There have been many classic films over the years which have stood the test of time, films that we all know of but perhaps have actually never watched ourselves.
One such film may well be ‘Gone with the Wind’, the 1939 American epic historical romance film set in the deep south of America. It portrayed the dramatic changes in society and the significant loss not simply of life but also the loss of a way of life.
The expression “gone with the wind” obviously describes something that has disappeared, passed, or vanished, permanently or completely, with reference also to the biblical phrase of “Meaningless! Meaningless! All is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.” It has gone.
Another film (also adapted from the memoir by Alexandra Fuller) which also dramatises a loss of a way of life, much closer to home and much more recently, made last year, is ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ which described, through the author’s eyes as a child, her life on her family's farm during the final stages of this country’s Bush War and the war's impact on the region and individuals.
Again, this film’s title speaks of the desire not to succumb to the lowest standards, not allowing us to ruin things.
If we turn our attention to sport and look online, we can find a humorous clip that shows soccer players, managers and commentators all saying the same thing – “the game’s gone”. Interspersed through the refrain of “the game’s gone” comes the question “Where?” Where, indeed? Well might we respond, the game (not just soccer but many games) has gone with the wind. It implies no-one knows where it has gone and how it has got there.
Dramatic changes have been seen with an accompanying loss of a way of life and of sport.
The game has gone.
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The game that we love has gone, disappeared, been devalued, declined and stripped of all its meaning and value and enjoyment. It has gone to the dogs, where only scraps are found. It has gone with the wind, blown away, this way and that.
Sport has lost its essence and been negatively impacted by many factors.
Managers are being sacked after a few games or even after winning a trophy – players receive massive salaries;clubs demand huge entry fees; goal celebrations have become elaborate and ridiculous; online abuse has become the norm; coverage of games is provided from every angle every day; players speak to each other behind hands to avoid people ‘reading’ what they are saying;clubs change kit regularly at exorbitant prices; players swap shirts after matches (even at half time); mascots entertain crowds; ‘kiss cams’ are increasing in stadiums; seasons are extended; inane interviews increase;players require social media branding.
The list goes on and on (and on). The game has gone.
Our primary concern here in these weekly articles is not so much sport per se but school sport in particular, where sport begins for everyone. In many ways, too, though, it may be fair to say that the game’s gone here as well.
Parents deciding on which school their child will go to on the basis of the school’s sporting results; adults watching school sport even when they have no child playing for a team or even attending the school; schools selling alcohol during school fixtures; coaches insisting on a match continuing when the scoreline has become large; sponsors have more space than school crests on shirts; expensive tours become the norm; team kits change each season; compulsory attendance with lots of noise trying to suggest evidence of school spirit; musical instruments in the crowd. The game has gone.
Perhaps, though, at the end of it all, we just need to hold on to some threads of hope.
The game may have gone to the dogs but at least it has not gone to the cats – after all, cats are bad news, as in ‘catastrophe’, ‘cataclysm’, ‘catacombs’, ‘catapult’, ‘cataract’! More seriously, the game may have gone to the dogs but as one lady reminded Jesus “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” We need to get school sport back on the table, not leave it for children to pick up the crumbs.
School sport is meaningful; it can be the wind beneath the sails of children as they move forward. We need to bring it back to its proper place in the school curriculum. It must not become a god nor must it become a grind; it is a game.
Let us be reminded: it is a game.
