
Issue No 28		27 August 1999

Sport

Off With Her Head!

Peter Moss asks sports fans to sacrifice all for the Republic.

For every season, There is a reason, And a time, For every purpose, Under heaven.From The Bible via Pete Seeger.

Spring is a schizophrenic time for the sports fan.

At once, the mad weeks of footy finals fever - and the imminent emptiness that is October.

The juggernaut of test cricket will arrive, as ever, in late November.

For some, the eight-week interval between grand finals and the Gabba test is a welcome hiatus of quiet reflection, or hibernation.

For others, it is a dark and desperate tunnel, navigated blindly, until Healy's gruff cry of "Bowled, Warnie" leads us blinking to the sun.

There are distractions, if you want them. But most are flashy trinkets littering a soulless marketplace.

These Kings don't rule

I caught my first Sydney Kings game last year. Admittedly, it was at the fag end of a disappointing season for Australian basketball's most disappointing outfit.

But what an underwhelming experience. Buried under 18 layers of hoopla is a very ordinary trundle up and down a tiny court with broken down Americans playing by memory.

Mind you, kids under 12 years love it. And the Kings' new home base at the sparkling Homebush Superdome should be worth a visit. Then there�s the rumour that Chicago Bulls bad man Dennis Rodham will turn out for Perth this season.

The sweet stench of horse

Switch to the racing channel. The big money races and the good horses are on the way back.

With the ongoing decline in racetrack attendances, there�s more room for those of us who don�t mind the sweet stench of horse.

A day out at Royal Randwick can punctuate the Spring stupor, but be sure to get out before the last race, when the atomised tribe of penniless drunks comes out to play. Also, take your own food.

Every punter has a system. Mine used to be form but I�ve had no luck with it. This spring I�m backing looks, and all my money rests on the beautiful three-year-old Marachel, who I swear winked at me on Sports Tonight.

A higher calling

Still with me? Then sit back and take a deep breath and - imagine, in the words of the prophet, all the sports fans in the labour movement giving it up for eight weeks, in the name of a higher cause.

If an old sports nut like Mike Willisee can find God, then surely we can find the republic.

Because when the referendum results are tallied up on November 6, it will be too late. Watching a smirking Howard and Reith toast the Queen will be worse, much worse, than watching John Elliot and Carlton wrap themselves in the AFL flag, or Manly hoist aloft the NRL trophy, or (OK, I�m being creative) England snatch back the Ashes.

On the front burner

It's not a Fenian thing, it�s a class thing.

A defeat for the republic will be a defeat for the labour movement. It will entrench Howard, advance Reith and make our job that much harder.

That's why we need to move the republic on to the front burner for spring.

And, with no real sport happening - there's a deep reservoir of talent and passion lurking in the minds and hearts of us sports fans.

Let's turn it into a spring tidal wave and wipe out the monarchy and its quislings.

Get the yes vote out

The ARM needs all the support it can muster. For those who want more change and an elected president, there�s the Yes - and More! campaign.

Take your pick, but get the yes vote out. Then, when you sit back for the first session of the first test in November, you will be one proud sports fan.

Peter Moss is a Director of Lodestar Communications.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

How you play the game: the contribution of sport to the promotion of human rights - is a unique conference being held in Sydney from Wednesday 1 September at the Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi Beach.

It is the first international conference of its kind on sports and human rights. It is sponsored by the Human Rights Council of Australia.

Issues to be discussed at the conference include: The role of team sports in building reconciliation and tolerance; The role of sports people in human rights campaigning and as advocates for change; Issues facing indigenous sportsmen and women; Drugs and sport: the human rights issues

For further information:

Human Rights Council of Australia Inc.

P.O. Box 841

Marrickville N.S.W. 1475

Telephone and fax: +61 (0)2 9559 2269

Email: Andr� Frankovits

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~hrca/

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 28 contents

Interview: Talking Turkey
A full transcript of an important interview with the Minister for Workplace Relations, the Hon Peter Reith.

Politics: What Reith told the ILO
Workers Online has recevied a transcript of roving statesman Peter Reith's talk to the ILO in Geneva. This one's not satire.

Unions: What the Workers Said
Actor Di Smith was one of nine ordinary workers who addressed this week's rally. Here's what she had to say.

International: Cancelling the Debt
Sign this Jubilee 2000 email petition now and tell the world's most powerful leaders to cancel the unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000.

Environment: Greens, CFMEU call for Action on Ceiling Dust
Residents and workers, associated with houses damaged in the freak hail storm that hit Sydney earlier this year, may have been exposed to harmful levels of toxic materials found in the ceiling dust of the damaged buildings

History: Eveleigh Railway Workshops celebration
Former workers and their families from the historic Eveleigh Railway Workshops in inner-Sydney are holding a picnic reunion and folk music festival on the site this Sunday.

Republic: Does the Republic Need a President?
It seems inevitable that Australia will eventually become a republic but do we need a president?

Satire: Liberals May Need to Sell of More of Telstra
'We're running low in key marginals,� says Alston

Review: A Kind of Violence
Extracts from Yosi Berger's new book, telling the real stories behind workpalce safety.

» Shock New Stats! Readers Desert Newspapers

» Surfing the Wave

» Vizard Smokescreen Clouds Computer Deal

» Youth Wages: Is Bevis a Butthead?

» Which Bank Harasses Sick Workers?

» SOCOG Eyes Wide Shut on Games Gear

» Scully Uses Reith First Wave Against Rail Workers

» Reith Building Blitz Hits Bum Note

» Entitlements Focus Shifts Back to Woodlawn

» Fresh South Coast Ballot Called

» "Big Drum Up" For East Timor

» Eric Lee Public Forum

» Guest Report

» Sport

» Trades Hall

» Piers Watch

» Vizard: Net Content Is Vital

» No, No, No to MSN Model

» The Vizard deal. Is it another great deal for you!!!!???

Notice Board
- Check out the latest events

Latest Issue

View entire latest issue
- print all of the articles!

Previous Issues

Subject index

Search all issues

Workers Online - 2nd place Labourstart website of the year

LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW

URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/28/b_sportspage_moss.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

[ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ]

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW