
Issue No 104		27 July 2001

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The Locker Room

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Jim Marr looks at recent events that show, yet again, that its not the winners, but the losers who make for the great sports stories.

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A cynic might contend that if a certain German-Jewish philosopher had been born 150 years later he would have labelled sport, and not religion, the opium of the people. Perhaps so, but the great attraction of sport is that, still in 2001, it holds a mirror to the human condition in all its strength and frailty.

That's why Rupert Murdoch was on a sure-fire winner from the day he decided to ride the pay TV wave on a sport board.

Movies, documentaries, cartoons and music have their places. But none can touch top-quality sport for its ability to smoke people's emotions.

The secret, Hansie Cronje and Hayden Haitana aside, is that it is generally unscripted. Graham Green, John Steinbeck, Agatha Christie and even old Billy Shakespeare, himself, couldn't have come up with the convoluted twists and turns of plot that marked last year's India-Australia cricket test series.

But what about the gut-wrenching drama of watching athletes having success ripped away just as they start to bask in its glory?

In the past seven days we've seen two amazing examples.

The way the faces of those young women on Australia's 4x200m relay team changed in a matter of seconds was extraordinary, as was the language of less-than-gruntled British golfer, Ian Woosnam.

Imagine training your butt off for years, winning a world title, then being disqualified for taking a celebratory jump before some slow-coach in the far lane had dragged her butt to the wall.

Woosnam, having honed his craft over decades, lost a top-three British Open finish, and many thousands of pounds, because his caddy left a 15th club in his golf bag.

The swimmers and the golfer were undone by technicalities that made not a blind bit of difference to their respective sporting efforts. But rules are rules, and their disappointment struck raw nerves with anyone who ever felt duded by beauracracy or let down by workmates.

Sporting history is littered with such tales.

The effort of a mathematically-challenged Terry Lamb in dropping a last-minute field goal that left his Bulldogs still a point shy of Newcastle is right up there.

Hawks fans still delight I reminding Melbourne men of the day their import, Jim Steynes, stepped across the mark to gift Gary Buckanara a penalty 15 metres and turn an impossible goal attempt into a post-hooter trip to an AFL grand final.

Few will forget the double break that cost sprinter Raelene Boyle her chance of Olympic gold in 1976, nor the stunned-mullet dial on time trialler Sean Kelly when a broken strap cost him precious metal two decades later.

What about Adelaide, circa early 90s, when Allan Border had pulled the Aussie cricketers up by a somewhat stronger bootstrap. One-nil ahead in the series they were a chance of beating the mighty West Indians when Craig McDermott joined Tim May with nine wickets down and something like 40 still needed.

Run by run they whittled away the advantage until, just one shy, Courtney Walsh whistled a ball around McDermott's ears and he was given out - caught behind off his helmet. Border, appropriately clutching a stress ball, vent his emotions for all to see.

Unsurprisingly, as it later transpired, none of those punters on racetracks across the country who rode Fine Cotton home at Eagle Farm ever got to see a cent of their winnings.

On reflection, it does appear Australians might have turned the act of horrendous, gut-wrenching defeat into something of a national trait. Perhaps it stems back to a nation-building ethos born of the shores of Gallipoli.

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Issue 104 contents

Interview: A Super Agenda
Labor's federal spokesman on superannuation Kelvin Thompson outlines the challenges a Beazley Government will face in managing the nation's savings.

E-Change: 1.4 The Shifting Sands of Ideology
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel conclude the first part of their study of new politics by looking for core Labor values in a post-Cold War environment.

Corporate: Locking Horns
The same names keep cropping up in the business pages as the web of corporate control stays tied to a few big players. Georgina Murray has been looking at the extent and depth of the connections.

Unions: The Workers Bank
With banks on the nose, David Whiteley looks at how unions and super funds have got together to create the real deal � the workers bank.

International: Phil Davey's Amazon Postcard
The CFMEU's Boy Wonder has downed the megaphone for three months in South America. Here's what he's been up to.

History: Faded Vision of The American Bounder
King O'Malley was an American ex-pat who dreamed of a people's bank. Neale Towart looks at what happened to his vision.

Activists: The Big Gee-Up
With the big guns of the anti-corporate movement in town, Mark Hebblewhite goes looking for a definition of globalisation.

Indonesia: Where to the Workers After Gus Dur?
At the end of a turbulent week, Jasper Goss looks at the impact of the overthrow of Wahid on Indonesian workers.

Review: Mixing Pop and Politics
'The Bank' is a new Australian film that takes a contemporary political issue and transforms it into a piece of compelling popular culture.

Satire: Milosevic's Defence: "I Was Just Issuing Orders"
Disgraced former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has brushed off against charges for war crimes against humanity and mass genocide.

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» Unions Launch 56 Hour Watch

» Call Centre Campaign Bares First Fruit

» Justice at Last for One.Tel Workers

» Entitlements Push Gathers Momentum

» Employer Dirty on Leave Win

» Rights Put In Too Hard Basket

» AMA Move on Doctors� Hours Welcome

» Aussie Post Workers Rally

» Strike by Airport Guards Lawful

» Workers Rejects Brough Deal

» Unions Will March at CHOGM

» Average Response to Robberies

» Coca-Cola Sued for Using Paramilitary Force

» Activists Notebook