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England: the mother of modern sport
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RH
Aug 15, 2012, 12:17:53 PM8/15/12
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England: the mother of modern sport
Posted on August 15, 2012
Contents
1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
2. The organisation of sport
3. International Sport
4. Cricket – the first modern game
5. Football – the world game
6. The amateur and the professional
7. The importance of sport
8. Why was England in the sporting vanguard?
9. English sport is a mirror of English society
10. The political dimension
Robert Henderson
1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
“We [the Coca Cola Championship] are the fourth best supported
division in Europe with nearly 10 million fans last season,
after the Premiership [12.88 million], Bundesliga [11.57 million]
and La Liga [10.92]. We are ahead of Seria A.” Lord Mahwinny,
Chairman of the Football League – Daily Telegraph 28 7 2005.
The English have a most tremendous sporting culture. By that I do
not mean that England is always winning everything at the national
level – although they do far better than is generally realised -
but rather that the interest in sport is exceptionally deep and wide.
As the quote from Mahwinny shows, not only is the top division of
English football(the Premiership) the most watched in Europe, the
second division (the Coca Cola Championship) attracts more
spectators than all but two of the top divisions in Europe,
beating even the top division of that supposed bastion of football
Italy.
The colossal support for football in England is all the
more extraordinary because the country has so many other sports
seriously competing for spectators, arguably more than any
other country because England competes at a serious level in almost
all the major international sports - basketball, handball,
volleyball and and alpine sports are the exceptions. This
all round sporting participation resulted in England in the early
1990s coming within touching distance of becoming world champions
in football, rugby and cricket. In 1990 England lost in the semi-
finals on penalties to Germany in the football World Cup; in
1991 they lost the final of the Rugby World Cup and in 1992 they
lost in the final the Cricket World Cup. No other country,
not even Australia, could have shown as strongly in all three sports.
The intense English interest in sport at club level is carried
through to the national sides. England’s rugby, cricket and
football teams have immense support wherever they go, whether it
be the amazingly loyal England football supporters or
cricket’s Barmy Army, the special quality of their support is
recognised by foreigners: “German fans want to be like the English
fans. They want to be 100 per cent for their team, for their
land.” (German supporter at World Cup 2006 – Daily Telegraph 6 7
2006)
This wonderful English attachment to sport is not so strange when
it is remembered that most important international sports were
either created by the English or the English had a large hand in
establishing them as international sports. In addition, other
important sports are plausibly derived from English games, most
notably American and Australian Rules football from rugby,
baseball from rounders and basketball from netball. In fact, all
the major team games in their modern forms originated in Anglo-Saxon
countries: cricket, football, rugby union, rugby league,
American football, Australian rules, baseball, basketball, ice
hockey, hockey. Even the modern Olympic games were inspired by
the Englishman Dr William Penny Brookes’ “Olympic Games” at Much
Wenlock in Shropshire which he founded in 1850.
A visit to the Wenlock gave the founder of the modern Olympic
movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, his idea for reviving the
Olympic Games in Athens. Brookes was a tireless advocate of such a
revival himself and only died in 1894 shortly before the first
modern Olympic games was held in 1896. On the 100th
anniversary of his death, the then president of the
International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch laid a
wreath on Brookes’ grave with the words “I come to pay homage and
tribute to Dr Brooks, who really was the founder of the modern
Olympic games.” (Bridgnorth Information). It would not be too much
of an exaggeration to say that the English invented modern
spectator sport.
Of the games directly created, to the one game which deserves
the title of a world sport – football – the English may add cricket,
rugby (both codes), snooker, hockey, lawn tennis, badminton,
squash, table tennis and snooker, Those who yawn at the likes
of hockey, table tennis and squash should reflect on the fact that
sports vary greatly in popularity from country to country.
Hockey is the Indian Subcontinent’s second game: squash,
badminton and table tennis are to the fore throughout Asia,
while snooker is rapidly growing in popularity in the Far East.
2. The organisation of sport
The difference between sports before the modern era and those in
the modern era is that the pre-modern sports were not
organised or standardised. In pre-modern times sports lacked both a
standard set of rules and governing bodies to enforce the common
rules. The English changed all that and they began the process very
early, most notably in cricket where a governing body, the MCC,
and a generally accepted set of rules (known as laws) were
established before the end of the 18th century. Some of major
sports where England had the first national association and
established the first generally accepted set of rules are:
Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
FA established the laws of the game
Cricket – First published Laws 1744, MCC formed 1787
Hockey - 1883 standard set of rules published by Wimbledon
Club,
Hockey Association founded 1886
Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
set of rules resembling the game as it is now
Rugby Union – 1871 The Rugby Union formed and the first laws
published
The dominance of England as a creator and organiser of sports
is further illustrated by the existence of iconic sporting venues
such as Lords (cricket), Wembley (football), Twickenham (Rugby
Union) and Wimbledon (tennis), all of which have a resonance that
stretches far beyond England.
Read more at http://englandcalling.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/england-the-mother-of-modern-sport/
Posted on August 15, 2012
Contents
1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
2. The organisation of sport
3. International Sport
4. Cricket – the first modern game
5. Football – the world game
6. The amateur and the professional
7. The importance of sport
8. Why was England in the sporting vanguard?
9. English sport is a mirror of English society
10. The political dimension
Robert Henderson
1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
“We [the Coca Cola Championship] are the fourth best supported
division in Europe with nearly 10 million fans last season,
after the Premiership [12.88 million], Bundesliga [11.57 million]
and La Liga [10.92]. We are ahead of Seria A.” Lord Mahwinny,
Chairman of the Football League – Daily Telegraph 28 7 2005.
The English have a most tremendous sporting culture. By that I do
not mean that England is always winning everything at the national
level – although they do far better than is generally realised -
but rather that the interest in sport is exceptionally deep and wide.
As the quote from Mahwinny shows, not only is the top division of
English football(the Premiership) the most watched in Europe, the
second division (the Coca Cola Championship) attracts more
spectators than all but two of the top divisions in Europe,
beating even the top division of that supposed bastion of football
Italy.
The colossal support for football in England is all the
more extraordinary because the country has so many other sports
seriously competing for spectators, arguably more than any
other country because England competes at a serious level in almost
all the major international sports - basketball, handball,
volleyball and and alpine sports are the exceptions. This
all round sporting participation resulted in England in the early
1990s coming within touching distance of becoming world champions
in football, rugby and cricket. In 1990 England lost in the semi-
finals on penalties to Germany in the football World Cup; in
1991 they lost the final of the Rugby World Cup and in 1992 they
lost in the final the Cricket World Cup. No other country,
not even Australia, could have shown as strongly in all three sports.
The intense English interest in sport at club level is carried
through to the national sides. England’s rugby, cricket and
football teams have immense support wherever they go, whether it
be the amazingly loyal England football supporters or
cricket’s Barmy Army, the special quality of their support is
recognised by foreigners: “German fans want to be like the English
fans. They want to be 100 per cent for their team, for their
land.” (German supporter at World Cup 2006 – Daily Telegraph 6 7
2006)
This wonderful English attachment to sport is not so strange when
it is remembered that most important international sports were
either created by the English or the English had a large hand in
establishing them as international sports. In addition, other
important sports are plausibly derived from English games, most
notably American and Australian Rules football from rugby,
baseball from rounders and basketball from netball. In fact, all
the major team games in their modern forms originated in Anglo-Saxon
countries: cricket, football, rugby union, rugby league,
American football, Australian rules, baseball, basketball, ice
hockey, hockey. Even the modern Olympic games were inspired by
the Englishman Dr William Penny Brookes’ “Olympic Games” at Much
Wenlock in Shropshire which he founded in 1850.
A visit to the Wenlock gave the founder of the modern Olympic
movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, his idea for reviving the
Olympic Games in Athens. Brookes was a tireless advocate of such a
revival himself and only died in 1894 shortly before the first
modern Olympic games was held in 1896. On the 100th
anniversary of his death, the then president of the
International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch laid a
wreath on Brookes’ grave with the words “I come to pay homage and
tribute to Dr Brooks, who really was the founder of the modern
Olympic games.” (Bridgnorth Information). It would not be too much
of an exaggeration to say that the English invented modern
spectator sport.
Of the games directly created, to the one game which deserves
the title of a world sport – football – the English may add cricket,
rugby (both codes), snooker, hockey, lawn tennis, badminton,
squash, table tennis and snooker, Those who yawn at the likes
of hockey, table tennis and squash should reflect on the fact that
sports vary greatly in popularity from country to country.
Hockey is the Indian Subcontinent’s second game: squash,
badminton and table tennis are to the fore throughout Asia,
while snooker is rapidly growing in popularity in the Far East.
2. The organisation of sport
The difference between sports before the modern era and those in
the modern era is that the pre-modern sports were not
organised or standardised. In pre-modern times sports lacked both a
standard set of rules and governing bodies to enforce the common
rules. The English changed all that and they began the process very
early, most notably in cricket where a governing body, the MCC,
and a generally accepted set of rules (known as laws) were
established before the end of the 18th century. Some of major
sports where England had the first national association and
established the first generally accepted set of rules are:
Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
FA established the laws of the game
Cricket – First published Laws 1744, MCC formed 1787
Hockey - 1883 standard set of rules published by Wimbledon
Club,
Hockey Association founded 1886
Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
set of rules resembling the game as it is now
Rugby Union – 1871 The Rugby Union formed and the first laws
published
The dominance of England as a creator and organiser of sports
is further illustrated by the existence of iconic sporting venues
such as Lords (cricket), Wembley (football), Twickenham (Rugby
Union) and Wimbledon (tennis), all of which have a resonance that
stretches far beyond England.
Read more at http://englandcalling.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/england-the-mother-of-modern-sport/
Message has been deleted
Paul C
Aug 16, 2012, 4:46:09 PM8/16/12
to
Best attended leagues
1 Bundesliga 1
2 EPL
3 Spain 1
4 Italy Serie A
5 England Championship
Time to update the date fatty.
" By that I do
not mean that England is always winning everything at the national
level "
ROTFL
1 Bundesliga 1
2 EPL
3 Spain 1
4 Italy Serie A
5 England Championship
Time to update the date fatty.
" By that I do
not mean that England is always winning everything at the national
level "
Jellore
Aug 18, 2012, 7:49:00 AM8/18/12
to
On Aug 16, 2:50 am, Malcolm <Malc...@indaal.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article
> <e4cafafe-2f7b-4b06-b1af-2bf8fc81f...@m3g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, RH
> <anywhere...@gmail.com> writes>England: the mother of modern sport
>
> --
> Malcolm
The current T20 World Champions
The current holders of The Ashes.
You didn't notice that Farah and Brownlee and Kenny and Skelton etc
etc won certain medals recently?
> In article
> <e4cafafe-2f7b-4b06-b1af-2bf8fc81f...@m3g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, RH
> <anywhere...@gmail.com> writes>England: the mother of modern sport
>
> >Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
> >FA established the laws of the game
>
> Please tell us the last time England won anything.
> >Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
> >FA established the laws of the game
>
>
> >Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
> >set of rules resembling the game as it is now
>
> Please tell us the last time an Englishman won anything.
> >Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
> >set of rules resembling the game as it is now
>
>
> --
> Malcolm
The current T20 World Champions
The current holders of The Ashes.
You didn't notice that Farah and Brownlee and Kenny and Skelton etc
etc won certain medals recently?
Message has been deleted
Paul C
Aug 18, 2012, 12:14:35 PM8/18/12
to
On Aug 18, 11:49 am, Jellore <jell...@bigpond.com> wrote:
> On Aug 16, 2:50 am, Malcolm <Malc...@indaal.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In article
> > <e4cafafe-2f7b-4b06-b1af-2bf8fc81f...@m3g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, RH
> > <anywhere...@gmail.com> writes>England: the mother of modern sport
>
> > >Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
> > >FA established the laws of the game
>
> > Please tell us the last time England won anything.
>
> > >Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
> > >set of rules resembling the game as it is now
>
> > Please tell us the last time an Englishman won anything.
>
> > --
> > Malcolm
> The current holders of The Ashes.
> On Aug 16, 2:50 am, Malcolm <Malc...@indaal.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In article
> > <e4cafafe-2f7b-4b06-b1af-2bf8fc81f...@m3g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, RH
> > <anywhere...@gmail.com> writes>England: the mother of modern sport
>
> > >Association Football - Football Association formed in 1863,
> > >FA established the laws of the game
>
> > Please tell us the last time England won anything.
>
> > >Lawn Tennis – Wimbledon championships established 1877 with first
> > >set of rules resembling the game as it is now
>
> > Please tell us the last time an Englishman won anything.
>
> > --
> > Malcolm
How many countries are involved in that one?
Jellore
Aug 20, 2012, 2:38:53 AM8/20/12
to
On Aug 18, 11:05 pm, soupdragon <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> Jellore <jell...@bigpond.com> wrote in news:19fa6e20-0d51-4570-a8f3-
> c7b6e0fb9...@oi9g2000pbb.googlegroups.com:
> ..at football or tennis? Or didn't you notice the context of the questions?
Fair enough.
> Jellore <jell...@bigpond.com> wrote in news:19fa6e20-0d51-4570-a8f3-
> c7b6e0fb9...@oi9g2000pbb.googlegroups.com:
Fair enough.
Jellore
Aug 20, 2012, 6:24:39 AM8/20/12
to
Paul C
Aug 20, 2012, 2:53:22 PM8/20/12
to
Wel there's Australia ...
and there's England/Wales/Scotland/Ireland/S Africa/Australia and
probably others I've forgotten about.
Paul C
Aug 21, 2012, 4:21:00 PM8/21/12
to
On Aug 15, 4:17 pm, RH <anywhere...@gmail.com> wrote:
> England: the mother of modern sport
>
> Posted on August 15, 2012
>
> Contents
>
> 1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
>
> 2. The organisation of sport
>
> 3. International Sport
>
> 4. Cricket – the first modern game
>
> 5. Football – the world game
>
> 6. The amateur and the professional
>
> 7. The importance of sport
>
> 8. Why was England in the sporting vanguard?
>
> 9. English sport is a mirror of English society
>
> 10. The political dimension
>
Where's chapter 3 Rab?
> England: the mother of modern sport
>
> Posted on August 15, 2012
>
> Contents
>
> 1. Sport is stitched into the English social DNA
>
> 2. The organisation of sport
>
> 3. International Sport
>
> 4. Cricket – the first modern game
>
> 5. Football – the world game
>
> 6. The amateur and the professional
>
> 7. The importance of sport
>
> 8. Why was England in the sporting vanguard?
>
> 9. English sport is a mirror of English society
>
> 10. The political dimension
>
International sport - Come on, give us all a laugh
Jellore
Aug 22, 2012, 9:15:04 AM8/22/12
to
"they are not really English" tack was reserved for the Iikes of FG
and RH?
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