Friday, February 11, 2011
Looking out for a hero
I remember a mate of mine when I was about seven years old. He said his favourite player at the time was Bob McNab. Maybe it was because he had appeared in On The Buses and he was a celebrity or maybe because he had been selected by Sir Alf Ramsey in the original 40 to go to Mexico in the 1970 but never made the cut, I dunno, but he rated McNab.
We don't seem to have that anymore. McNab was an unsung left back at a time when we had players like Charlie George, John Radford and Bob Wilson. Despite George Best's column inches exploiting his drinking and shagging, or was it the other way round, footballers tended to be regarded as footballers and we would select our favourite player based on that quaint old system called merit.
Now it seems that many folks select their favourite player based on how 'famous' he is. And by famous we of course he mean how rich he is, how handsome he is and how much other people talk about him.
David Beckham wasn't fit to lace the boots of players like Frank Worthington or Matt Le Tissier. But because he played for Manchester United and because he was thought good looking his status shot way beyond his ability merited. Paul Scholes was always the better player all round but ginger haired footballers have never been thought of as packing celebrity appeal.
Football's 24/7 coverage has proceeded to dumb down the game to the extent that the final day of the transfer window attracts more attention than most games. Average players, backed by inter stellar hype see their value rocket as canny agents promote their clients as roughty toughty naughty types who shave once or twice a week and can look mean and moody on demand for the camera.
All of this leave many young fans grasping round elsewhere for a hero. It's difficult for kids to identify with players today. They only ever see them on TV as they have been priced out of stadiums. And the players have grown ever more distant as they seek to spend more time being 'cool' and doing 'cool' things like hang out at trendy restaurants and clubs hoping to get their picture in a 'cool' magazine.
Little wonder that kids have turned elsewhere for their role models. Witness the rise of Thug Lit for example in England. One time hooligans reminisce over their terrace battles in days of yore while offering respect and fair play to lads who had the shit kicked out of them but never ran. Fighting never seemed so chivalrous.
But a working class lad who made a few bob out of selling his memoirs seems a bit more accessible than a working class lad who buys his first Bentley before he's 21 and shuts himself off in a gated community to keep as far from the riff raff as possible.
Antics and quotes from the likes of Ashley Cole, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner (ooh, spot the connection there) serve only to highlight the divide between the fan and the player and that divide ain't getting any narrower.
So does it really matter? Should players act as responsible role models and earn respect or should they just act as money grabbing hookers* and sod the consequences?
* apologies to any hard working hokers who may have been offended by being likened to professional footballers.
We don't seem to have that anymore. McNab was an unsung left back at a time when we had players like Charlie George, John Radford and Bob Wilson. Despite George Best's column inches exploiting his drinking and shagging, or was it the other way round, footballers tended to be regarded as footballers and we would select our favourite player based on that quaint old system called merit.
Now it seems that many folks select their favourite player based on how 'famous' he is. And by famous we of course he mean how rich he is, how handsome he is and how much other people talk about him.
David Beckham wasn't fit to lace the boots of players like Frank Worthington or Matt Le Tissier. But because he played for Manchester United and because he was thought good looking his status shot way beyond his ability merited. Paul Scholes was always the better player all round but ginger haired footballers have never been thought of as packing celebrity appeal.
Football's 24/7 coverage has proceeded to dumb down the game to the extent that the final day of the transfer window attracts more attention than most games. Average players, backed by inter stellar hype see their value rocket as canny agents promote their clients as roughty toughty naughty types who shave once or twice a week and can look mean and moody on demand for the camera.
All of this leave many young fans grasping round elsewhere for a hero. It's difficult for kids to identify with players today. They only ever see them on TV as they have been priced out of stadiums. And the players have grown ever more distant as they seek to spend more time being 'cool' and doing 'cool' things like hang out at trendy restaurants and clubs hoping to get their picture in a 'cool' magazine.
Little wonder that kids have turned elsewhere for their role models. Witness the rise of Thug Lit for example in England. One time hooligans reminisce over their terrace battles in days of yore while offering respect and fair play to lads who had the shit kicked out of them but never ran. Fighting never seemed so chivalrous.
But a working class lad who made a few bob out of selling his memoirs seems a bit more accessible than a working class lad who buys his first Bentley before he's 21 and shuts himself off in a gated community to keep as far from the riff raff as possible.
Antics and quotes from the likes of Ashley Cole, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner (ooh, spot the connection there) serve only to highlight the divide between the fan and the player and that divide ain't getting any narrower.
So does it really matter? Should players act as responsible role models and earn respect or should they just act as money grabbing hookers* and sod the consequences?
* apologies to any hard working hokers who may have been offended by being likened to professional footballers.
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