The Sporting Spirit - George Orwell - Lesson Summary

Players booing the referee

Introduction:

In the extremely competitive atmosphere in which sports is administered today, every player backed by every nation, would obviously have a strong temptation to take advantage of the gaps in the rule book, bending the rules to his favour, and conveniently interpreting the law to his advantage. Against this backdrop, George Orwell, pleads for the need to understand the importance of demonstrating sportsmanship and set a good example on the sporting field for the others to emulate.

Sports as an Unfailing Cause of ill-will:

In his remarkable essay “The Sporting Spirit”, Orwell grieves over the fact that sport is an unfailing cause of ill-will, and that the visit of the Russian football team Dynamos, has only worsened the Anglo-Soviet relations instead of strengthening it.

Two of the four matches played led to much bad feeling. At the Arsenal match the referee was booed at. At the match in Glasgow, it was a free-for-all right from the start. According to Orwell, football was capable of provoking the vicious passions of patriotism, resulting in fresh animosity on both sides.

According to Orwell, the dictum that sports creates goodwill between the nations, is a great misnomer because, if the common peoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket, they would not have any inclination to meet on the battlefield. Such is the ferocity and the fervour that flares up, leading to orgies of hatred, something similar to what happened in the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance.

Sports Played for Exercise and Sports played for Prestige:

On the village green, when you pick up sides, no feeling of local patriotism is involved. The game is played simply for the fun and exercise. But, as soon as the question of prestige arises, and the moment you feel that you will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. At the international level, sport is mimic warfare. More than the behaviour of the players, it is the attitude of the spectators that aggravates the situation. And that is because of a false notion that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.

Even a leisurely game like cricket, demanding grace rather than strength, has caused a lot of ill-will, as seen in the controversy over body-line bowling in the 1921 match between Australia and England. Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play, is far worse. Worst of all is boxing. One of the most horrible sights in the world is a fight between white and coloured boxers before a mixed audience.

Modern Sport and its Ancient Origin:

Orwell then proceeds to inquire into how this modern cult of sport arose. Most of the games we play now are of ancient origin, but sport was not taken very seriously between Roman times and the nineteenth century. Even in the English public schools the games did not start till the later part of the twentieth century. So much that, Dr.Arnold, generally regarded as the founder of the modern public school, looked on games as simply a waste of time.

Sports today: Heavily financed Activities:

But later on, chiefly in England and in the United States, games were built up into a heavily-financed activity, capable of attracting vast crowds and rousing savage passions, and the infection gradually spread from country to country. It is the most violently combative sports like football and boxing, that have spread the widest. And the whole thing is bound up with the rise of nationalism. Even in the Middle Ages games were played with much physical brutality but they were not mixed up with politics nor were they a cause of group hatreds.

Organised games like these are most likely to flourish in urban communities where the average human being lives a sedentary or confined life and does not get much opportunity for creative labour. For these urbanites, Orwell advocates that, when it is not possible to work off surplus energy by walking, swimming, climbing trees, riding horses, one must indulge in group activities if one wants an outlet for one’s physical strength or for one’s sadistic impulses.

Conclusion:

Orwell winds up his essay with a fervent plea for good sportsmanship, which, according to him, is one of the most desirable qualities in any great player. As the Olympic oath majestically declares, “in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams," every player should imbibe these qualities of sportsmanship which would go a long way in promoting the sporting spirit between nations. 

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