A survey by Opinion Matters of 1,000 parents and 1,000 kids suggests that we are becoming a nation of brats.
Two thirds of parents said that their children reacted badly to losing in sports, and a further two thirds said that other parents behaved badly on the boundary edge. While kids sulked and cried, their parents mocked or swore at the opposition.
The survey has revived the argument that kids copy “bad role models” in professional sport. My concern is slightly different: British sport tends to follow the wrong trend. Are we now training bad losers just as international sport moves in the other direction?
Look at tennis. Twenty-five years ago most people assumed that John McEnroe-style outbursts would become the norm. Quite the reverse has happened. The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has been characterised by mutual respect and graciousness. Federer’s on-court elegance is matched by refinement off it, and no one has a bad word to say about Nadal. Their success perfectly refutes the old lie that “nice guys finish last”.
Similarly, for years English cricket wasted time and energy by pretending to be Australian. But it wasn’t the swearing that made the Aussies better than us; it was their skill.
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Adam Gilchrist, for instance, was the world’s most explosive batsman — and the first for decades to “walk” when he edged the ball. You didn’t see any sour grapes from Kumar Sangakkara after Sri Lanka lost the World Cup final last Saturday either. He was the first to congratulate the Indians, and he did so with the dignity of a real champion.
Come to think of it, real champions usually know how to lose as well as how to win. Perhaps that message just isn’t getting through.