damianwhy religion and politics don't mix
August 20th 2008 00:25
This is not a post about bibles, beards, bombs or sexually frustrated Catholic priests! I’m talking about the religion where God wore number 5 for Geelong, and the only flock going round is the bunch of seagulls at deep extra cover. A religion with only one holy site: the hallowed turf of the MCG. It is, of course, the religion of sport, and the purpose of this post is to explore the peculiar relationship between this religion and the political sphere. In essence, I will look at the issue of politicians and their atrocious lack of sporting ability.
Everyone has seen the infamous images of John Howard’s attempts to bowl a yorker, and I can assure you that the staffer who failed to remind him that this type of delivery should land at the batsman’s toes, not his own, was promptly sacked. In hindsight, Howard would have been better served by living out his cricketing ambitions on the other side of the fence. But the strange thing is, these politicians never seem to learn! You may recall the furore over Mark Latham’s infamous outing in a press v politicians cricket match, which ended in him being the butt of endless jokes about his ‘man boobs’. Further back, there was Bob Hawke and his unfortunate attempt at a hook shot that saw the ball smash his glasses (the footage of which was later dug up for an ad about laser eye surgery!)
These are merely some of the more memorable examples, and you would think that the lessons of the past have been adequately learnt. Yet, there seems to be no stopping the desire for politicians to be publicly humiliated in the sporting arena.
As with everything bad in life, I blame America. The tradition of U.S. Presidents throwing the opening pitch of a the baseball season at some stage during their career is a time-honoured one, and perhaps even provided the impetus for Australian politicians to try their hands at various sports. The vital difference however, is that while George W. Bush may suck as President, at least he looked like he had some idea when it came to throwing a baseball. With Australian politicians on the other hand, we all emit a collective groan at the start of each AFL season when some fool of a minister thinks it would be great publicity to dust the cobwebs off the old drop-punt for the benefit of the cameras.
There may be some good news on the horizon though, as in recent times there has been a concerted attempt by the Australian electorate to elect politicians who are actually good at something! This has been especially noticeable on the sporting front, with people such as Kirstie Marshall, Justin Madden and distance runner Pat Farmer all entering state politics. There were even rumours a few years back that the ALP was going to recruit Steve Waugh into federal politics.
But while it could be said that we’re heading in the right direction, we must ask ourselves how we can continue to make a difference ourselves. The answer is in fact quite simple: next time there is an election, don’t ask the candidate about health, education or fiscal policy; concentrate on the issues that matter! Ask them what was the Don’s bowling average and get them to list the nicknames of the entire test teams of each country. Even better, take a happy snap of their face and see if they resemble an Aussie cricketer on that bloody awful weetbix ad that was on during the cricket last summer.
The future of Australian politics depends on us.
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Comment by Norm
Consumption Malfunction
Equal and Opposite
Arses and Elbows
Footy Power
What do you call a country trapped in by the boundary?
A banana republic?
By 1990, no Australian child will not be able to kick a drop punt.
Rest assured, now, I'll be asking the tough questions of my state and federal representatives about their stances.
Cheers.
Comment by damian
Urban Telegraph
Sports and All
Comment by cleangreenneen