
South Sydney to a 23-12 victory.
A player
must win for himself; if he cannot win for himself he's useless to everyone.
-
Rugby league coach Jack Gibson.
The
plane's captain announced Boon had consumed 52 beers. Bob Simpson went purple
with anger.
- Peter
Lalor, 'Drinking for Australia, in The Weekend Australian Magazine (December
2003). Australian cricketer, David Boon, despite his reluctance to talk about
it, reportedly drank 52 beers on the plane trip to England by the 1989 Australian
cricket team. Team coach Bob Simpson was not impressed with the effort of
Boon which beat the previous record of 45 cans of Rodney Marsh. The achievement
has less to do with sport as with folly but has entered sporting folklore
as an inspiration to 'would-be imitators.'
There
was a little boy. And all he wanted was a new pair of shoes. He knew the
type he wanted and he saved up week after week, month after month, until
he finally had enough money. And when he went to the shop the salesman
showed him a cheaper pair and the little boy bought them instead – and
a week later they broke. And the little boy said, “I wish I'd paid the
price.” Don't be like the little boy. Don't have any regrets. Pay the
price.
- With
his team Hawthorn struggling in the Australian Football Grand Final coach
John Kennedy threw out his game plan to provide an inspirational speech.
Hawthorn went on to win the game and perhaps the speech helped (1960s).
First
five minutes, men, we lock the bully out of the gate. And you flankers,
shark in a school of mullet. Tight five? No scattered rocks. Wind through
wheat, boys, wind through wheat. When you're through the other side crowbars
through the Opera House window. Get in, loot the joint and get out. Every
lineout, dockyard brawl. Except our 22. Row of ministers, men, row of ministers.
- Former
Wallaby coach David Brockoff (1970s) in delivering his game plan to his Sydney
University first-grade team.
Michael's
feat in becoming the first Australian to climb the four highest mountains in
the world, all without supplementary oxygen, was the equivalent of four drug-free
Olympic wins, an achievement that is especially notable because he made three
of those climbs after he'd lost thirty per cent of each foot to frostbite.
- Lincoln
Hall in the ‘Foreword' to Sheer Will by climber Michael Groom, (1997).
Groom went to achieve the ambition of climbing the six highest mountains in
the world.
It hurts
and it's itchy but I don't care about the pain. I'm just happy to be dry and
out of the water.
- Susie Maroney
after setting a world record for the longest unassisted open water swim of 204.3
km from Mexico to Cuba in 1999. She also said, “I guess there are always going
to be people that knock you, and they're pretty much people on their couches.
I try my hardest, that's all I can do.”
Let's go
for them!
- Australian
cricket captain Richie Benaud to Alan Davison at tea when Australia needed 105
runs to win the First Test against the West Indies in Brisbane during December
1961. Benaud also recalled, “When it was getting close I was thinking out there
in the centre that perhaps neither side should win; that the best result for
this game would be a draw or a tie.” Australian Ian Meckiff was run out on the
final ball of the match and the first tie in test cricket resulted.
Just thought
I'd like to finish ... that's all.
- Jack Brabham
after he pushed his car which had run out of fuel 500 metres to finish the United
States Grand Prix in 1959. After leading in the race Brabham finished fourth
and received no points but had already won the world driving championship.
Why not
make a race of it?
- Captain
Illingworth's (of the Royal Navy) reported proposal to the Cruising Yacht Club
Commodore A.E. Walker who had suggested in 1946 that the club boats should cruise
to Hobart for Christmas the first Sydney-Hobart race.
Players
like to know their captain is human, has a sense of humour. That's why I think
it's important to be one of the boys when the moment is right and be confident
enough of your leadership qualities to know the players will respect you when
it's time to get down to business.
- The
Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket (1996).
You big
lug!
- In 1953
Lew Hoad lay sprawled facedown on the centre court at Kooyong when Harry Hopman,
in a display of ‘gamesmanship' threw a towel over his head and called him a
‘big lug.' Hoad went back to defeat Tony Trabert in the fifth set and win the
Davis Cup for Australia.
After the
official welcome by local dignitaries at Goolwa, Tammy spoke passionately about
the river and its plight. All along the length of the river, Tammy has spoken
to the local people and the media about the environmental issues facing the
Murray River and in doing so, she has contributed significantly to raising the
awareness of the Murray and its problems.
- Australian
Conservation Foundation report on Tammy van Wisse who set a world record in
swimming the length of the Murray River - 2,2422 kilometres in 106 days (472
hours in the water). During the swim, Tammy had to contend with floodwaters,
snags and illness (2000).
When I'm
playing in the green-and-gold uniform I won't be just representing myself but
a whole lot of people. I would love to think out of all that negative that people
can draw some positives. That if Ali Denne can do it, others can do it to.
- Softballer
Ali Denne after being selected to play for Australia in 2001. The 25-year-old
was one of the first police officers on the scene of the Port Arthur massacre
(1996) in which Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 and wounded 22. She was left
with post traumatic stress disorder but “Pride and determination kept me going
... I didn't want to be another victim of Martin Bryant.”
Hand ball
... hand ball ... hand ball! The first person who hangs his head in shame will
be taken off. We can peg them back, four goals a quarter.
- Part of
the half-time speech by Carlton coach Ron Barassi during the 1970 Australian
Football Grand Final. Carlton were 44 points down to Collingwood but went on
to win the game by 10 points.
No more
boxing. You must punch it out. Hit him twice every time he hits you.
- Trainer
Jack Rennie's instruction to Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose at the end of the
14th round in a world bantamweight title fight against Masahiko ‘Fighting' Harada
in Tokoyo in February 1968. A small group of Australian supporters called, “Give
it to him. Lionel.” Rose became the first Aboriginal Australian to win a world
title.
It
has been a tough time. It has been a huge mental battle to get to where I
am today. I am spent. Physically my body is still healing and, mentally, it
has been hard carrying the hopes of a nation.
- Bali bombing
victim Jason McCartney suffered burns to 50 per cent of his body but over 6
months later the AFL footballer achieved a hospital bed goal (the other goal
was to marry his fiancée, Nerissa) to return to play for North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos won by 5 points and McCartney kicked a goal but announced his
retirement following the game. He said, “I think I have used up every bit of
my determination, every inch of my determination.”
Adam Gilchrist
… delivered the finest line of his cricketing career when he “walked” in Tuesday's
World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka. Even though umpire Rudi Koertzen gave
Gilchrist not out to a catch behind the wicket, the Australian realised he had
nicked the ball and, ignoring the umpire's reprieve, tucked his bat under his
arm and walked from the ground. It was a sad commentary on the present state
of the game that his actions provoked so much amazement.
- Editorial
comment in The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) in March 2003 after cricketer
Adam Gilchrist's action. Captain Ricky Ponting actively sought to discourage
players from following Gilchrist's example.
The game
is not worth playing unless you play it as well as you possibly can. It is important
to try with all you have to win, for to do less is an insult to your opponent.
But nothing can justify a "win-at-all-costs approach. To play around the
rules, or purposefully against them, is an insult to the game, and the game
is always bigger than the individual, or the match, or the premiership. ...
Furthermore,
although trying to win is important, once the game is over, winning or losing
is irrelevant. If you have tried your hardest as an individual and as a team,
and done your very best...that is all that matters.
-
Anonymous.
Flow,
forward, fast and fight.
- Runner Jana
Pittman won a gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. On the morning
of the race, Phil King, coach of the 20 year old 400 metre hurdler, gave her
a four-word note on the back of a postcard bearing a picture of a cheetah. The
instructions meant she was to flow down the back straight, go forward
around the bend, fast over the last two hurdles and fight
for her life to the end. From the last hurdle Pittman surged past the
fading Russian world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina to win by 3 metres in a
personal best time.
Life's
battle doesn't always go to the biggest or strongest or fastest man. But sooner
or later the fellow who wins is the fellow who thinks he can win.
- Former rugby
coach and radio commentator Alan Jones. He had also said, “Good teams practice
until they get it right, champion teams practice until they can't get it wrong”
(1984).
When
considering the stature of an athlete, or for that matter any person, I
set great store on certain qualities which I believe to be essential in
addition to skill. They are the person conducts his or her life with dignity,
with integrity, courage and perhaps most of all, with modesty. These virtues
are totally compatible with pride, ambition and competitiveness.
- Sir Donald
Bradman sums up his approach to sport and life. Cricketer Bradman is recognised
as Australia's greatest ever sportsperson.
I've
always believed that the desire must come from within, not as a result of
being driven by coaches or parents.
-
Dawn Fraser, legendary Olympic swimmer.
If they earn what
their mate does who leave school to slave at the local supermarket, they'd
say they're in front. That's why it is called lifestyle sports.
-
Bruce Robson in 2003 speaking about the athletes who compete in extreme
sports. He prefers the term 'lifestyle sports' and says, "Extreme to
me is something like base jumping, where a guy dresses up in Lycra and throws
himself off a tower with a parachute that may or may not open. That's extreme."
As you
slide down the bannister of life, you are bound to pick up a splinter or two
in your arse!
- Queensland
horse trainer Vic Rail speaking after Vo Rogue lost a race on protest in 1990.
Sport
is simple. A game can be broken down into little tasks. Sportspeople have
to get the little things right. But for a coach, saying that repeatedly
in different ways is the challenge.
- Sports
psychologist Dr. Jeff Simons emphasising to Australian athletes about doing
the little things right - you can only do the job you know how to do (2003).
Honesty
in every area, character and integrity plus the famous ‘Ds' - desire, dedication,
determination and discipline.
- Tony Shaw,
Collingwood Australian Football legend on the ingredients of success (1990s).
People
often talk about the importance of discipline in football as in most areas of
life. I'm no expert in life. I have made enough mistakes to know that premierships
just cannot be won without discipline, a lot of discipline, being shown in the
game.
- Ron Barassi,
legendary player and coach of Australian Football (1990s).
I hate
it here. I couldn't live here. I want to live in a place where you can play
cricket out in the street and get twenty overs in before the first car comes.
- Steve Merrick,
two test Australian rugby union halfback speaking about Sydney and in turning
down the chance for an international rugby career (1995).
That's
the way it goes. If that's the biggest disappointment in life, then I have no
problems ... the other bloke won it fair and square, so what can you say?
- In the Kayak
singles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Queenslander Grant Davies missed out on a
gold medal by 0.005 of a second. He was originally listed as the winner of the
event but after 11 minutes, and even though Davies had signed the official document
recognising him as the gold medallist, the judges reported that a computer enhanced
photograph of the finish indicated that Greg Barton of the United States had
won.
People
think you are more important than you really are. People want to see you as
a champion. Well, you are a champion, but I don't think I was anything special.
- Former champion
athlete John Landy in describing the mythologising of sports people in Australia
as ‘bullshit' (1994).
Sport,
basically, to my way of thinking, is having fun. I know that, participants and
the administrators that run football haven't got much of a sense of humour.
In the course of having fun, if money comes along, then that's a bonus.
- Lou Richards
former AFL player and commentator.
You judge
a footballer by their professionalism and their ability to show extreme discipline.
-
Mick Malthouse AFL coach (1990s).
We
drink, we smoke, we love to have a toke. We think the world's a fucking
joke.
Kingsley
Amateur Football Club song.
- Kingsley
Amateur Football Club song. This club lost players in the Bali bombing in
2002.
I play
as hard as I can every time I go on the court. I try to beat them as quickly
as possible. I never muck around. If you slacken at this game you can lose concentration
and you might get beaten.
- World champion
squash player from the 1960s and 70s Heather McKay.
There were
many facets to Walter's success. He had sheer determination to succeed which
became an obsession with him. At no time did he ever seek to reduce his hours
of practice; he thrived on it.
- Jim Collins,
a contemporary of Walter Lindrum, speaking about the motivation Lindrum had
to become an unbeatable world billiards champion. Walter Lindrum in scoring
4137 to break his own world billiards record in 1932 had said, “When I reached
4000 I felt I could go on indefinitely.”
Just because
the referee and marker had not called the ball down, he was so fair that at
7-7 in the fifth set he would call his ball down if he thought it was down.
- Jonah Barrington
commenting on the high standards of Geoff Hunt. Geoff had the philosophy that,
“I wanted to win and win fairly on the court.”
There's
nothing like the pain of training to overcome the agony of defeat.
- Swim coach
Lawrie Lawrence (1992).
When you
have a dream you have to work hard to achieve that dream. Your dreams when you
are young can be the force that keeps you going.
- Aboriginal
tennis champion Evonne Cawley in Aussie Sport Action (Winter 1996).
I always
look on the bright side of everything. If you keep aiming for some goal, you
usually get there if you don't give up.
- Legendary
horse trainer Bart Cummings (1990s).
Sport is
easy!
- Olympic
gold medalist and IOC representative Susie O'Neill on participation in sport
when compared to other life issues and responsibilities (2003).
At the
end of the day, athletes are doing it for themselves, not for us.
- Jeff Bond,
sports psychologist at the Australian Institute of Sport.
If you're
not prepared to go out there and try a few things you'd be better off sitting
alongside me in the grandstand.
- Ricky Stuart,
dual rugby codes international, speaking about advice given to him by coach
Alan Jones during the Wallabies tour of Argentina in 1987. After his first match
Stuart had told the coach that he had not been happy with his game because of
a couple of glaring mistakes.
Thank you
umpire. Thank you ball boys. I've been a fortunate man.
- Eric Abraham,
World War One veteran using a sporting expression in 2001 to sum up his satisfaction
with a life that spanned three centuries. He died just short of his 105th birthday
in 2003.
Boxing
is corrupt, life is corrupt; everything's corrupt.
- Former world
champion boxer Jeff Fenech.
In
my experience, if you combine a strong work ethic, clever preparation, and
a strong belief and positive energy, you can achieve your goals nine times
out of ten. Ten times out of ten, often, I reckon.
- Australian
Wallaby (Rugby Union) captain George Gregan in 2003.
Although
many rowers and scullers have competed with different motives whether fun,
fame, money or national pride they have had at least one thing in common,
a passion for their sport.
- Sport historian
Daryl Adair (1994).
When the
crowd cheered me it was like being lifted high above where I could feel I'd
never again have to think of myself as worthless.
- Bantamweight
boxer of the 1980s, ‘Sparrow' Freeman, on what boxing meant to him. He lost
more bouts than he won.
It
is through sport that my self-confidence and my self-esteem have been enhanced
and that I have come to understand the deep-rooted sense of connectedness
between the body and the self. Through sport I have learned what it really
feels like to be fit and strong and completely in touch with every fibre
of my body.
- Libby Darlison,
NSW feminist, sportswoman and analyst (1990s).
Sporting
success has been one of the most enduring symbols of Australian progress and
in this way has contributed directly to the creation and maintenance of nationalist
sentiment.
- Sport
in Australia: Teacher's Guide (1988).
My
life wasn't my own anymore. Lots of people would probably have wallowed in
the fanfare of publicity and limelight, but frankly I loathed it.
-‘Golden Girl'
Betty Cuthbert explaining the price of fame after winning gold medals in the
100 metres and 200 metres at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
I loved
the training, swimming and travelling but I got tired of all the razzamatazz
with it.
- Swimmer
Shane Gould reflecting on her career which saw her win 3 golds, a silver and
a bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
I
said to myself 'that's it'. I don't need anything more in my game. It
was time for me to concentrate on every ball and let that be. Once I
started to do that I realised I don't need another shot. It is about
completing my skills and executing them with what I have got.
-
Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden on the approach that resulted in
great success as an international batsmen (2003).
Arrogance.
I don't like the word myself because I don't think it really exists. What
else are you supposed to do. I thought when you win you strut and you
gloat and that's about it. What else are you going to do for six months?
- Brisbane
Lions AFL player Jason Akermanis after coach Leigh Matthews criticised his
triple premiership side for being arrogant in victory (2003).
To
be a successful sportsman you have to be a little bit selfish. My situation
has changed now I'm a father.
-
Jockey Damien Oliver on his preparation for the Melbourne Cup in 2003.
On
any day, at any TAB [betting agency] in Queensland
there's one sure bet—there will be punters
trying their luck. If the chips are down the favourite in the last race
has gone under, there's always another ready to jump. If luck is on their
side, then the confidence is high and the tip in the next is a certainty.
- Journalist
Scott Murdock in an article, 'Magic Billions' (2003). He was outlining how
racing was bg business. In this form of gambling punters strive for their
own form of success in sport.
I know I played my best football when I was
still working.
- Former Rugby Union international, Jason Little, on the situation
where the top players no longer worked and played the game (2003).
The
need for gaining adrenalin is like the need drug addicts have. The more
we get something, the more we want it. But while some people are satisfied
with playing soccer, other need to jump off a skyscraper. It never ends.
That's why we see people do crazier and crazier stunts. Once the body gets
that natural high, we strive to reproduce it as long as we can. Extreme
sports athletes feel fear but their perception of it differs. As most fear
is born of the unknown, they rationalise and minimise the danger through
experience and knowledge. Coping mechanisms are developed over time. And
for some participants, only a mishap can remind them of the risks of their
chosen activity.
- Journalist
Drew Warne-Smith in and article in The Weekend Australian where he
interviewed sports psychologist Gavin Freeman after the death in October 2003
of 30 year old base jumper Dwain Weston. Weston was revered as a pioneer of
a sport in which people jump from buildings, antennae, spans (bridges) and
earth (cliffs). Weston had been quoted as saying, "(Australians) are
generally not respected ... we are viewed as a culture that takes excessive
risks."
Athletes
should be treated as whole people and not just as mechanisms for winning gold
medals. With many competitive athletes, there's so much stress put on the
end result. The goal becomes the medal and not the personal achievement which
carries huge expectations from ministers and administrators, and athletes
get caught up in it. If the goal is not achieved then it can be devastating.
-
Swimmer Shane Gould (1995).
Success
in sport is like many things in life - you have to remember the 6
P's.
'Perfect'
Preparation
(or Planning)
Prevents
P***
Poor
Performance.
- Ken Edwards,
QUT academic.
I admit
that I sometimes climbed on other fellows' backs. But I used to watch the flight
of the ball perhaps more than the other fellow did. Perfect timing, a deep breath
and a natural spring then helped me to get above them.
- Roy Cazaly
of ‘Up there Cazaly' fame. Noted for his high marks in Australian Football.
The
lately-formed New South Wales League may deny that it exists to foster professionalism;
but the public will scarcely appreciate the distinction which it draws between
‘compensation' to players for ‘loss of time' and straight out renumeration
for their services. Professionalism has killed every other sport it has touched
… Whether football will escape unscathed remains to be seen. ... When professionalism
comes in at the door, the spirit of sport prepares to fly out the window.
While amateurism holds the preponderating place in the game, however, the
immediate effect of the professional intrusion will most probably be to quicken
rivalry, and provide those who take their sport vicariously with more exciting
entertainments. That, however, is quite a different thing from furthering
the sport of Rugby football as a national game.
- An editorial
in the Sydney Morning Herald in April 1908 referring to the start
of a new professional league in Rugby Union which was to become Rugby League,
a game with its own rules. The newspaper reflected the class perspective of
its generally wealthy readers.
There are
a lot of reasons why you would want a child to be encouraged and pushed. It's
nice to have the financial opportunity for success that there is today. When
we played it was purely an amateur game; the only glory was trophies and to
try to represent Australia. Now the financial incentives are great, but if pressure
outweighs enjoyment, parents' are pushing goes for nought. You have to enjoy
it – the thrill of winning and being there. You don't have to have the agony
of defeat, it's just that you're disappointed and you've learned something.
- Tennis player
Rod Laver.
I
have ridden in over 20,000 races and my experience with thousands of owners
and hundreds of trainers shows them to be honest.
- Brisbane
jockey Mike Pelling in replying to suggestions that jockeys were 'pulling'
up horses for financial gain. To reinforce his point he subjected himself
to a lie detector test (2003).
Sport and
physical activity are not hobbies to many people any more, they are a career
for some.
-
Cathy Smith, ASC Aussie Sport consultant (2000).
With
professionalism, passion has gone out of the game. Money changes people and
I think it actually loses a bit of the friendship and the enjoyment of the
game. Sport and physical activity are not hobbies to many people any more,
they are a career for some.
-
Former International Rugby Union player David Campese with his view on the
change to professionalism by the previously amateur code (1990s).
In the old days teams simply
dropped the ball or missed tackles, but hyper-professionalism demands a technical
lexicon and execution is the latest buzzword. Thus poor execution equals teams
not following the game plan, nor exhibiting the skills and running the moves
which they practise at training, day after day, week after week, all season.
-
Adrian McGregor, 'Beyond the Game Play,' The Australian newspaper
(2003).
It
used to be an amateur's race. The whole thing was a fun, fun event. But
the smaller boats, the older boats, the amateurs are no longer involved
in it. They're becoming disenchanted with it. Partly it's because of the
cost but partly it's because I don't think they feel very welcome.
- Seasoned
campaigner in the Sydney to Hobart race, John Quinn. He was commenting on
how rising costs and media obsession with the line honours winner were turning
ordinary boat owners off the race (2003). Quinn became a race legend when
he was washed overboard in 1993 and survived in the water for five hours before
being rescued.
BRYAN:
… Come on, your modern athlete is a machine.
JOHN: That
may be, Bryan, but your older athletes used to root, shoot, drive a truck, work
sixteen hours a day, yank on a pair of shorts, try and get a bit of training
in at lunchtime …Your modern athlete, Bryan, lives in a thermostatically controlled
biosphere for eleven months of the year wrapped in mung beans or something and
they're still only 10 per cent faster.
- From the
book, The Games – Script (2000). Discussing modern athletes.
Yes,
it was important what others thought of me, but it was more important what
I thought of myself. I kept it in perspective. You could get caught up with
a lot of public pressure. The attitudes and expectations of my coach, my wife
and family, and my training partners meant more.
- Marathon
runner Robert de Castella.
My wife
helped me to keep my performance in perspective and I think that's important.
She doesn't tolerate bad behaviour on the court and the odd times where I'd
show any form of disagreement, which usually wasn't bad compared with others,
she would pick me up on it. She would never come out and abuse me or really
praise me. She had confidence in me that no matter what predicament I was in,
I was going to get out of it. It was also what she expected me to do … because
she knew it was what I expected of myself.
- Squash champion
Geoff Hunt on the role of his wife.
The last
time I won the Cup it was all about me. This time it is a reality check. I'm
able to live my dreams. My brother cannot. … Melbourne Cups don't mean a thing
to me any more. I'd give it back right now to have my brother back.
- Damien Oliver,
in dedicating his triumphant ride on Media Puzzle in the 2002 Melbourne Cup
to his brother Jason. Jason was killed in a training accident just prior to
the Cup.
One of
the first things a young cricketer should be taught is to accept the umpire's
decision without quibble.
- Sir Don
Bradman (1950).
Sports
is a pretty fickle industry. One day you're on top of the world and the next
you're forgotten.
- Rugby
Union international Ben Tune talking about opportunities to pursue various
interests after his career ends (2003). Tune suffered knees problems which
plagued his career.
They think
I'm crazy because I'm up running before dawn and they are still getting home
from a night out. They ought to take a look at themselves. It is amazing how
cheeky some drunks can be at 5 am.
- Marathon
runner Steve Moneghetti after winning the Sydney half-marathon (1998).
BRYAN:
Tell me tennis used to be better than it is now.
JOHN: Tennis?
That's exactly what I'll tell you Bryan.
BRYAN:
You have got be joking.
JOHN: Used
to be miles better, Bryan. Tennis: a game that used to be played on an ant bed
with a racquet the size of a postage stamp and a ball you had to go and get
out of the neighbour's guttering. An era, Bryan, in which it was considered
nobler and better to win the Davis Cup for your country than it was to win Wimbledon
for yourself. It was played by players who spoke to the umpire only in the event
that they wished to inquire after the state of his wife's health.
- From the
book, The Games – Script (2000).
One of
the greatest obstacles to training and intellectual development for youth in
Australia is presented by sport. Sport not only receives endless attention and
status but Australians in the fifteen to thirty-five age category spend an extraordinary
amount of time exercising, running, and in mindless activities such as jet skiing
around Australia or swimming the length of the Murray River (some 2.330 miles
and the seventeenth longest river in the world). This removes a sizeable proportion
of the nation's youth from work, training, and education at the most crucial
period of their lives.
- Ex-patriot
United States of America academic David Mosler in Australia, the Recreational
Society (2002). Mosler in his book criticizes the recreational nature
of Australian society and suggested that, “The historical propensity of Australians
to focus on recreation, sport, and gambling, therefore, evolved as the glue
holding the society together; a culture dedicated to leisure and the ‘layback'
lifestyle of the South Pacific.”
A
sensational and desperate attempt to shoot or maim the Melbourne Cup favourite
Phar Lap was made early on Saturday morning, as the champion was being returned
to his stables from Caulfield Racecourse. A shot was fired from a double-barrelled
gun by a man in the rear seat of a moving motor car, but the quick action
of the attendant in charge of Phar Lap (Tommy Woodcock), who placed the pony
he was riding between the horse and the gunman, obscured the objective, and
the shot went wide.
- The Sydney
Morning Herald's version of an unsuccessful attempt to shoot Phar Lap
before the Melbourne Cup (1930s).
In mid-afternoon,
almost in an instant, the summer idyll changed as the water went eerily quiet.
Then, three huge waves rose up out of nothing to swamp those in the water and
on the sandbank, placing them in immediate difficulty. A powerful backwash was
created by the waves and, in less than 10 seconds, more than 200 bathers were
dragged out to sea.
- At Bondi
Beach, on Sunday, 6 February 1938 more than 70 lifesavers and others were forced
into action. A Telegraph Mirror article recalled ‘Black Sunday' when
5 people sadly lost their lives. With humility it was reported that, “Everyone
did his job.”
In 1931
when 36 lifesavers ran into the water at Bronte for the junior surf race they
entered a cauldron of surf and currents that scattered them around the bay.
Evans and his crew made three trips through the raging surf in their boat Bluebottle
... Fox-Movietone News immortalised Evans and Bluebottle on film.
- Wray Vamplew
(et al.), Oxford Companion of Australian Sport (1997).
The helter-skelter
Redex reliability motoring trials around Australia could be depended upon to
provide headlines and thrills galore. The rally lasted just three years, 1953-54-55.
They were years of rip ‘n' tear motoring as hundreds of cars rushed through
the outback trying to dodge kangaroos, stumps, ditches and trees. The trials
were full of character, and characters. Most famous was Sydney garage owner
Jack Murray who earned himself the explosive nickname “Gelignite Jack” for his
habit of tossing out sticks of gelignite along the way to enliven proceedings.
-
Ian Heads and Gary Lester, 200 Years of Australian Sport: A Glorious Obsession,
(1988).
The
fight! There was no fight! No Armenian massacre could compare to the hopeless
slaughter that took place at the Sydney Stadium. The fight, if fight it
could be called, was like that between a pygmy and a colossus. It had all
the seeming of a playful Ethiopian at loggerheads with a small white man
– of a grown man cuffing a naughty child – of a monologue by Johnson who
made a noise with his fists like a lullaby, tucking Burns into a crib –
of a funeral, with Burns for the late deceased, Johnson for the undertaker,
gravedigger and sexton, all in one.
- In December
1908 a boxing match for the Heavyweight World Championship was held in Sydney
between Canadian Tommy Burns and black American challenger Jack Johnson. Johnson
won easily to become the first black boxing champion of the world. American
writer was an avowed racist. He hated Johnson, and everything he stood for.
Before the fight, London admitted that he wanted Burns to win: "He is
a white man, and so am I. Naturally I wanted to see a white man win."
With only
two balls of the match left, last batsman Lindsay Kline played firmly towards
mid-wicket and took off. Solomon fielded and calmly threw down the stumps, leaving
Meckiff short of his ground. A tie. No one could believe it.
- Newspaper
report of tied test between the West Indies and Australia at Brisbane in 1961.
- Sir Donald Bradman called the match, “The greatest and most exciting Test
of all time.”
This must
be a ring-in!
- Bookmaker
Mark Read in a comment just after the Fine Cotton Betting plunge in 1984. It
was to be a famous ‘ring-in.' On August 18, 1984, a horse called ‘Fine Cotton'
was backed for a fortune on courses throughout Queensland and New South Wales
to win the Second Commerce Novice at Eagle Farm. Fine Cotton's price tumbled
from 33 to 1 to 7 to 2, and the horse won by a breath. ‘Fine Cotton' in fact
proved to be a much better performed galloper, Bold Personality. In January
1985, Judge Goran supported the AJC's disqualifications and ‘warning-off' notices
to eight people.
The worst
incident of the series, however, was in the Ashes deciding Seventh Test in Sydney,
on Saturday, February 13. Brawling and can throwing on the Hill had increased
as the afternoon went on. But the crowd really boiled when England's “villain”,
pace man John Snow felled Australia's Terry Jenner with a short pitched delivery
cutting Jenner's head. At the end of his over Snow moved to his fielding position
at fine leg on the fence under the Paddington Hill. There he was grabbed by
the shirt by a spectator who attempted to drag him over the picket fence. Amid
wild scenes, with cans and bottles raining down, England captain Ray Illingworth
led his team from the field. Illingworth declared that the Englishmen would
be back when the ground was cleared of cans and bottles. It was done—and play
resumed with no more trouble. The Englishmen returned intense and determined,
and won the Test, bundling Australia out for 160 in its second innings, 66 runs
short of victory.
- Ian Heads
and Gary Lester, 200 Years of Australian Sport: A Glorious Obsession
(1988).
During
the Perth Test match against England in the 1979-80 season, Australian fast
bowler Dennis Lillee legally, but controversially, used an aluminium bat (in
which he held a commercial interest). He had previously used the bat without
incident against the West Indies. England captain Mike Brearley successfully
remonstrated to the umpires that Lillee's bat would damage the ball. When the
umpires and his captain ordered Lillee to use a Conventional wooden bat instead
he reacted …
- Wray Vamplew
(et al.) Oxford Companion of Australian Sport (1994).
There were
three of us, one of the others, hockey player Des Piper, climbed the pole and
took the flag - but like the gentlemen they were, they let me take the blame,
she said with a laugh.
- Dawn Fraser
in 1995 'finally' explaining the extent of her involvement in the stealing of
an Olympic flag from the Imperial Palace in Tokoyo (1964). After the incident
they were all arrested and questioned by the police.
Now,
we all know that many footballers do manage to stay faithful to their partners,
even in the face of girls called Shazza and Tracey begging them to sign
their breasts in nightclubs, but I don't think any of us would be too surprised
to hear there are those who don't. But the big shock seems to be not that
Wazza [Wayne Carey] was unfaithful to his wife, but to his mate.
- Journalist
Frances Whiting commenting about top AFL player, Wayne Carey, who admitted
to an affair with the wife of a good friend and was forced to leave his club,
North Melbourne, in 2002. Carey and his wife later reconciled their relationship
problems. Carey's father-in-law was quoted as saying, "If you wanted
it that bad, you would go to a knock shop [brothel] wouldn't you?"
It is in
the interest of the team, Australian cricket and myself that I have informed
the ACB of my decision to stand down as Australian captain. I look forward to
continuing my career in whatever capacity the selectors and the Board see fit
with the same integrity and credibility I have displayed as Australian captain.
Gentlemen, I wish not to discuss this matter any further, and I will not be
available to answer any further questions.
- Part of
resignation letter of Kim Hughes at Brisbane on 26 November 1984 after Australia
had lost the second Test to the West Indies. Team manager Bob Merriman read
the letter to reporters when Hughes broke down and left the room.
You know,
I'm a little bit different to what most people would consider an Australian
male. That doesn't make me gay. I mean I'm straight … I think it's because when
I speak at engagements I try to speak as well as I possibly can. I try to be
articulate, I don't put on a slang, I don't try and sound macho, with an Australian
accent, just for the sake of having it, I have interests in things most people
don't label as being part of the macho male thing.
- Olympic
gold medallist Ian Thorpe, denying rumours about his sexuality (2002).
But,
really are organisers of Australia 's greatest sporting event so blinded by
bullshit to invite the fraudster who stole $1.2 billion to reign in their
Parade of Champions? Bond has already been rewarded a thousandfold for his
yachting victory: international fame, meetings with PMs and presidents, keys
to doors containing other people's money.
-
Journalist Matt Price on the invitation to Alan Bond to participate in the
Parade of Champions before the AFL Grand Final on the 20th anniversary
of Australia II's victory in the America's Cup. Cup winner Bond was a convicted
corporate crook who, in the opinion of many, was not given a deserved level
of punishment after costing many Australians and businesses a great deal
of money. Price thought that Bond was a “remorseless corporate crook” and
said, “Greed, arrogance, waste, extravagance, boastfulness, denial, unaccountability,
fakery and mismanagement—the qualities that fuelled Bond's corporate ethos—have
no place on a footy field in September” (2003).
Les
smiled and spoke a little, but he looked very weak and said he felt sleepy.
After a little talk I said goodbye, I'd come again in the evening. I had just
reached the door of the room when the Sister called, ‘Come quickly!' I ran
back and put my arms around him and he was dead. It was unbelievable.
- Winnie O'Sullivan
the fiance of boxer Les Darcy describing his death (1917) at Memphis in the
United States. Les suffered a streptococcal infection with other complications
but to many Australians of the time two myths prevailed; he was either poisoned
by the Yanks or died of a broken-heart. More than 20,000 jammed the streets
of Sydney to witness the coffin carried to Central Railway Station for transportation
to East Maitland. He was 22 years old.
When you
belong to a surf-lifesaving club you're part of a family. It provides a family
life outside your family. Robbie made a major impact on surf-lifesaving by his
passing and the whole movement has been made stronger by it. It has brought
people together and reminded us of what it's all about.
- Laurie Murphy,
uncle of 15 year old ‘boatie' Robert Gatenby who was drowned in wild surf during
the national championships in 1996. His death was the first at an Australian
surf-lifesaving championship, “Robert wanted to compete in that final, he lived
for it, he lived for his club. We saw him before the race and he was very, very,
excited ... he loved big surf.”
The last
time I won the Cup it was all about me. This time it is a reality check. I'm
able to live my dreams. My brother cannot … Melbourne Cups don't mean a thing
to me any more. I'd give it back right now to have my brother back.
-
Jockey Damien Oliver, in dedicating his triumphant ride on Media Puzzle in
the 2002 Melbourne Cup to his brother Jason. Jason was killed in a training
accident just prior to the Cup.
He was very professional about
his football but to me, as I'm sure he was to others, he was also the sort
of mate who was always there when you needed him.
- Junior
Pelasasa speaking at the funeral of his friend and flatmate, Michael Tabaret.
A promising young player with the Queensland Reds Rugby team Tabaret took
his own life at the end of 2003. His death highlighted the fact that sport
was not immune from this tragic societal problem.
Several
hundred footballers were partying in Bali on end-of-season jaunts when the
bombs tore through their ranks. Players from many clubs, amateur and professional,
were injured, but those who died came from just five clubs – Kingsley, Coogee,
Forbes, Sturt and Southport.
- Journalist
Adrian McGregor writing on the first anniversary of the 2002 terrorist bombing
of a Bali nightclub which along with those from other nationalities claimed
the lives of 88 Australians. The sporting clubs honoured their lost players
and officials. For example, at the Southport Sharks Australian Football Club,
hangs Billy Hardy's framed jersey. McGregor said, "Billy didn't come
home from Bali. The sight of his jersey is still a wrench for his teammates
who survived the Sari club blast." Simon Quayle, coach of the Kingsley
Amateur Football Club, said of the Bali explosion, "We were all having
a good time, and then bang. Within a minute the whole place was burning. The
flames were unbearable."
I loved
my sport. There a many things that I would like to have done but they say I
don't have much time left … Eddie, would you be my chief pallbearer when I die?
- Jim Fox,
a young Australian Team Handball player in the late 1980s suffered an injury
while playing sport that probably led to him developing bone cancer. He had
his leg amputated and fought a brave battle as the cancer spread to other parts
of his body. Two days before he died he rang his former teacher and school basketball
coach Ken Edwards to have a final chat and make his request. Ken sat with the
heavily sedated Jim when he passed away and had the honour of carrying out the
Jim's wishes. Jim had drawn a picture of a basketball player that he had his
father pass on to Ken at the funeral. The event highlights the respect and friendship
that sport can forge.
I
realised nothing would ever fill the place of football. In normal life you're
not going to perform in front of 70,000 and hear that scream and have the
adrenalin run through your body. The secret to retirement is discovering you
won't find a replacement. You have to go out and find something for yourself
after that, because you're no longer supported by the game. I accept that
playing football was a great time in my life that won't be revisited, but
I won't dwell on it.
- Tim Watson
after retiring from AFL football in 1994.
I don't
believe there is anything better than playing. I think the worst time of your
life is when you stop your sport, whatever that is.
-
Soccer player John Warren.
The
minute I walked off the track, I went back into that feeling that I wasn't
interested in running, I hated it, I wanted to do other things. I didn't
analyse the decision. I didn't get the chance to intellectually explore
the various possibilities. I emotionally didn't want to do it anymore. It
was like going off ice cream.
-
Herb Elliott, Olympic gold medallist in the 1500 metres at the 1960 Rome
Olympics retired soon after this feat at the age of 22. He also said, "That
physical pain and mental testing is quite wearing. You get to the point
where you get up in the morning and dread the training sessions. There comes
a point where the rewards no longer exceed the boredom and tedium."
I won't ever have the same
fulfilling moment as I already have had. I don't have the same hunger. I know
what it takes to be the best in the world, and I just don't have that feeling
right now.
-
Olympic 400 metre gold medallist on her retirement from athletics (2003).
I'm
going to miss the dressing room. It's a unique place but it's not my turf
any more.
- Australian
cricketer Mike Whitney on his retirement from cricket in 1994.